Corrosion - water heater?

[Denise]

We have not found any current 'leaks' and no issues otherwise, but happened to be looking for ants and stumbled across the following....Do we need to worry? Our tt is three and half years old

[Jagiven]

Hard to tell. Have you checked the fitting to ensure it is tight? It might be an old leak , or from some point in time when you had high water pressure, from a slightly loose fitting. This might sound crazy but after tightening the fitting, wrap a little toilet paper (TP) around the fitting and keep an eye on it. When the TP gets wet it visually changes. You may need a small piece of scotch tape to hold it in place. It does not look like there has been a lot of water dripping.

[Crabman]

Yeah something definitely leaked at one time or another. The ptrap under my sink came loose and leaked a few times until I took it apart and found the compression washer was installed incorrectly and was mangled. But your leak looks to have come from one of those fittings. I would keep an eye on the area.

[norty1]

I had a leak there that looked the same. It turned out that the plastic fitting on the tank pipe was not tight. It allowed some seepage when the tank was hot, extra pressure maybe.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by norty1

I had a leak there that looked the same. It turned out that the plastic fitting on the tank pipe was not tight. It allowed some seepage when the tank was hot, extra pressure maybe.

I have had those fittings loosen several times so I check them on a regular basis. I think it has to do with the expansion/contraction of the fitting.

[Terry]

I think it is the Cali effect...you just never know what is going to happen out there. It will require a full analysis so you better come out to normalville here in Tennessee.