Personal Consumer Issues • Do I need a new water pressure regulator?

Lower temperature does have less expansion.
However, some say that lower temperatures also increase the probability of Legionnaires.

Yep, and higher temperatures are also recommended if there are kids or invalids in the house.

But lower temperatures reduce the chance of burns, lessen sediment build-up and are more energy-efficient.

Re: thermal expansion, I just noticed this on the Zurn Wilkins 600XL (pressure regulator) data sheet:

The direct acting integral by-pass design prevents buildup of excessive system pressure caused by thermal expansion.

Not sure how that works or how it compares to a thermal expansion tank. But I'm reading this (or maybe over-reading this) as saying that the Zurn Wilkins pressure regulator obviates the need for a thermal expansion tank on a water heater.

On another sheet under "Troubleshooting", it says:

Problem: Pressure creeps or builds up in system above the setting of pressure reducing valve.
Possible Cause or Causes: (a)Thermal expansion of water as it is being heated
Solution for (a): This is a natural consequence. It may happen each time that the heater runs. A pressure relief valve or expansion tank must be installed. This will not prevent pressure rise but should limit it to a safe level.

My water heater and most water heaters have a temperature and pressure (T&P) relief valve. So apparently that limits pressure to an acceptable level? I actually thought that the T&P relief valve was for emergencies rather than for a day-to-day regulation of pressure inside the tank.

Statistics: Posted by PoorPlumber — Sun Nov 17, 2024 6:37 am — Replies 40 — Views 1396