New dishwasher /hot water heater pressure valve leak

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Jibjab

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Just after installing a new dishwasher today we noticed water had dripped from our hot water pressure valve. Would anyone know if this could somehow be related to the dishwasher installation?
 
May I assume you're talking about a Pressure & Temperature relief valve on a hot water tank?
I'd say they shouldn't be related.

Did you happen to raise your temperature setting?

You say "had dripped". So it's not dripping any more?

I would keep an eye on it. Of course you know it could be from high pressure or high temperature.
If you have an expansion tank, that would be one of the first places to check.
Ideally having a temperature gauge and a pressure gauge would be nice in order to see if you ever get close to the limits.

I could go on but it may not be necessary at this point.
 
Yes your assumption is correct. No continuous drip. It seemed to release water then stop. It did not release more water when my kid showered shortly after the original release.

We did not make any adjustments to the water heater temperature. We did need to swap out the existing dishwasher water supply line (originally copper now braided) Could this have caused pressure issues?
 
They don’t seem related.

Water heater thermostat could be going bad.
Relief valve could be going bad.
Your town’s water pressure might have had a brief surge.

If you have a pressure reducing valve on incoming water supply, that can cause that relief valve to leak water occasionally.

The leak might not actually be from the relief valve at all, it might just appear that way.
 
Do you have an expansion tank(bladder tank)? Typically only required if you have something on you cold water service that would prevent the water from expanding when heated and which would quickly raise the pressure in the absence of a properly functioning expansion tank.

The P&T valve on the water heater are typically set to release water at 150 psi or a temperature at 210 degrees. If you don't have some type of thermostatically controlled mixing valve for your water coming out of your heater, I think you would of got an indication that the water temp was extremely high at some point.

Not sure if a slight water hammer(momentary spike in pressure somewhere in the system due to sudden stopping of flow) could cause it.
 
Thank you both for your input!

We don't have an expansion tank or an in line pressure reducing value. We do have occasional water pressure drops that end with a surge back up to pressure. I'm not sure if this is the same as the water hammer.

Since the hot water heater is 22 years old I'll start doing the research for it's replacement and keep an eye on it while I run the dishwasher again to see if it will duplicate the issue.
 
22 years old is about seven years past time to replace the heater.
Lots of heaters come with only a six or nine year warranty.

Yes, they can sometimes last even longer, but I have seen plenty go out at less than ten or twelve years.

Replace it asap, before it floods and costs you a lot more money.
And it will probably happen on a big holiday weekend, with a house full of guests, and kitchen busy prepping for a party, haha.
 
Yes you're totally right because that is how life happens!!!

We had already started the research about which water heater to buy but when the dishwasher recently broke it trumped the WH purchase. : / At least we got to take advantage of Black Friday for that.

Thanks again for your thoughts.
 
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