Hot water heater

TAN · 11-30-2013, 08:46 AM

My hot water heater is pooling water under it, so today I am removing it, is there any thing I should no about before I start? It is an atwood so can I just buy what is leaking on it? Any help would sure be nice! Thank you.

jerichorick · 11-30-2013, 10:01 AM

Can you access it from the rear? There is a plastic fitting on the heater that is known to split and leak. It is a pain to change but much easier than removing the entire water heater.

John Hilley · 11-30-2013, 11:23 AM

Almost all parts are available. However, it may be cheaper to buy a new unit if the tank is leaking.

njs42 · 11-30-2013, 12:23 PM

My rear fitting leaked, I could see it in the back. I could see it and get a wrench on it but was chicken to put the muscle to it and I did not know it was PVC. I had a guy come out and fix it, his wife was so tiny she got behind to remove the fitting but it cracked. They cut the fitting removed the unit and frankly it took just minutes to do. He heated the stuck fitting PVC with a torch melted it a bit and it just popped out really slick. A few minutes later he had it all back together.

If you are a DIY now that I have seen this done I would not hesitate. Atwood must have schematics if you do not.

Hikerdogs · 11-30-2013, 04:51 PM

We also had the fitting break on our 2001 Adventurer. The water heater was in a miserable place to remove, so I decided to fix it in place. I had to remove the pump and move some of the tubing to get at the back of the water heater. When there was access to the rear side I used a 1/2" easy out in the broken fitting and removed it. I replaced it with a brass fitting because that's what I had. It might not have been the best choice since the tank is aluminum, but it worked fine another 6 years and 70,000 miles before we traded it off.

If you do have to remove the heater, and it has the "motoraid" option be sure to disconnect and plug off the hoses to the engine before you attempt to remove it. Check carefully when you disconnect the hoses. Some models have an access plate that can be removed to gain access to the fittings.

Unfortunately our 2001 Adventurer 32V was one of the models that didn't have an access panel. That was one of the main reasons I decided to replace the fitting without attempting to remove the heater. Another reason was the caulking they use around the front panel of the heater. It holds exceptionally well and is miserable to remove. It takes a heat gun to get the caulking warm enough for it to release without damaging the panel.

ChasA · 11-30-2013, 07:43 PM

Tan,
Before you start pulling anything, you should determine where the leak is. It could be as simple as a leak from the drain plug or temperature/pressure relief valve. Check the easy to access stuff first.

TAN · 11-30-2013, 11:02 PM

Thank you all. I had my brother help me and we removed it and we pressurized the tank. After much looking we found a hole in the tank. It was so small it was impossible to see but we could see water coming out of it. I went to buy a new tank but found it was not much more for a complete tank. That is what I did and after 6 hours we have a new tank and no leaks. Once again thank you all for the help.

jerichorick · 12-01-2013, 06:55 AM

Your welcome. This is the reason for irv2.

I, personally, have never heard of the tank leaking. It sounds like a manufacturing defect. I have heard of the plastic fitting failing, several times, and I have replaced 2 of them. Sorry yours was the tank but it sounds like it went better than it could have. Good job! Well done!!