Your Water Heater’s Safety Valve Is Leaking
Is the safety group on your cylinder leaking, or is water running from it too frequently? To help you more rapidly understand and work out what's causing this issue yourself, here are the things you need to investigate.
THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS PROBLEM:
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The safety group is faulty
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There is too much pressure in the tank
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The water pressure in the plumbing is too high
WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
There are two types of faults that can occur with your hot water cylinder: hydraulic faults (plumbing related) and electrical faults. The problem here involves water leaking from the safety group, which means It's a hydraulic fault. We therefore suggest taking the steps described below.
The safety group is faulty
If you're finding that water is often trickling out from around the safety group, this will almost certainly be because there's a fault on this component, which is in fact fitted with a safety valve. If a problem occurs on the hot water cylinder (it will usually be excessively high pressure in the tank), this safety valve will automatically open to evacuate the water, thus depressurising the appliance. Water trickling out too frequently is an indication that the valve is no longer working properly. If this is the case, you will need to contact a plumber so they can replace the safety group for you.
: it is essential to force the safety group to operate at least once a month by turning the tap (the safety valve), as this prevents the build-up of limescale deposits inside it.
There is too much pressure in the tank
As explained above, the safety valve that forms part of the safety group automatically opens if a problem occurs on the cylinder. One type of problem that can occur is the temperature in the cylinder getting too high. When this happens, too much pressure builds up in the water heater (in the same way as with a pressure cooker), which causes the safety mode to operate so that water can be released via the safety group in order to release the pressure.
The problem of water trickling out can therefore be caused by the temperature getting too high in the cylinder. One of the first steps to take to remedy this is lower the temperature on your thermostat. To do this, first switch off the electricity to your cylinder then, using a cross-head screwdriver, remove the access cover: this will normally be located underneath the cylinder and held in place by a few screws. You will now have access to the thermostat.
Simply turn the adjustment dial to select a suitable heating temperature then switch the power to the cylinder back on.
The water pressure in the plumbing is too high
Something else that might be causing the safety group to leak water is your plumbing system. It's possible that the water pressure in your pipes is simply too high. If this is the case, the safety group will not be able to cope with the excessively high pressure exerted on it and water will trickle out. To resolve this problem, contact a plumber, who will be able to install a pressure regulator for you.