NO..........
It wouldn't make a difference
BUT what does is the 'AIR POCKET'
RV water heater T&P Relief Valves 'weep' (dribble) due to slight increase in pressure and small tank volume when heating water....it Swells
Air Pocket is by design (Suburban AND Atwood)
Normal filling of water heater allows for air pocket at top of tank.
Over time that air pocket can be lost...either from opening T&P when filling etc or from being absorbed into the water
Water can NOT be compressed.....Air can be hence the air pocket. It controls the pressure increase from the swelling hot water
T&P Relief Valve is a safety device....should NOT leak/weep.
Normal t-stat controls heating cycles Opens at: Suburban/130*F & Atwood/140*F
HI Temp/ECO t-stat is back up device to normal t-stat. Opens at: Suburban/170*F & Atwood/180*F
T&P Relief Valve is in case BOTH t-stats fail. Opens at: 210*F/150 PSI (suburban/atwood)
IF T&P is weeing re-establish air pocket
Turn water supply OFF
Open nearest faucet hotside...leave open
Open T&P via lever....hold open until water stops running out THEN let is SNAP closed
Close faucet
Turn on water supply
T&P shouldn't weep/leak
May have to actually pop it open under pressure to blow valve/disc clear of debris/scale then re-establish air pocket (weeping/hard water..scale builds up and stops valve from fully closing)
Turning off water supply....
Good idea/habit.
While asleep fitting broke.......flooded our 1 yr old FW as we were FTng.
$6000 damages/costs plus 2 weeks for repairs
We stopped connecting to city water.
We use fresh water tank/pump exclusively since 2008
Fill tank as needed.
Turn pump OFF whenever we go to bed, go outside, leave FW etc. Just a flip of the switch for ON/OFF
We do not turn water heater off.
Element WOULD be damaged IF ---IF--- water were to leak from tank ---possible/not probable cause cold water line would have to break/leak for water heater to drain and w/o any pump pressure WHY would that occur.
Yes....it is just as easy to turn water heater OFF
Guess I 'live on the edge' but boilers I operated for a living where bigger/more complicated and dangerous.