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Author:
Gmickey2001 (CA)
I recently replaced my water heater and the pressure relief valve is leaking just a bit. The pressure to my house from the city is 160 psi!!! There is a pressure regulator in place, but my question is this: Doesn't expansion of my open system require the water heater to overcome the 160 psi to feed back to the city system? And since the pressure relief valve on the water heater is only 150 psi, won't it always leak as the lower pressure of the two? TIA
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Author:
hj (AZ)
quote;
1. There is a pressure regulator in place1.
2. Doesn't expansion of my open system require the water heater to overcome the 160 psi to feed back to the city system?
3. And since the pressure relief valve on the water heater is only 150 psi, won't it always leak as the lower pressure of the two? TIA
1. You have a pressure regulator, therefore you DO NOT have an open system
2. That could only happen if your regulator had a built in pressure relief valve, which few do.
3. Yes, BUT WHY is the pressure going to 160 psi. Is it thermal expansion because you do not have an expansion tank, or is it a failing regulator that has to be changed.
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Author:
Gmickey2001 (CA)
1. You have a pressure regulator, therefore you DO NOT have an open system
2. That could only happen if your regulator had a built in pressure relief valve, which few do.
3. Yes, BUT WHY is the pressure going to 160 psi. Is it thermal expansion because you do not have an expansion tank, or is it a failing regulator that has to be changed.
There is a pressure regulator, but I thought unless it contains a check valve, water could still move in the direction of lowest pressure.
There is no expansion tank in my home that I am aware of. There must be thermal expansion, but where does it go if the system is closed? All I did was replace the water heater, I did not modify my system in any other way. The regulator could be failing, but it is only 9 years old. If it was failing, wouldn't my fixtures be having a horrible time with that pressure?
Thanks for your help!
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Author:
hj (AZ)
quote;
1. There is a pressure regulator, but I thought unless it contains a check valve, water could still move in the direction of lowest pressure.
2. There is no expansion tank in my home that I am aware of.
3. There must be thermal expansion, but where does it go if the system is closed?
4. All I did was replace the water heater, I did not modify my system in any other way.
5. The regulator could be failing, but it is only 9 years old.
6. If it was failing, wouldn't my fixtures be having a horrible time with that pressure?
1, The PRV IS a check valve by its design and function
2. You need one.
3. it could be, but not necessarily all due to expansion if the PRV is faulty. The "excess" pressure is dumped by the T&P valve
4. Immaterial
5. 9 years can be ancient in PRV years.
6. NO! They are designed for a 150 psi working pressure, but it is not a good idea to keep them at that pressure continually.
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Author:
Gmickey2001 (CA)
Thanks hj, I will replace the pressure regulator and re-assess the situation. No one else in my neighborhood has an expansion tank, so I will have think about that before installing.
Edited 1 times.
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