Screw the meter onto a basement hot water faucet and turn on the faucet all the way.
Water heater pop off valve dripping.
Turn off the power to the leaking water heater.
Close the cold water cut off valve going into the water heater.
The second reason a water heater relief valve leaks is the water has gotten too hot if the temperature of the water in the water heater reaches above 210 degrees f the relief valve will leak or even blow off this is why the outlet of the relief valve must be piped to about 6 inches from the ground you would not want to get a blast of 210 degree f water in the face.
If it s a gas water heater it will have a dial or an on off switch near the spot where the gas line connects.
When the pressure builds up enough the t p relief valve on the water heater just does it s job and relieves the excess pressure by leaking a little water.
If you do try to fix it here are the basic steps involved.
First turn off the gas to the water heater or flip the breaker if it s electric.
If it s an electric water heater.
If the value is close to 150 psi which is the.
Verify the proper valve is installed the tprv on a water heater is set to discharge at 150 psi or 210 fahrenheit.
Why might your water heater s relief valve start leaking.
The reading should be between 60 and 80 pounds per square inch.
If a new tprv is properly installed and it still leaks you probably have a pressure problem.
Your water heater s relief valve can start leaking for one of two reasons.
If a pressure relief valve for a boiler is accidentally installed on a water heater it will leak like crazy from the start.
I have had 4 different plumbers check this out they put a new regulator at the water meter turned the temp of the water down replaced every thing in the old heater.
My hot water heater is leaking from the pop off valve i have replaced it several times and now i have a new heater and guess what it is leaking through the pop off valve.
Either the valve was triggered to open because of excessive temperature or pressure or the valve itself is faulty.
The fix when a closed system exists on the water distribution piping in a home an expansion tank needs to be installed somewhere on the plumbing system.
In the first case the valve will drain water out of the discharge pipe as explained above.
