Hot Water Tank Leak and Maintenance

The white tube is attached to T&P ( temperature and pressure ) relief valve. If it is spitting water, it means that either the temperature or pressure is going over the set limits. Mostly its the pressure from the city that makes this tube cough up. If the valve is defective it will be either stuck open or close.

z613 wrote: ↑ I have a 3 year old (owned) GSW Natural Gas Hot Water tank that occasionally drips a small puddle of water from the relief valve through the plastic tube onto the floor. I was reading the manual and it says something to the effect of, drain the tank every 6 months to maintain it.

Ive never done this to any tank, ever. So does anyone else do this maintenance and any idea what might be causing the occasional leak?

Where do you have the Temperature set to on the control. If you've cranked it then set turn it back down to the normal range. The tank will stay hot for awhile so go take a bath or shower to cool it off. If that doesn't solve the problem you may need a new t&p, or the pressure is fluctuating like previously mentioned.

I'd start with the Temperature setting first.

These two things are most likely not related. You should do a flush every now and then as indicated in the manual, but if it is leaking then you need that leak fixed, whether its becasue of over pressure, a defective value or whatever.

I think this could Be it. I had it set pretty high and turned it back to normal last night. So i will keep an eye on it and see. Thanks for the reply!

Double_J wrote: ↑ Where do you have the Temperature set to on the control. If you've cranked it then set turn it back down to the normal range. The tank will stay hot for awhile so go take a bath or shower to cool it off. If that doesn't solve the problem you may need a new t&p, or the pressure is fluctuating like previously mentioned.

I'd start with the Temperature setting first.

I might try and flush it this weekend. Thanks.

Quentin5 wrote: ↑ These two things are most likely not related. You should do a flush every now and then as indicated in the manual, but if it is leaking then you need that leak fixed, whether its becasue of over pressure, a defective value or whatever.

z613 wrote: ↑ I have a 3 year old (owned) GSW Natural Gas Hot Water tank that occasionally drips a small puddle of water from the relief valve through the plastic tube onto the floor. I was reading the manual and it says something to the effect of, drain the tank every 6 months to maintain it.

Ive never done this to any tank, ever. So does anyone else do this maintenance and any idea what might be causing the occasional leak?

Normally the drip from relief valve is due to pressure. Look into adding an expansion tank if you don't already have one.

Does anyone drain their tanks every 6 months here?

alpovs wrote: ↑ Does anyone drain their tanks every 6 months here?

The home I bought came with a 7 year old tank and I am going to wait for it to die out before getting a new one. I'm concerned that draining the tank and replacing the sacrificial rod will be problematic in an old tank which probably have never been annually maintained. It is a good idea to drain the tank at least once a year to get rid of the sludge, although for all the houses i have lived in we have never done it.

I flushed my GSW tank this morning, very easy. Hook up a garden hose and turn the plastic nub with a flat screwdriver.

Learned my shut-off valve feeding cold water into the tank is leaking now -_-
ugh

Pull the handle on the pressure relief valve to bleed it a little, sometimes debris gets stuck in it and causes it to leak a little.

I read somewhere that it's not necessary to fully drain the tank. Just drain a bucket or so. The sludge if any is at the bottom, the valve is at the bottom too. The sludge will come out first. If you see clean water coming out it's OK to stop draining. It seems to make sense but I don't know, maybe there are reasons to fully drain the tank.

porchemasi wrote: ↑
Learned my shut-off valve feeding cold water into the tank is leaking now -_-
ugh

Unfortunately it is fairly common because the valve hasn't been touched for many years.