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Old 11-18-2011, 04:27 PM   #1
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Leaking water heater on 22FB

Howdy folks, so I've noticed over the past couple of weeks that my water heater is seeping a bit of water out of the top spigot and soaking up the wooden base (picture included shows where you can see a trail of white running down the heater and if you look closely you'll see the camera flash reflecting off the top spigot leak). I haven't taken a wrench to the top connector primarily because it's plastic (duh!) but I have tried to tighten it by hand and it seems very secure.

I seem to recall reading on a website somewhere that 'purging' the system every so often is necessary because of an air bubble. Is this true? I've owned the trailer since July '11 and live in it full time so the heater gets a decent amount of use.
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Old 11-18-2011, 06:43 PM   #2
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Couldn't hurt to try some wrench pressure.
May save you some heartaches
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Old 11-18-2011, 08:47 PM   #3
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You might try draining the tank and then closing the top valve and let it build up another air bubble. You might be suprised at what comes out of the tank when you drain it. You could turn off the water supply and then open the top valve and let all the water above it drain out. From the photo I couldn't really see where the drip was comming from.
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Old 11-18-2011, 09:41 PM   #4
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I would drain the tank, remove the top plastic fitting then apply a little plumbers tape around the aluminum threads, and re-attach the fitting.

Also check the plastic fitting for any hair-line cracks.

If that doesn't fix it, take it back to the dealer.

Bob
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Old 11-19-2011, 06:05 AM   #5
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The air gap you are referring to has to do when the pressure relief valve is leaking. It won't make a difference for this connector. I would do as R.E. suggested.



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Old 11-19-2011, 06:39 AM   #6
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If it's still under warranty take it back. Jayco has a 2 year warranty.
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Old 11-19-2011, 04:51 PM   #7
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I never even noticed that it is a 2011. By all means take it back to the dealer.
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Old 11-20-2011, 07:27 PM   #8
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The leaking fitting may have a soft sealing ring. Remove the fitting after eliminating the pressure and remove the fitting. You may find a distorted sealing ring - new rings are about a dollar and the fitting should only be tightened manually or slightly with a wrench. I had a similar issue with my 21SS and it was a simple fix. Good Luck!!
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Old 11-21-2011, 02:59 PM   #9
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Thanks for the information ya'll. I bought the trailer used and according to the dealer, the Jayco warranty doesn't pass from owner to owner so I can't just take it in for service. I have a question about draining the water heater, though. I found two small spigots in the rear storage area of the trailer and they empty to the outside of the trailer. Are these the ones I need to use to drain it? I looked in my owners manuals and couldn't find anything about the process of draining so I figured I'd just ask y'all.
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Old 11-21-2011, 03:15 PM   #10
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The water heater should have a large plug on the area facing the outside of the rv. Removing it should allow the heater to drain.
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Old 11-21-2011, 03:19 PM   #11
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Nevermind, I found out where the drain plug is. I'm just curious how to go about the process now as I figure I might as well flush the system while I'm at it, right? The trailer was built in March '11 and I bought it in July so I doubt the previous owners ever flushed it in the four months they owned it.
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Old 11-21-2011, 08:48 PM   #12
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Mike, when you are done with the water tank how about a pic of that Galaxie ??
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Old 11-22-2011, 03:02 PM   #13
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How about a pic or two now? I'll start on the water heater here shortly.
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Old 11-22-2011, 04:11 PM   #14
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the other lines (drains) are probably the "low point drains" used to drain the water system. opening these in conjunction with draining the water heater (as mentioned before) should get most of the water out. Which is part of winterization or sanitization of your system.
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Old 11-22-2011, 10:56 PM   #15
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Thanks for the pics. I love the 60's style cars and am a fan of the FE engine series.
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Old 11-25-2011, 11:14 AM   #16
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Draining

The two small "plugs" are your low point drains for winterizing. The drain for the water heater is in the outside access panel under the burner feed tube.

There are 3 places you could be leaking and a bunch of reasons.
1 at the tank flange - not very repairable.
2. where the nipple goes into the flange - pipe thread compound and a good pair of channel locks.
3. at the PVC coupling from your PEX supply line. Check for cracked plastic from overtightening. These are hand tightened so if your grip is bad you might try some non slip shelf liner. If you use a wrench you could crack the pvc and create a nice leak. If you use teflon tape you can get enough pressure on the side of the coupling to crack it there and voila... more leaking.
The coupling is designed to seal at the top, not on the threads. The pvc on the metal coupling will not bind enough to prevent forming a seal at the top so tape/compound is not indicated. Some coupling have an internal o-ring. If that is the case, it could have been pinched or cracked.

Hope this helps and you have it fixed...
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Old 12-06-2011, 11:38 AM   #17
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Thanks for the help everyone. I replaced the rubber o-ring but turns out that wasn't it as it's still leaking. By the looks of it, it's the plastic piece that threads into the tank itself as I had seen some seepage around it but I had hoped it was just water dripping down from the o-ring. Oh well, still looks to be an easy fix. I just need to find the time to do it.

Clutch, me too. The first car I learned to work on was a 1968 Galaxie 500 sedan with a 390 FE. That was about thirteen years ago and my dad and I fixed that car up real nice. White vinyl interior, mag wheels, dual exhaust. It wasn't the fastest thing but it was the nicest lookin' four door around.
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Old 03-07-2012, 06:36 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeS82 View Post
Howdy folks, so I've noticed over the past couple of weeks that my water heater is seeping a bit of water out of the top spigot and soaking up the wooden base (picture included shows where you can see a trail of white running down the heater and if you look closely you'll see the camera flash reflecting off the top spigot leak). I haven't taken a wrench to the top connector primarily because it's plastic (duh!) but I have tried to tighten it by hand and it seems very secure.

I seem to recall reading on a website somewhere that 'purging' the system every so often is necessary because of an air bubble. Is this true? I've owned the trailer since July '11 and live in it full time so the heater gets a decent amount of use.
I had the same problem on the lower one. My local RV dealer told me to remove the plastic fitting and replace it with a brass pipe nipple. He sold me the brass nipple for about $1.50. The problem is that the original fitting has straight threads and they don't seal very well if they don't get plenty of sealer on the threads. The brass pipe nipple will be tappered and will seal itself but you should put some pipe dope or teflon tape on it before screwing it in.
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