"Toller" wrote in message
...
:
: "Pop" wrote in message
: ...
:
: "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
: ...
: : "Pop" wrote in message
: : ...
: : Do all water heaters have a pressure relief valve of the
type
: : with the handle to test them?
: : Ours is an oil-fired unit, works great, I drain out hte
: crud
: : approxumately monthly, give or take.
: : I was looking at the pressure relief valve today:
There is
: no
: : mechanical way of opening or testing it.
: :
: : Every one I ever saw had a handle. Could it be missing?
: :
: : Keep in mind though, that often when you test them they do
not
: re-seat
: : properly and will leak.
: Understood.
:
: I'm probably going to replace it just on principle since I
: started researching and can't find any such looking one and I
: dont' want to disassemble it, old as it is g.
:
: No, there's nothing missing, I'm pretty sure. Where the
handle's
: shaft would normally go into it, it's just a smooth metal
with
: sort of a ridge on top. Just for GPs, I went down and shot a
: couple of pics of it.
: You can move from one pic to the other by just changing the
: digit "1" to a "2" or "3", and so forth.
: http://www.twaynesdomain.com/WaterHeater/image1.jpg Head-on
: http://www.twaynesdomain.com/WaterHeater/image2.jpg Side 3/4
: http://www.twaynesdomain.com/WaterHeater/image3.jpg Overall,
: Tank
:
: There are no links to those pics; you have to use these URLs
: above.
:
: I acidentally did a double-jpg save on them, but ... I'm sure
: there is still plenty of definition there to see what I'm
talking
: about.
: The stamped metal tag next to it does a great job of
: explaining how important the relief valve IS, and says to
check
: it periodically, but that's all. No other instructions of
any
: kind. Strangely enough, the instructions on the same plate
for
: inspecting/changing the anode are very precise and detail the
: entire process. Strange!
: The box sticking out at about the mid-height of the heater
is
: the thermostat, and below on the bottom is the oil
pump/ignition
: parts.
:
: We've been here since 1983, and the heater was there when we
: moved in, so it's not new, but it is clean inside. Our
: maintenance buy said everything in it looked "spectacular",
: including the anode, and mentioned he'd never seen a relief
valve
: like that, but ... and that was probably about 3 years ago
now.
: Oh, the drips down the side of the tank are from using a
: power-washer last spring to clean the floor/walls. They're
not
: from leaks.
:
: Comments welcome ... think I should make the replacement a
: priority?
:
: Contact the manufacturer. Ask them. PT valves aren't cheap.
:
: Actually, I would just replace a 20 year old heater. You are
on borrowed
: time. I have one that is 23 years old, but only use it a few
months a year.
:
:
I would contact them if I could find them g. No one around
here has either not heard of them OR remember t hem from "way
back". Apparently it's a good product, and a very expensive
one also from what I've been told, but the closest I've come to
finding them is they might be a Canadian outfit. One plumbing
supply warned me to be careful if I replace the valve - the
threads might not match.
I do have to admit it's super-efficient, fast and works like
no other heater I've ever seen. It heats faster than you can
use the hot water; we've never run out.

Pop