Hot water heater leaking at relief valve

[Deere Dude]

If you use CPVC pipe, you can use that on hot water lines. However, it does take a different glue. (Might explain @Wakey's issue.)

I think that PEX is better, but it hasn't been around as long in the US.

All the best, Peter

I never really heard of a sure fire time to wait for glue to set before turning water on. Primer is supposed to be used and it seems to set faster with primer. Either way I never read the wait time before lines are set.
PS I despise CPVC and and switched everything to PEX last fall because of failing CPVC

 

[ponytug]

As far as I know glue is mostly time, with adjustments for how cold it is, and how tight the fit, and how large the pipe is. Of course the more pressure you want to put on it, the longer you want to wait. Primer helps with the bonding of the glue, but as far as I know, doesn't speed the setting of the glue.

Inspectopedia on PVC gluing

All the best, Peter

 

[BeezFun]

So the plumber came out today.
I would have sworn that the valve would only affect the water temperature in the wash stall, but I confirmed that setting the valve to the cold setting also causes the hot water at the sink to turn cold.

FWIW, the following link describes the valve in question. I don't see anything in the specs that would suggest to me that cold water would or should flow out the hot water input line. Go figure.

Those valves are designed to be installed right next to the point of use, for example behind a sink or next to a shower. I can't tell how long the outlet line is on your valve, but if it's a long run with a lot of impedance it could cause the two sides of the supply on the valve to exchange water with each other. For example if someone flushes the toilet and the cold water pressure drops, more hot water could flow through the valve into the cold water supply side because that flow path has less resistance than the outlet of the valve. Ditto if someone turns on the hot water in the laundry tub, cold water could flow the other way in the valve. I've always wondered why/how those valves really worked in practice, I guess the answer is not very well.

What I did for my wife in our tack room is I installed a shower/tub valve in the shower, but instead of attaching a tub spout I attached a hose bib. So when she washes the horses she uses the shower handle to adjust the water temperature and runs the hose from the shower stall out the door. You could also do the same thing with the spigot on a laundry tub because that fits a garden hose.

Glad you got it sorted, even if you don't completely understand what happened.

 

[Wakey]

If you use CPVC pipe, you can use that on hot water lines. However, it does take a different glue. (Might explain @Wakey's issue.)

I think that PEX is better, but it hasn't been around as long in the US.

All the best, Peter

II was baffled, I showed him my glue and primer, it was correct.

 

[ponytug]

II was baffled, I showed him my glue and primer, it was correct.

Then it seems that you just had a bad batch of glue. An expensive issue for certain.

I always sand my pvc joins. Someone once told me to do it, and I have always done it out of an abundance of caution against surface contamination, like oils, oxidation, and mold release agents. I have no idea if it is good or bad advice.

All the best,

Peter

 

[grsthegreat]

i finally got around to replacing the anode rods in my water heaters. i have kept meaning to do this for years...just keep forgetting to order them.

i guess i waited too long. the new one is on left. both units looked like this. at least they came out easy with impact gun.

 

[MoKelly]

My goodness.

Do you have hard water that causes such damage? I’ve seen a few replaced but none were that bad.

MoKelly

 

[ponytug]

i finally got around to replacing the anode rods in my water heaters. i have kept meaning to do this for years...just keep forgetting to order them.

i guess i waited too long. the new one is on left. both units looked like this. at least they came out easy with impact gun.

Congratulations on getting them out!

I think that you still had a fair amount of anode left, so you are probably fine. The dissolution (electrolysis) starts at a small irregularity and works out, so eats away certain areas quickly. Your wire was still intact, and you had lots of material left.

I have seen water around here do that in a month or two. (High conductivity, aka softened very hard water)

All the best,

Peter

 

[grsthegreat]

Hard water here. I hear water softeners cause them to go real fast. The other water heater was a little worse than the one pictured. I’m going to go ahead and order 2 more to have on hand, so I don’t put it off too long again.