Water leak

[slabat]

I have a 2011 Jayco 23j. Filled it with water and turned the pump on. I have water dripping from the slide it is coming from the hot water heater.

How difficult is it to replace a hot water heater in one of these?

[ALJO]

Not a big job. Loosen electrical, water and gas connections, remove screws on the front and pull out. First check where the water is coming from the WH. If it is a crack a welder can weld it. Next option is a replacement tank and third the whole new WH swap out.

[RogerR]

before you replace make sure it is not the inlet, outlet, drain or pressure relief valve. This may involve flashlights, mirrors and a little exploration to find.

Good luck!

[DonaandDon]

Totally agree with finding the exact place of the drip. To often the plastic fitting on a valve or the vale itself. Better to replace a section of hose or valve than the whole blooming thing.

[dave89]

If it happened to leak with the water warming or hot, it may be one of the plastic fittings on the heater. I had a leak from the plastic fittings on the tank from the expansion rate between the metal fitting and the plastic fitting being different. I ended up replacing the plastic fitting with copper. That was the fitting coming off of the heater. Not the hose fitting. You will have to look closely at the fittings as the heater warms.

[Jagiven]

As others stated, have you determined where the leak is coming from? Lots of potential areas of leaking. Every pipe joint should be suspect. You can use toilet paper, on a dry joint (make sure it is dry first), and keep an eye on it. It will change shape and texture, if it gets wet, even after it dries you can tell it was wet. I have found may mystery water leaks this way.

If your WH is in the slide, you may have a pipe with a pin hole in it from moving in and out.

I had a leak the last few springs at my WH, I determined the plastic pipe nipple on the cold water inlet, was leaking. First year, I tightened it a bit. It held for about a year. The following spring did it again, but tightening just would not fix it. Removed it, new pipe dope, and re-assembled. Been holding ever since. It formed a fairly good puddle, fairly quickly.

Assuming you have the same WH as on my 2012, it is not very difficulty to replace the WH. In my case, I can easily reach the pipe and electrical connections from the inside. On the outside, disconnect the propane line and cutting out the caulking. Which might be the hardest part as you need to clean it up before installing any new caulk.