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Thread: TPRs Leaking

  1. #1
    Aaron Miller's Avatar
    Aaron Miller Guest

    Default TPRs Leaking

    This one's got me and I need help. New house, two new gas water heaters. There is a pressure regulator on the system. There is also an expansion tank on the system. The TPR valves leaked. They have been replaced twice now and still leak. What's the problem?

    Thanks,

    Aaron

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  2. #2
    Michael Larson's Avatar
    Michael Larson Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Miller View Post
    This one's got me and I need help. New house, two new gas water heaters. There is a pressure regulator on the system. There is also an expansion tank on the system. The TPR valves leaked. They have been replaced twice now and still leak. What's the problem?

    Thanks,

    Aaron
    Sorry all I have is more questions:

    1. What's the temperature setting of the water heaters?

    2. Is the expansion tank properly sized, installed and charged?

    3. Is the regulator installed and adjusted correctly?


  3. #3
    Aaron Miller's Avatar
    Aaron Miller Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Larson View Post
    Sorry all I have is more questions:

    1. What's the temperature setting of the water heaters?
    119°

    2. Is the expansion tank properly sized, installed and charged?
    Yes.

    3. Is the regulator installed and adjusted correctly?
    I think so.

    Aaron


  4. #4
    Michael Larson's Avatar
    Michael Larson Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Miller View Post
    This one's got me and I need help. New house, two new gas water heaters. There is a pressure regulator on the system. There is also an expansion tank on the system. The TPR valves leaked. They have been replaced twice now and still leak. What's the problem?

    Thanks,

    Aaron
    At a minimum you would have to know what the pressure is in the system.

    I suppose it's possible to have bad TPRs but not likely.

    The expansion tank could be water logged and rendered ineffective.

    If it were mine I would put a pressure gage on the tank drain valve and monitor while the heater is cycling.

    One other thought. Is the mineral content high in the water? Accumulation of Calcium deposits can cause the TPR to stick.


  5. #5
    Aaron Miller's Avatar
    Aaron Miller Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Michael:

    I will do just that.

    Thanks,

    Aaron


  6. #6
    Richard Rushing's Avatar
    Richard Rushing Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    I believe it is one of two things...

    1) The thermostat is not working properlty (causing overheating conditions) or

    2) Stacking Temperature is probably happening. The "stacking-temperature" conditon takes place when the home users frequently/often use small damands of hot water. This keeps the thermostat cool enough to run the burners longer than needed.

    The result is that the cold water entering the tank cannot absorb the diret heat output (down by the burner). The result is that the water surrounding the heated surfaces picks up more heat all the way to the top-- stacking the temperature while creating a fair amount of pressure along the way.

    One other question for your... since there is a possibility of frequent short use of hot water, is the home inhabited by a large family? Is there "any" possibility that the toilets could be cross plumbed to provide hot water into the water closet tank? If so, that could be a source of 'frequent' quick use of hot water use.

    Richard


  7. #7
    Chad Fabry's Avatar
    Chad Fabry Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    The expansion tank could be water logged and rendered ineffective.

    I'd bet Michael's right about that.


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    1,352

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Double check to make sure that the valves are TPR and not just relief valves. A RV will go off over 30 PSI, while a TPR should be at least 75 PSI. Just a thought.

    Jim Robinson
    New Mexico, USA

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Larson View Post
    The expansion tank could be water logged and rendered ineffective.
    Quote Originally Posted by Chad Fabry View Post
    I'd bet Michael's right about that.
    I agree with Chad, I think Michael has it right.

    *IF* the expansion tanks were working properly, they should be able to handle the thermo-expansion, if there is anything wrong with them (water logged, deflated, low pressure, high pressure, whatever) then they will not work 'well', they might work 'somewhat', but maybe not enough.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  10. #10
    Aaron Miller's Avatar
    Aaron Miller Guest

    Default Re: TPRs Leaking

    Thanks to everyone for their replies. When I get to the bottom of this I'll let you know where it all went wrong.

    Aaron


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