The drain valve on my hot water tank is dripping from the outlet (controlled by the red switch)…
The whole thing is only about 2.5 years old so want to avoid calling a plumber if possible.
It may be that even over this timescale, some calcium is stopping the red switch from fully closing. I have tried the anti calcium formula sprays to no avail Is there a simple solution to stopping the drip?
It’s supposed to drip whilst heating is in progress.
If it’s become constant then it will almost certainly be due to limescale in the valve seat. Operating the valve & letting it snap shut a few times usually solves the problem.
However, it can make it worse until you’ve cleared all the crud.
P.S. Do you have a pressure reducer on you water supply?
Its a pressure relief valve, you can check by looking for the drips while someone else opens the hot tap. If its still dripping, then its the valve (possibility a calcium build up), if not its the water pressure. A few drips are quite normal though. Edit- as @Badger says
Thanks - it’s not the water pressure. I am just used to it not dripping! I’ll try snapping shut a few times and let you know. Last tank lasted 20 years…
Mines older than that, filled it with50 ltrs of vinegar last time I re located it but the calcium was so impacted around the element I could not remove it. Mind you the soak did disolve a huge amount of calcium. I know the tank temerature has to be raised to +60c for legionella control but not everyday. In the UK many smart water tanks do this once a week or once a fourtnight. It would save a lot of electricity if you only heated until 40-45c each day.
