For whatever reason, every time I light the water heater on the 77 sov., and the pressure builds, the relief valve on the heater starts leaking. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it even possible to remove the valve and replace it or am I looking at buying a new unit? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Wayne
For whatever reason, every time I light the water heater on the 77 sov., and the pressure builds, the relief valve on the heater starts leaking. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it even possible to remove the valve and replace it or am I looking at buying a new unit? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Wayne
Hi Wayne, I replaced the pressure relief valve on my water heater. Mine would leak with just regular water pressure. They "should" have them at your local plumbing supply store. That is where I purchased mine. I kind of doubt that Home Depot or Lowes will have water heater parts. The new one may not look exactly like the old one but it will function the same. Take the old one out and take it with you.
Just to be sure though, make sure your water heater is working correctly. Does it cycle on and off like it should and does the temp seem to stay resonably constant ?
If so then the seal is probably going bad on your valve.
......for these valves to 'weep' a little as the seals start to dry out. I recommend that they be 'blipped' every so often to be sure that there is no debris between the seal and the casing.
They can be easily replaced by any 150psi/210* relief valve, but try to get one with the same length sensor bulb as the original.
I had a similar issue and removed the drain plug at the bottom of the water tank and got some sediment to drain out. Now after every weekend camping trip or monthly on extended stays, I flush the water heater. From any RV parts store you can get a simple drain valve that you can replace the drain plug in the water heater with this "improvement" it makes the job easier but if you have significant debris/build up it is better to get "all wet" and remove the plug completely. Then just attach city water to the system and it will help flush out the tank; you can also use a hose to "back flush" the tank from the drain port. This sediment got caught in the relief valve which caused the weeping in the first place on mine. Good luck,
__________________
Nick & Holly
1972 Excella 500
1999 Dodge 2500
AIR# 13829
"We've got a PBS mind in a MTV world"
Jimmy Buffett
The T/P releif valves for RV's are often configured slightly differently than those for domestic household use. The ususal RV suppliers have the OE valves. The main difference I found was in probe length and that's why I chose to go with Original Equipment style.
__________________
"Not all who are lost are wondering" say Bill & Heidi
'78 Excella 500,"The Silver Pullit". vacuum over hydraulic disc brakes, center bath, rear twin. '67 Travelall 1200 B 4X4 WBCCI 3737
I had a similar problem last fall with a secondary check valve shown in post #19 in the thread. Although it sounds like you are talking about the valve that is attached to the tank, I am bringing it up because there was a lot of info posted about your problem. (It took some folks a while to figure out which releif valve I was talking about)
Thanks fellas for the information. I have spent the better part of the morning trying to get the pressure relief valve off of the heater but now I am afraid if I twist too much on the pipe wrench, something will give besides the threads on the valve. Is it possible to tear a hole in the aluminum heater by twisting the valve too much? I am wondering if I should let it leak until I am ready to buy another heater rather than tearing a hole in one that I am not ready to replace. What do you thinK?
Thanks
wayne
I noticed that there was room to thread an 18" piece of pipe into my old valve to use as a lever instead of a pipe wrench to break it loose. I doubt that you would rip out the fitting, but like anything else with vintage equipment–be ready to take the next step if necessary. Personally, I didn't like the leak and had concerns about where the water was going and what was getting soggy.
__________________
"Not all who are lost are wondering" say Bill & Heidi
'78 Excella 500,"The Silver Pullit". vacuum over hydraulic disc brakes, center bath, rear twin. '67 Travelall 1200 B 4X4 WBCCI 3737
I thought the pressure relief valve on my Atwood HWH in my '06 was acting up too. I changed it out 2 X and it kept leaking, A LOT. I had the Atwood rep's look at it at the Florida Rally and they too tried two other valves to no avail. Atwood has authorized a replacement of the water heater.
BUT, What I really wanted to tell you though is that my pressure relief valve has a 1 / 2" thread, as does the water heater. When I went to the hardware store ( 3 ) to get a replacement, all I found were 3 / 4". Nothing at the plumbing supply house here either. No problem I thought, it will only take a connector and a reducer to make it work. The downside was that now the pressure relief valve was another inch or so longer and interferred with the door closing ! Not acceptable.
( Lesson Learned : For every action, there is a reaction )
Atwood told me that Watts Regulator makes the 1/2" relief valves special for them and thus, won't be found at Lowes, Home Depot or Ace.
They also told me that this is about to change and Atwood is going to start making their new HWH's to accept the 3/4" thread.
I may be "all wet" and my experience has no bearing on your Vintage rig, but hope this info may save you some grief.
I would caution you against really grunting on a wrench with this thing though, stripped threads at the heater will be a sad and sorry day. I think if you may change the HWH anyway, I would live with the drip till then as I am. Drippy hot water is better than NO hot water.
Misery Loves Company !
__________________
*** Use the talents you possess; the woods would be very silent indeed if no birds sang but the best ***
Thanks fellas for the information. I have spent the better part of the morning trying to get the pressure relief valve off of the heater but now I am afraid if I twist too much on the pipe wrench, something will give besides the threads on the valve. Is it possible to tear a hole in the aluminum heater by twisting the valve too much? I am wondering if I should let it leak until I am ready to buy another heater rather than tearing a hole in one that I am not ready to replace. What do you thinK?
Thanks
wayne
I use a specially formed tool to remove thhe T/P valves. It's shaped to go over the outlet section and it has a large hex fitting on the end of the casting. A 28" breaker bar and appropriate sized impact socket usually do the trick. Also, be sure to wrap the threads with teflon tape or anti-seize compound so you can remove it again without difficulty!
For whatever reason, every time I light the water heater on the 77 sov., and the pressure builds, the relief valve on the heater starts leaking. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it even possible to remove the valve and replace it or am I looking at buying a new unit? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Wayne
Sounds like it might just be an 'air gap' problem. If you send me a pm with your email address, I'll email you a .pdf file from Atwood that explains what this is and how to correct it.
PS: you don't need to remove the valve to correct this situation.
__________________
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion - The Dalai Lama
1984 310 Limited Motorhome
Courtesy Parking (W/S/E/Wi-Fi) on I-5 in Northern California, 70 miles from Oregon border
Quick Links
and remove the plug completely. Then just attach city water to the system and it will help flush out the tank; you can also use a hose to "back flush" the tank from the drain port. This sediment got caught in the relief valve which caused the weeping in the first place on mine. Good luck,
and my experience has no bearing on your Vintage rig, but hope this info may save you some grief. 
Linear Mode
