broke and fixing it wrote:
IHELP! have been struggling with my 50 gal Bradford White electric hot
water heater (approx. 8 yrs old) for a week now. Woke up the other day
to find my garage floor soaked and hot water draining out the overflow
tube. I emptied and flushed tank, refilled, only for the problem to
repeat itself as soon as the water got hot...Note: it has seemed hotter
than normal the night before in the sink.

Since then I replaced both thermostats but as soon as I get the
electricity back on within 10 minutes the drain tube had a pretty good
flow coming from it..not just dripping! And the water is not THAT hot
at the point. Do I take it that my next step should be replacing the
pressure relief valve? Or is it a blockage in something else?
Currently I am cutting electricity on only a few minutes as needed
while catching overflow in buckets/tubs. I am attempting to make these
repairs without incurring huge bills as I have just had to have both my
roof and a/c units replaced.

What should be my plan of action on finding the correct fix? Thanks.


broke and fixing it

Sounds like a bad pressure relief valve. I'd replace it and then see if
problem wasn't solved.