Capped relief valve on WH

Mark Hunt

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Mark Hunt

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Mark Hunt

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An electric water heater blows up.

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=1114920

Mark H

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kevin coppinger_4

I always tell....

the guys who work for me that the T&P valve is THE most important valve in the house....glad no one was hurt...I still remember the watts film from plumbing school...shearing off tree tops w/ flying water heaters..kpc

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Unknown

Used to call

on a plumbing and heating company in Sidney, NY (Mark knows where that is) that encountered one of the most stupid things I have ever seen. This was back in the early 1970's (giving my age away) when water heater relief valves had "fusible links" installed that could be replaced if necessary. Seems a homeowner had was of these links let go and paid a visit to the local hardware store asking for a water heater fuse. This diligent lad somehow managed to screw an electrical 15 amp fuse into the 3/4" outlet of the relief valve to try and repair it. Of course it leaked and he called the plumbers out. They kept that one on their wall for a long time and a lot of laughs.

Glenn

Tony_8

ROFLOL

THAT is too funny !!!

Mark Hunt

Chalk that one up

to good ole' American enginuity!

Mark H

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hr

The one that makes me cringe most

is seeing a water heater 150 psi/ 210° relief valve screwed into a boiler!

It's not all that uncommon, around here!

hot rod.

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Mark Hunt

Seen a few as well


Instructions schmucktions!

Dangerous stuff we work with.

Mark H

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Jim Bennett

That's a relief!

I saw a T&P relief installed by a HO where he had screwed a 3/4" nipple into the relief outlet on the tank. Then he screwed the outlet of the relief valve onto the nipple! The temperature probe was hanging out in mid-air! He was quite proud of himself until I pointed out this one little mistake.

Patrick Powers

Scary One

I went to a no heat call one day. The HO had pushed the reset but nothing happened. As it turned out a friend who does eletrical removed the old stack relay and installed a low limit high limit control, worked great for about a year til the wire that goes to B1 burnt the control he had no tab connectors so he just stuck the wire through the hole where the tab should be. Good thing it burnt because it just went to the burner after that. THERE WAS NO PRIMARY CONTROL CAD CELL OR OTHERWISE. SCCAARRYY STUFF. The reset button he pushed was the thermal overload on ther motor.

Jack, CVMS

It ain't just HO's

that do stupid stuff.

About a year ago my partner went out on a no-heat call. Turns out they were just out of fuel. But while he was there, he found that the boiler - Burnham LEDV-3 - had no primary. The wires had been wirenutted together so the burner ran directly off the aquastat with no safety. This was a fairly new installation, done by one of the local "Licensed, Bonded, and Insured" contractors who shouldn't be allowed to touch anything more technical than an extension cord. Apparently the pre- and post-purge were too complicated for him, so he removed the primary to get the burner to run the way he was used to seeing. My partner called me down to look at it, and we took photos of everything, then wrote it up for the owner so he could contact the contractor and make him get back and finish the job.

Dale

Not so simple

For the heater to explode it's not only the relief valve that must malfunction. Superheated water is needed for an explosion, pressure alone won't do it. Since 1964 all water heaters must have 2 separate ways to control overtemperature. The T part of the pressure/temperature relief valve is one and the ECO is the other. For that electric heater to explode the ECO had to also not work. Any time I think the homeowner or handyman has been working on a water heater I check the ECO, elect or gas. The few oil I see I at least pull a wire off the high limit to make sure it's wired in.