Leaking Hot Water Valve

With the cold weather around, hot water units and ducted heating are working hard.
It is important to maintain these appliances and ensure they don’t let you down.

A customer in Balwyn experienced damage to their home due to a leaking pressure temperature relief valve on their mains pressure hot water unit. The hot water service was located on a blind side of their home and on the high side of the property. The valve had been leaking and discharging a lot of water over a considerable amount of time. The water was running under their home and pooling under the house. Due to this extra discharge of hot water pooling under the home it was causing the nearby timber floor boards to get wet with the steam. This steam caused the timber floor boards to “cup” inside the home. It was only after noticing the damage occurring to the timber floor boards that they investigated the problem.

The hot water service was serviced where a new pressure temperature relief valve was fitted and the  damaged floor boards were replaced by a carpenter at considerable cost.

The overflow pipe from the hot water service discharges to a pipe and is now monitored and maintained by the home owner.
It is normal for water to discharge from a relief valve when the unit is heating up water.
For more information on Pressure Temperature Relief Valves please contact Tom Plumb.