Take the 2-minute tour ×  Recently we had an extended water
outage. When water came back, pressure in the lines was much
higher. The hot water heater started leaking from the pressure
release valve and after flipping it a few times, it didn't stop,
so I was prepared to go replace it, but then I accidentally
pushed on the end of the pull bar that goes to the valve and the
flow stopped.  Tried flipping it again, it leaked again, pushed
the bar and it stopped.  Am I right in thinking the spring is
shot, time to replace it?  share|improve this question add
comment  2 Answers  up vote 3 down vote accepted  I would
replace the P-T valve regardless, as it sounds questionable.
They're about $10-15, plus usually a pipe directing it to the
floor or even a nearby floor drain (which you can probably re-
use).  It's a safety device that prevents your tank from over-
pressurizing (which in very extreme cases can actually cause an
incredibly powerful explosion -- check youtube for some
entertaining mythbusters clips). You als