Recently we had an extended water outage. When water came back, pressure in the lines was much higher. The hot water heater started leaking from the pressure release valve and after flipping it a few times, it didn't stop, so I was prepared to go replace it, but then I accidentally pushed on the end of the pull bar that goes to the valve and the flow stopped.
Tried flipping it again, it leaked again, pushed the bar and it stopped.
Am I right in thinking the spring is shot, time to replace it?
Best Answer
I would replace the P-T valve regardless, as it sounds questionable. They're about $10-15, plus usually a pipe directing it to the floor or even a nearby floor drain (which you can probably re-use).
It's a safety device that prevents your tank from over-pressurizing (which in very extreme cases can actually cause an incredibly powerful explosion -- check youtube for some entertaining mythbusters clips). You also don't want it to trip accidentally, as it will pour a lot of very hot water out and will not stop until the P-T valve shuts itself off automatically (unlikely if it's broken), or someone shuts off an upstream valve. If your floor drain is clogged, or gets overwhelmed, you have a flooded basement/house.