Water Leak

My 2006 model 2619 has developed a leak (a drop every few seconds) in the hot water system. The source of the leak seems to be at the hot water outlet of the tank where the hose to the faucet connects to the tank. I have tried tightening the fitting but the leak persists. I would appreciate any ideas about the cause of the leak and suggestions to remedy this situation. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

[LoveToCamp]

I don't have mine open now, but I believe the connection is a threaded connection, correct? (If it is threaded, you tried to tighten it. If it is a crimp-on, you could still have tried to tighten it.)

If it is threaded, I would drain the water heater, then unscrew the connector, add three wraps of teflon tape, and put it back on. That may help. I did that with my outside shower connection, and that took care of that leak.

Sounds reasonable. I'll give it a try.

Well the Teflon tape didn't work. It may possibly be the fitting that connects the water faucet hose to the tank. I will attempt to remove then tape and replace that part next.

What really worries me is that there may be a leak in the hot water housing itself. Has anyone else encountered this? If so did you have to replace the water heater? Any one know the particulars of and approximate cost of replacing a water heater? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.

[Bill]

I think it is unlikely that you have a tiny leak in the water heater. I agree with LTC - probably a fitting somewhere. It is cheap (though annoying) to replace these, so just go to it. To my knowledge, there is no history of leaks in the water heater itself.

Do things freeze in your part of Texas? A freeze of a small amount of water trapped in a fitting can cause a tiny, almost invisible, split in a plastic fitting. Finding such a split is nearly impossible. Easier just to replace them.

Bill

Thanks for the advice about replacing the plastic connections. Makes a lot of sense. Happy to hear that it is unlikely that there is a leak in the water heater housing.

[tfarrugia]

We noticed a leak on our new to us 3023 water heater, we too thought it was the plumbing, we charged up the system and checked all the plumbing, we then realized it was the actual water heater that was leaking, in the front, inside where the anode rod is, it cost me @ $380.00 for a new water heater, we did the install ourselves, the new water heater works fantastic, and no leaks!!


Tex

[Bill]

Tex -

I'm sorry to hear that the water heater itself leaked. There are lots of warnings, but I'm not sure I ever heard of this actually happening. For the benefit of other members, can you tell us a bit more about your experience?

You say that the leak developed "in the front, inside where the anode rod is". So my first question is, do you know if the anode rod had ever been replaced? As I'm sure you know, the purpose of the anode rod is to allow itself to be slowly corroded away. By doing this, it deflects corrosion on the rest of the tank, thereby protecting the tank. But when the anode rod is fully corroded away, it can no longer provide that protection. The tank is glass-lined, but the glass can develop tiny cracks, and when water seeps through the cracks and contacts the metal of the tank, the tank will begin to corrode if the protection of the anode rod is gone. The result is pinhole leaks in the wall of the tank.

In addition, I believe that if the anode rod is permitted to fully corrode away, the stub of the rod end (which is steel, if I recall) can corrode right through the plug in which it is mounted. The result is a pinhole leak through the plug itself.

Corrosion proceeds at different rates depending on the chemicals in the water. It can be quite slow in soft water, and faster in mineral-laden hard water. Since different parts of the country have different mixes in the water, it is hard to guess just how far along along your anode rod is in the process. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that the anode rod should be removed and inspected or replaced every two or three years. If the rod in your 2005 TM had not been changed, then it was considerably overdue.

Bill

[tfarrugia]

Hi Bill, unfortunately, I'm not really sure of the maintenance of the unit as we had just bought it from a dealer "as is" and were on our first camping trip with it. We just noticed some water under the kitchen sink floor, it wasn't until we got home and further checked it out. We had checked all of the plumbing once we had pressurized the system and eliminated the pipes. That's when we had seen the leak coming from the water heater, on the inside of the cabinet, underneath towards the front. Upon inspecting it, there was a lot of rust in that area. I had taken the anode rod out at that point and it was pretty much not there, my suspicions are it had not been changed in a long time. The trailer is from the northeast, it is a possibility it had not been drained properly also and it may have frozen.
The good news is that it is in my possession now and all maintenance and care are being done by me.

Tex

[Bill]

Originally Posted by tfarrugia

... The good news is that it is in my possession now and all maintenance and care are being done by me.

Tex

Tex -

That is good news. A motivated owner is one of the best tools in the business.

Bill