Plumbing problem

[Rita]

We have city water, and lately the hot water heater pressure relief valve has been letting water out and when you open the faucets sometimes there is a lot of force. Also we were getting warm water coming out the cold water taps. We bought and installed a 2 gal water pressure tank on the cold water line and thought it was the answer but now the pressure was up to 100 in the lines again. Any ideas? Thanks so much.

[idontno]

Call the city...They got a problem.Shouldn't be over 60 psi. or so.......

[Bearfootfarm]

Maybe the thermostat in the water heater isnt shutting off, causing it to overheat, and the excess pressure is building up there. Turn it of for a while and see if the pressure drops.

[MELOC]

that sounds right bearfoot. you should be expecting a whopper of an electric or gas bill soon.

[morrowsmowers]

Yeah, I think that's a good assumption -- the hot water is building up pressure and pushing back over the cold water lines. If it was a city pressure problem, the problem would be the same in both lines and the hot would not push back into the cold lines. Turn off the hot water tank and you should see the problem disappear. Time for a new water heater.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

[agmantoo]

You have with your water heater a heating element shorted to ground or you have a thermostat with the points welded together. This is a safety problem and needs fixed. Meanwhile keep the breaker to the heater off.