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Posted by Speedy Jim on August 10, 2005, 11:36 am
MrC1 wrote:
> I have a 50 gal gas water heater, which is, of course, in the attic where it
> can do the most damage if I spring a leak. I recently lost a 1'x1' patch of
> ceiling texture and paint below the heater, so I went up to check it out.
>
> I found that it had a very slow dribble-leak from the steel nipple fitting
> at the top of the tank on the 'out' (hot) side. The reason for the ceiling
> damage was that the morons that installed the drain pan barely tightened the
> PVC to the pan and didn't use any sealer whatsoever.
>
> I sealed up the pan and then got to work on the leak. I unsoldered the
> copper so I could work with the steel fitting. I removed the fitting and
> the threaded copper adapter, which were pretty corroded, so I replaced them.
> I used plenty of teflon tape on the steel pipe threads and cranked it down
> to spec: "dang tight". I then soldered the copper back together and let
> 'er rip. No problems for several days, but...
>
> Last night I checked the ceiling and it was dry. I then went up to check
> the water heater and sure enough, it had an identical leak! (ARGH!) It's
> dribbling from the base of the steel nipple fitting right where it threads
> into the top of the heater.
>
> Any ideas how to stop this freakin leak? I've got the fitting tight enough
> that I fear if I try to put another turn on it I might strip or split it,
> that is, if I'm able to get it that tight at all. It's really tight now.
>
> Thanks!!!
>
>
My guess would be that the threaded (female) boss on top of
the tank has corroded (in the threads).
Clean the threads out thoroughly and then use Loctite
when assembling the nipple back in (no Teflon or other).
This is a stop-gap measure if the boss is corroded
but should give you time to work something out.
Jim
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