"Leaking" Hot Water Tank ???

winnie32v · 11-23-2016, 05:04 AM

Just thought that I would pass on a situation that recently occured to me.
2001 Winnebago Adventurer 32V.

Drove from Pa. to our Florida destination at the beginning of November.
When we arrived at our site and were set up, I opened the access door to the Hot water Tank / Storage area.
I saw that the carpet was wet.....Oh, Oh.....
Water was hot because of the Winnebago water heating option via the engine cooling hoses. Tried the water pump and more water began to flood the compartment floor.

OK, the tank had to be removed. Kind of a 'stretchy/bendy job but I did it a couple of years ago to replace my Motor Aid Unit.

So, I pull a picnic table over to use the bench seat to lay on so I could get "into" the compartment easier.

Removed everything in the front and the wooden divider on the side, etc. and was able to get to the fittings and disconnected them.
Pulled out the tank and looked for a leak. Everything looked good???
Checked the Check valves and they were OK also.
Using a hose with about 60psi pressure, checked the tank and found the aluminum housing was OK.

Hummmmm......., the inlet connection on the bottom was a plastic 90 degree fitting. I wanted to remove it so I could reseal all of the fittings, etc.
Put a wrench on it and it virtually 'snapped' into 2 pieces!! Seemed VERY brittle to me. Suspect that this was cracked and was leaking....about to break completely.

I have attached a pic of this fitting..... as new.

So, I removed the remaining piece, went to the local RV shop and the owner was walking by the front desk toward the back of the shop and glanced at the pieces of the fitting I had on the desk.......returned with the exact replacement .....$1.92 including tax. The new fitting was made of the grey, tougher plastic material than the original black "hard" plastic one.

So, flushed the tank to remove all scale (a lot came out), ensured that the check valves were clear, put in all of the fittings, and reinstalled the tank.

Result, NO leaks and the unit has been functioning perfectly since.
A $2 fitting was much better than a $6-700 heater.

Several pics attached for your review. The grey 90 degree elbow is the fitting that I suspect was cracked and leaking.

Not the way i expected to start out my vacation, but turned out ok.

BLE373 · 11-23-2016, 09:06 AM

Nice neat job. You saved a bundle doing it yourself. Could have been a lot worse if you left for the day without checking.

dennis45 · 11-23-2016, 09:26 AM

Glad you got your leak fixed,
Couple of questions come to mind as I read your post,
Before removing the heater, did you try to see where the leak originated from? Changing a leaking or broken fitting would be much easier that removing the whole tank. If I had taken this to my local RV shop and they charged me $100/hr to R&R the tank only to find a broken $2 fitting, I think I would be just a little choked. JMHO,,,

I see you have two plastic fittings out of the tank going into a brass fitting.
If this were mine, I would go looking for a 1/2" NPT 90 Deg. "Brass" Street Elbow (male thread on one end and female thread on the other end). This would eliminate both plastic fittings with one Brass fitting which will outlast the heater and you won't have to worry about another leak.

dennis45 · 11-23-2016, 09:35 AM

Oops, looking closer at your pics, I realize the second fitting is likely your check Valve. Also plastic.

A street el will not work. Replace the plastic 90 with the same thing but in brass. Toss the plastic check Valve and replace it with a brass one. These plastic fittings are trouble looking for a home.

cbeierl · 11-23-2016, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennis45

Oops, looking closer at your pics, I realize the second fitting is likely your check Valve. Also plastic.

A street el will not work. Replace the plastic 90 with the same thing but in brass. Toss the plastic check Valve and replace it with a brass one. These plastic fittings are trouble looking for a home.

I think the check valve is the brass fitting on the right (although the valve mechanism inside is probably plastic).

dennis45 · 11-23-2016, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbeierl

I think the check valve is the brass fitting on the right (although the valve mechanism inside is probably plastic).

You're probably right Chris. In any case, for me, the plastic would be history.

winnie32v · 11-23-2016, 05:08 PM

OK, Here goes.....
1. Brass Fitting IS the one way check valve, inlet.

2. Plastic elbow into the tank: went to at least 4 plumbing/hardware stores to find a brass fitting that would do the same as the plastic one...NOTHING available. (Finally drove 20 miles to the RV store and you know the rest of the story, see original post.)

3. The plastic couple between the elbow and the check valve; It was there as original AND I had to maintain this length to allow for the inlet water fitting to reach and connect. There's not a lot of slop in the factory setup, but is really nicely designed. Didn't want this to turn into an exercise in plumbing.

4. This setup has lasted for about 16 years....I won't have to worry about the next time. Don't fix it if not necessary.

AND...yes,. I think it may have been leaking down as I was travelling. It would drip out of the corner of the tank compartment, opposite the carpeted area. It really began to fill up when I turned on the pump. So, what was happening was expected after I figured out what went wrong.

Think about this, Florida sun, the carpet was dry the next day and the fix was also done on the next day.

Thanks for the interest and input. Hope this answers the questions/concerns.

winnie32v · 11-23-2016, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennis45

Glad you got your leak fixed,
Couple of questions come to mind as I read your post,
Before removing the heater, did you try to see where the leak originated from? Changing a leaking or broken fitting would be much easier that removing the whole tank.

Response....didn't know that the elbow was the culprit until I put a wrench to it. Not sure I could have done it as installed due to the position and the thick Styrofoam insulation jacket. Nice afterthought, though/.

If I had taken this to my local RV shop and they charged me $100/hr to R&R the tank only to find a broken $2 fitting, I think I would be just a little choked. JMHO,,,

I see you have two plastic fittings out of the tank going into a brass fitting.
If this were mine, I would go looking for a 1/2" NPT 90 Deg. "Brass" Street Elbow (male thread on one end and female thread on the other end). This would eliminate both plastic fittings with one Brass fitting which will outlast the heater and you won't have to worry about another leak.

See above response.

winnie32v · 11-23-2016, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennis45

Oops, looking closer at your pics, I realize the second fitting is likely your check Valve. Also plastic.

Plastic is just a couple, check valve is the Brass fitting.

A street el will not work. Replace the plastic 90 with the same thing but in brass. Toss the plastic check Valve and replace it with a brass one. These plastic fittings are trouble looking for a home.

Yes, that seems to be the weak link.

winnie32v · 11-23-2016, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbeierl

I think the check valve is the brass fitting on the right (although the valve mechanism inside is probably plastic).

Valve check IS the standard white plastic composition.

dennis45 · 11-23-2016, 05:23 PM

I knew there had to be a logical explanation. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Parting comment, if you are ever looking for brass pipe fittings, I have found the best place is Ace Hardware. (Ace is the Place

) They always seem to carry stuff you don't normally see at the likes of Home Depot etc.

winnie32v · 11-23-2016, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennis45

I knew there had to be a logical explanation. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Parting comment, if you are ever looking for brass pipe fittings, I have found the best place is Ace Hardware. (Ace is the Place

) They always seem to carry stuff you don't normally see at the likes of Home Depot etc.

Agreed, ACE was the 1st place I went, looked at all brass and plastic fittings. Knew it had ti be able to withstand heat. NO fittings there???!!!

Anyway, was thinking of the fitting I got at the RV place.....must be a common item (there were 7 in inventory ...discussion with sales lady) AND designed for this specific application....heat, shock, etc.
We'll see........

Hikerdogs · 11-24-2016, 07:06 AM

Had the same thing happen in our 2001 Adventurer 32V in 2007 in North Dakota on our way to Alaska. At the time we didn't know if it was a plumbing component or the heater itself. We debated as to whether to continue on or not, and in the end decided we would continue on and use could either campground facilities or take cold showers.

Since I was a little thinner it those days I could squeeze into the cabinet along side the pump and water heater. It took a while to scope things out, and like you we found the elbow had cracked.

Long story short we stopped in half a dozen towns along the way and were finally able to come up with the tools and materials needed to complete the job. In our case we used a brass elbow because it was available. It seemed to do the trick, because everything was still working fine when we traded it off in 2013 with over 100,000 miles on the odometer.