Water Heater Overflow

[YKhan]

Hi,

I have a 40 Gallon Water Heater that runs on Natural Gas. Since Last night, the hot water throughout the house was only luke warm. I have now noticed that the overflow pipe was gushing with water running down the drain. I had to shut-off the inlet valve to stop it from overflowing. But as soon as I did that, there is NO water when I turn the hot water tabs on in the house.

Earlier this evening I tried flushing any sediments out by connecting a garden hose and draining the water in the heater. The water was clear and seemed to flow nicely. But everytime I turn of the inlet pipe through its valve (and as soon as I turn it on), the water seems to start gushing from the overflow into the drain. There is no leakage at the Pressure valve.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[hallerb]

you need a new T&P valve, you might try opening and shutting it repeatedly. but the valve is bad.

how old is the tank? if its near the end of its warranty your probably better off replacing it. new T&P valve comes with replacement tank.

the valve is supposed to open if the pressure or temp gets too hot or hi.

[YKhan]

Thank you for your response. We moved into the house 2 1/2 years ago and the house itself is about 6 years old. I am assuming that the tank is likely to be as old as the house. I have looked into new 40 Gallon Tanks and they are usually around $300. Is this T&P an expensive part? From the look of it, it seems easy to replace.

[Toller]

The "overflow" you refer to is the T&P? Saying there is no leakage at the pressure valve has me confused. They are easy to replace and IIRC are about $30. Just be sure you get the right one; the wrong one can make a pretty good bomb.

How did you expect to get hot water when you turned the inlet valve off?

[YKhan]

Thank you for your response. We moved into the house 2 1/2 years ago and the house itself is about 6 years old. I am assuming that the tank is likely to be as old as the house. I have looked into new 40 Gallon Tanks and they are usually around $300. Is this T&P an expensive part? From the look of it, it seems easy to replace.

[hallerb]

you can try replacing the valve but with a 8 year old tank soon you will be needing a new one anyway.

plus if you left the burner on and allowed the water level in the tank drop it can overheat areas and your tank will fail fast:(

with a old tank unscrewing the T&P valve may lead to leaks soon after its replaced. good luck whatever you do

[trader4]

Since the valve not only opened, but continues to gush water, it sounds like the over temp portion of the valve is what went. If it were overpressure, the valve would close again and while it might leak, it wouldn't be gushing. So, I would carefully evaluate what caused this to happen, as you could have a serious malfunction.

Depending on the age of the unit, it may be better to just replace it. Somewhere around 10-13 years is a typical lifespan.

[hallerb]

they said the tank is close to 9 years old, its done its job a builders tank isnt a premium one...

[buffalobill]

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