Heater valve

[quinnstefanie]

I’m hoping someone can help me out. The valve in this picture is located right next to the heat exchanger on my very old heater. The heater still works great. I am noticing, in the threaded opening, there is a very slow drip. i’m wondering what this valve is for. is it possible to screw in some thing to stop the leak or does it need to remain open. i’m not sure if the threads are to allow water to be piped in from a hose or if it is to provide relief

Could someone please let me know what this is and if I can plug it

 

[HermanTX]

Could it be a drain pipe to drain your heater? Is the valve open or closed? It is hard to tell in the photo.

 

[quinnstefanie]

Could it be a drain pipe to drain your heater? Is the valve open or closed? It is hard to tell in the photo.

I believe you’re probably right. it is definitely closed because I have been using the heater and the water is coming out. I think the handle is rusted completely off. I think the valve handle is underneath but gone.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It’s a T/P (temperature/pressure) safety relief valve. It’s a very old and corrode one at that. They really aren’t at necessary but some jurisdictions require they be installed by code. Simply remove the old rusty one and install a new one. You can probably take the whole mess to a local hardware or plumbing supply store and they get you an exact replacement.

Literally just turning a wrench and then making sure you seal the threads properly on the new one.

 

[bradgray]

It’s a T/P (temperature/pressure) safety relief valve. It’s a very old and corrode one at that. They really aren’t at necessary but some jurisdictions require they be installed by code. Simply remove the old rusty one and install a new one. You can probably take the whole mess to a local hardware or plumbing supply store and they get you an exact replacement.

Literally just turning a wrench and then making sure you seal the threads properly on the new one.

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