Hot Water heater relief vent

Has anyone ever had water coming out the relief vent on your hot water heater, under normal propane use?? There isn't alot of water coming out just enough to drip alittle. Is this normal??

I have it happen occaisionally....

Usually I give it a quick shot and get some water out, and it seems to reseat itself.


Steve

Thanks Steve! Maybe the seal needs to seat and when you do that it reseats and fixes the leak. I'll try that next time I notice the problem.. Duke

Mine does the same thing and my FIX is the same as Steve's. Jim

Same here.....

Duke,

I was reading the manual for my home hotwater heater. It states in the maintenance instructions to exercise the pressure relief valve annually.

Why wouldn't the same be true for the HWH in our rigs?

When I empty the HWH in the fall in preparation for winterizing, I open the relief valve so that the water runs out the bung without gurgling. I've never had a problem with it reseating and no leaks in the spring when I refill the HWH.

If you've ever flushed your HW tank you'll see all kinds of stuff come out. Some of that can get trapped against the seat of the relief valve and cause it to weep.

Luck

Mine does it every time we use our WC. I always just wiggle it or give it a tap, and it quits. I drain my HWH every time we return home. Just don't lift up on the valve after the water has heated up. WOW!! That water is HOT. Burns pretty good. Now, I at least put on one of my old leather work gloves. LOL. Things we learn the hard way.

Normal, water expands when heated and has no where to go, so it leaks out the pop off valve instead of blowing up or blowing your plumbing. To stop the valve from leaking, add a bladder tank to your water system, it'll provide a place for the expanded water to go.

Earl

Thanks Everyone, I'll bet Mike is right, the sediment gets under the valve. A little tap and the thing reseats. Sounds good to me. Another Good idea about reseating the valve once in awhile.

Here's some interesting info with respect to various hot water heater quesitons:

http://www.rvcomfort.com/suburban/service/water_questions.php

Yes, our valve has been leaking for awhile now. We bought a replacement valve at Home Depot but, need a "special" wrench to remove it. I don't know what the "special" vice grips or pliars are but, my husband keeps looking for them in every store. LOL He's not too worried about it so, I sure as heck don't worry.

I'd try lifting the valve handle up and do that a couple of times and see if it fixes it like stated above. maybe you want need that special tool.

It maybe the same socket tool as you get the element out with. I'll have to look at mine to see what they're talking about.

Good to know about replenishing the air pocket in the tank. i thought mine was defective this weekend as there was a noticeable amount of water in the access panel on the outside of the 5th wheel and water was dripping out of the relief valve. I never had this happen on the KZ Spree travel trailer I traded in on the Wild Cat.