TOPIC: Water Heater TPR piping

Hi Everyone,

Here is a easy solution to the TPRV on a water heater in the basement area. It is also good for water heaters installed in hall closets on slab homes. Research this! I use them all the time on aplications where you can't get a overflow line to the exterior, drain or running the overflow line uphill.

Watts-Temperature-Gas-Shut-off-210

I may be a little late on this topic, as i am new here (Just joined today!) but perhaps my advice can be of future use on this issue.

Similar to the device Michael listed above, there is also a device (have no clue what it is called or who makes it off the top of my head) that can shut off the incoming water supply to the water heater. It is basically an in line valve (solenoid operated) that is connected to a water bug (sensor if you prefer) or a float switch inside of a floor pan that the water heater sits in. If the float switch or sensor gets triggered, it closes the solenoid controlled valve on the incoming water supply, and prevents anymore water from coming into the tank. I believe this is designed more for preventing flooding in the event of the water heater leaking or the bottom dropping out, but i don't see why it could not be used for this application (probably in conjunction with the above mentioned device, because it probably would not be a good idea to leave the burners running if the water drained completely out of the tank ) Worst case scenario, you end up with 50 gallons (or whatever the capacity of the water heater is) instead of water running for hours on end until you come to find a REALLY big mess.

The above Temp. Gas Shut-off would probably work alone for the TPR issue, that is pretty cool, I was not aware of such a device. But if you are worried about the TPR not having anywhere to drain to, you should probably be more concerned about the bottom of your tank dropping out as well! Or what if the TPR sticks open?

Other than installing a sump pit with an automatic pump does anyone have any ideas where an older home does not have a floor drain to pipe the TPR to?

Hi Everyone,

The fix for that is a watts gas valve that replaces the TPRV. Goggle it!!  Read about it and I use them all the time on water heaters that are in the basement area and interior closets on a slab home.

Dave will be happy that a year later his topic is still hot!

Welcome to our leetle group guys!  When you get to linking sites, lemmino!

I may be a little late on this topic, as i am new here (Just joined today!) but perhaps my advice can be of future use on this issue.

Similar to the device Michael listed above, there is also a device (have no clue what it is called or who makes it off the top of my head) that can shut off the incoming water supply to the water heater. It is basically an in line valve (solenoid operated) that is connected to a water bug (sensor if you prefer) or a float switch inside of a floor pan that the water heater sits in. If the float switch or sensor gets triggered, it closes the solenoid controlled valve on the incoming water supply, and prevents anymore water from coming into the tank. I believe this is designed more for preventing flooding in the event of the water heater leaking or the bottom dropping out, but i don't see why it could not be used for this application (probably in conjunction with the above mentioned device, because it probably would not be a good idea to leave the burners running if the water drained completely out of the tank ) Worst case scenario, you end up with 50 gallons (or whatever the capacity of the water heater is) instead of water running for hours on end until you come to find a REALLY big mess.

The above Temp. Gas Shut-off would probably work alone for the TPR issue, that is pretty cool, I was not aware of such a device. But if you are worried about the TPR not having anywhere to drain to, you should probably be more concerned about the bottom of your tank dropping out as well! Or what if the TPR sticks open?

Yeh Michael and Bryan, Jay is right, make sure you go to the "SEO" thread and get your links going, do Jay & myself first, lol. (hey Jay, John McKenna sent me that disclaimer, thanks!)
The watts valve would work if its gas and its overheating but obviously gas only and not if the valve just burps an fails to close........no affect.
The water sensing bug is a great idea and would work if they are readily available but I cant envision too many folks other than wealthy ones doing this, and if they are wealthy, the home they will be purchasing will have a floor drain.  ;D
P.S. I cant remember if I've had one since this came up last year. Had a HWH vented with 4" dryer flex though, seem to melt just a little.  

If you mean only the wealthy would be compelled to spend money on something like this, maybe. But if you mean because of the cost au contraire.... $103.99 http://www.smarthome.com/7115H2/Water-Heater-Shutoff-3-4-Inch-Valve/p.aspx or $114.99 @ http://www.comfortchannel.com/search/search.php?keywords=flood+stop&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

This is not exactly what I was referring to, but same concept and I found them doing a quick google search for "water heater supply shut off". I'm sure there is a lot more variety in different price ranges and quality variations, but this could easily be done by any DIY'r for very little expense....especially compared to the cost of replacing carpet, drywall, computer equip, stereo equip, furniture etc.......If I had a water heater located in an interior location, basement (attics in some warmer climates I think I've heard of????? Definitely not around here!) where water damage was a concern, this seems like it would be a very affordable preventative measure.

As far as links go guys, don't worry, it's near the top of my priority list. Waiting for my new domain name to be live here on HIP server so I can start building our NEW website.