We've never had the water heater working correctly for the nearly 3 years we've owned our Passage 42. It has the standard Seaward S600 and PB tubing. I have solved several issues including a bad thermostat causing the safety thermostat to trip and the T&P valve spraying water everywhere. The T&P valve would always leak, though, so we almost never used the water heater.
I'm trying to solve this problem. So, I replaced the T&P valve but it continues to leak approximately 10oz of water per cold-to-hot cycle.
Initially I thought the replacement valve may also be bad, but I noticed that when I open the hot valve at the galley sink, a blast of higher pressure water comes out first. So, maybe the expansion of the water in the water heater is actually causing the water pressure to increase and trip the T&P valve.
The T&P valve is rated at 150psi and that seems like an awfully high pressure to be subjecting the 25 yr old PB plumbing on the boat to.
I am hooked up to city water at the dock with one of those cheap RV "40-50psi" regulators.
There is a small accumulator tank on the cold side, right after the water pump and before the T to the water heater. It was originally at 30psi because we were using it as an accumulator. I pumped it up to about 45psi in an attempt to use it as an expansion tank for the water heater but it made no appreciable difference.
Now the confusing part: I have tested it several times and the cold side won't have the higher pressure burst of water, only the hot side. I can't find a check valve anywhere but it doesn't make sense that the of water would only go out one of the pipes on the water heater.
Shouldn't I be seeing the higher pressure on both the hot and cold sides?
Is there a check valve inside these water heaters?
I don't see anything on the parts diagrams of the water heater or looking at the pipes themselves.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Daniel
I'm trying to solve this problem. So, I replaced the T&P valve but it continues to leak approximately 10oz of water per cold-to-hot cycle.
Initially I thought the replacement valve may also be bad, but I noticed that when I open the hot valve at the galley sink, a blast of higher pressure water comes out first. So, maybe the expansion of the water in the water heater is actually causing the water pressure to increase and trip the T&P valve.
The T&P valve is rated at 150psi and that seems like an awfully high pressure to be subjecting the 25 yr old PB plumbing on the boat to.
I am hooked up to city water at the dock with one of those cheap RV "40-50psi" regulators.
There is a small accumulator tank on the cold side, right after the water pump and before the T to the water heater. It was originally at 30psi because we were using it as an accumulator. I pumped it up to about 45psi in an attempt to use it as an expansion tank for the water heater but it made no appreciable difference.
Now the confusing part: I have tested it several times and the cold side won't have the higher pressure burst of water, only the hot side. I can't find a check valve anywhere but it doesn't make sense that the of water would only go out one of the pipes on the water heater.
Shouldn't I be seeing the higher pressure on both the hot and cold sides?
Is there a check valve inside these water heaters?
I don't see anything on the parts diagrams of the water heater or looking at the pipes themselves.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Daniel