After my previous post on Water Heater Hijinx, my friend Jerry told me his neighbor is a plumber. Running my situation by him, I found out the water company has been increasing the street pressure and a reducer might solve the problem. First, though, he suggested the more common culprit of the pressure relief valve. Though I replaced it a few years ago, a $6 part and a bit of effort was still a great alternative to $600 for a new water heater.
The biggest hassle was shutting down and partially draining it, but I did get an excuse to buy a new pipe wrench. (They make them with lighter aluminum handles now, too.) Examining the old one, I could see the potential problem- lots of mineral deposits lining the sides, perhaps enough to interfere with the mechanism. According to another plumber, the water hardness here is about 10 out of 20, which shows itself every time water evaporates to leave a trail of dissolved solids.
It’s been almost a week since the fix, and the floor is still dry! So it looks like I found my answer, and another regular maintenance task to add to the list.
