Hot Water Tank only leaks at night??

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Topic: Hot Water Tank only leaks at night??

devilprimate

Mon, 03/12/2007 - 6:39am

Hot Water Tank only leaks at night??

We have a 5 year old 60 Gallon hot water tank. We recently had the heating element replaced. We give the kids their evening baths, and when we wake up in the morning, there is quite a bit of water around the water tank. Sometimes this trips the tank reset switch. We never see leakage during the day even though we run the dishwasher, washing machine... the reset switch needs to be pushed sporadically, which is annoying cause you never know if you have hot water or not. Why would the tank only leak at night I guess is the main question? 3 baths might come close to emptying it, but how would that result in a leak hours later? Any advice is appericated; LP

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I'd guess it's the fact that

jeffe_verde writes:

Fri, 04/27/2007 - 3:50am

I'd guess it's the fact that it's NOT being used for an extended period of time, and pressure/temperature build up is tripping the pressure/temperature relief valve. After it's been leaking, stick a finger into the drain tube of the relief valve, and I'll bet it's wet. If so, it's an easy matter to replace. You'll need to turn off the heater and partially drain it (to below the level of the valve). Then just unscrew the old and install the new (remember to use teflon thread tape for a good seal)