Gas HW heater leaking from top


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Old 09-02-18, 07:12 PM
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Gas HW heater leaking from top

My gas hot water heater has a very minor leak at the top near the gas vent, makes no sense. Also my T&P valve overflow has a very small drip. The drain pan has water in it and has caused the unit to stop producing hot water, surely a safety issue. I drained the pan, restarted the hw heater so we have hot water but after checking every few hours, noticed the leaks described above. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. The unit is about 6 years old.
 
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Old 09-02-18, 07:23 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

A water leak near the vent usually indicates one of the connecting water lines is leaking.
A leaking T&P valve can sometimes be cleared/reseated by flipping the handle quickly a few times. Just a coupe of quick short pulls on the handle. You will get some water but the leak should stop. It may take a little while for the water to drain from the discharge tube. If that doesn't stop the dripping then the valve would need to be replaced.

A picture or two of the plumbing lines at the top of the tank would be helpful.
How-to-insert-pictures
 
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Old 09-03-18, 03:56 AM
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Agree with PJ completely. You may have a connecting pipe that needs to be tightened. And leaking PR valves is a common problem. Flushing it as PJ describes should solve the problem.
 
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Old 09-04-18, 07:24 AM
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There's no leak in any pipes so I did the 'flip the switch' on the PR valve. That seemed to have resolved the issue for now. I'll keep checking daily until I'm satisfied it's fixed. Thank you so much for the advice.
 
 

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