Temperature pressure relief or tpr valves are safety devices installed on water heating appliances such as boilers and domestic water supply heaters.
Water heater pressure relief valve discharge pipe.
Scalding water and steam escape the tank through the valve and tube to relieve the pressure.
Just image the power that can be generated when the water starts to boil inside the tank.
This is to prevent a potentially catastrophic failure.
If the temperature in the water heater reaches 210 or the pressure reaches 150 psi the relief valve will open reducing the pressure or releasing heated water to be replaced with cold water.
1 the discharge pipe cannot be directly connected to the home s plumbing drainage system but an air gap located in the same room as the water heater can used to connect to the drainage system.
If temperature sensors and safety devices such as tprs malfunction water in the system may become superheated exceed the boiling point.
Building codes require temperature pressure relief tpr valves with discharge pipes on all new water heater installations.