Need help/reassurance my hot water tank is safe

[samanthatx]

I need to know if this is a battle worth fighting.

First off, I live in an ground floor apartment. My unit appears to have it's own hot water heater tank. However, the temperature is abnormally hot. And the t&p valve trips about every 20 minutes and discharges a large amount of water to a line outdoors. Consistently every 20 minutes. The end of the this discharge pipe is at ground level. Almost underground actually, and is under a muddy pool of water everytime it disharges. I'm assuming the safety valve works and that this is probably a thermostat issue.

Were this my own house, I would get this fixed. But it's not. My complex's management and maintenance have been made repeatedly aware of this, looked at it several times, and have done NOTHING. While the water is almost uncomfortably hot, I'm not going to worry about it. But if it's a immediate safety issue, I'd like a more educated person to give me some good reasons to tell the complex to fix it already. If the only thing I have to worry about is having water that is too hot, though, I'm going to live and let live. (I put a meat thermometer at the faucet after 5 seconds running: It said almost 200 degrees F)

I have a passing interest in all things home repair if that explains why I'm posting.

Should I die on this hill?

 

[Reach4]

Your situation is unsafe (and expensive for gas/electricity). https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/tenant-rights

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

There appears to be a problem with the water heater. You are almost at a boiling temperature there, which at that point you would have explosive steam.
There may be a problem with the thermostat. You can call a plumber, get it fixed, and take that amount off your rent check. Keep the bill showing your payment and give it to the landlord.

The highest I would allow a water heater to output at a faucet would be 140 degrees.
Some codes only allow up to 120 degrees on things like tubs.

 

[Jadnashua]

There could be more than one problem. As has been said, though, in most places, there is a maximum temperature allowed for things except potentially the dishwasher and washing machine...everywhere else, there's a limit on how hot the water can be.

That valve opens for two reasons...it would have to be VERY VERY hot to open just for the temperature. Do you have a cooking thermometer? Check the temp of the output water. The second reason that valve opens is from the water expanding as it is heated IF the system is 'closed'. Yours may be. The way to check this is to buy a (about $15 or so) water pressure gauge and hook it up to say the washing machine supply's hose bib. Get one with a second, peak reading (tattle tale) hand to show peak pressure. If the pressure is excessive (code says it should not exceed 80psi), the valve will also open (typically at 150psi which is easy to attain if you have a closed system even if the incoming pressure isn't that high). Last, once those things have been opening and closing for awhile, they don't always seal properly, and may need to be replaced.

 

[Gary Swart]

Since this occurs every 20 minutes, the closed system suggestion may not be valid. This would happen in closed system only when the water was heating which would cause the pressure to rise. Once the heating cycle is complete, the pressure is stable.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

why dont you just ask them to turn the water heater down
or simply turn it down yourself?? Is it gas or electric..??

Either one
is not very hard to manage this task