Replacing Pressure Relief Valve with Sautered Pipes

[craftycassandra]

I have a 40 gal. GE electric hotwater heater manufactured Feb. 2003 installed by the previous home owner. It has worked fine the past 2 years but is now hissing from the pressure relief valve and leaking a constant stream of water from the drain tube coming from the valve. The drain tube coming off of the valve is copper and looks like it has been sautered. The copper line runs under our townhouse for about 15 feet to the outside and we do not have access beneath our house. Knowing this what is the safest way to remove the old pressure relief valve and the sautered copper drain line? We have a sautering gun that we use on electronics. Can we use it for this as well? Can anyone give me the basics on how to sauter copper pipes? Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[Ejbogusch]

You need to determine why your T&P valve is leaking before you start on a repair that might not be needed.

Below are the steps you should walk through when your T&P valve leaks.

1. Pull the lever back and let it snap back on your T&P valve. Look to see if this solved your problem.

2. Go to Home Depot or other hardware store and purchase a pressure gauge. Make sure it has a fitting to screw on to the drain fitting of your water heater. This is usually found in the water heater section. Screw this onto your drain valve at the bottom of the heater. Open up the valve. The pressure should not exceed the maximum rating of the regulator located on the incoming supply line to your home.. Most regulators for the home max out at 75 psi. If you are over 80 psi then change your regulator. Be aware that pressure can increase further once the heater is in operation. If your home does not have a regulator then you should leave the gauge on for 24 hrs to monitor spikes in the water pressure.

3. Another way T&P valves release is on temperature. Place a thermometer in the stream of water being released at the T&P valve. Make sure it does not exceed the rating of your T&P valve. This can be found by looking at the tag on the valve. If your water is to hot then your problem lies elsewhere depending on what kind of heater you have.

4. If all the above checks out okay then change your T&P valve. I find that on a two year old heater this rarely happens. Regarding your question about soldering, no you can not use a soldering iron. A propane torch is needed to sweat the fittings. If you never have done this you should seek a professionals help. Make sure a union is added to the T&P drain line to make it easier to access in the future.