Originally posted by Dspark:
This comment is not directed at anyone in particular, of course.
The plumber goes in. The T&P valve is leaking. He doesn't have another on his truck, so he just puts a plug in the end and leaves figuring he'll get another one sometime and replace it.
This reminds me of the penny in the Edison base fuse holder of a circuit that keeps blowing, or bypassing a GFCI that is nuisance tripping.
Just maybe the T&P valve was leaking because there was an actual by undetected malfunction of the heater.
Just maybe a GFCI trips because there is a real leak. And we all know that the fuse that keeps blowing is saying that the wires are overloaded.
The T&P valve on the water heater is the only pressure relief valve on many water systems. Capping it when it leaks is a lot like slugging a fuse when it blows.
We simply trust that no one is doing things like these within 465' feet of where we work, walk, or drive..
That same plumber may have turned off the power to the water heater. The occupant may have accidently turned it back on. One more reason to practice lock out tag out but even that won't always save you. I was working on an exhaust fan at a church summer camp and I had to disconnect it from its power which came from a shared circuit. I locked out and tagged out the circuit. When I returned with the needed parts the lock out had been torn off the breaker and the circuit reenergized to turn on the porch lights. Since no one had messed with the exposed wires no harm resulted but that was pure luck.
