Quote:
Originally Posted by jefrope
This is my first posting attempt. Apologies for the lack of ability to reply. The pipe was traced back to the top of the water heater. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to post a picture from the top of the heater. The heater is the original from 2003.
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The valve on the side of the tank is the T&P (temperature and pressure) relief valve. You can test it by lifting the metal lever up and water should spew out through the pipe. It looks like you do not have an expansion tank, which is required by the current plumbing code, but your house may have been built before the code required it. If you ever replace the water heater, I would highly recommend having an expansion tank installed to equalize the water pressure in your house. At a minimum, I would replace the relief valve if it is occasionally tripping. The valve is probably defective. The relief valve is a safety device which, under normal conditions, should never be tripping.