Water heater leak

[Wadestearns]

I have a small leak coming from the white plastic what looks like a bolt. The leak seams to happen all the time with or without being on. I tried tightening it which helped some but it is difficult to tighten due to the location behind other items and it is plastic so wanted to be careful.
Any idea what this is and what would need to be done to fix it?
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[Wadestearns]

[rmkrum]

THeat white plastic plug is the water heater drain plug. it's used to drain water out for winterizing.

Have a look at this thread for a better way to solve the problem with a few parts from the big box home improvement store. Use Teflon tape generously to make up the assembly and seal the replacement plug into the heater...


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f445...ml#post2031074

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Wadestearns

I have a small leak coming from the white plastic what looks like a bolt. The leak seams to happen all the time with or without being on. I tried tightening it which helped some but it is difficult to tighten due to the location behind other items and it is plastic so wanted to be careful.
Any idea what this is and what would need to be done to fix it?
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

The white plastic hex head is the water heater drain plug. Because it's plastic, the threads can deform if you over-tighten it, and this will cause the drain to leak.

My advice is this:
1 - Turn off the water heater and allow it to cool.
2 - Remove the drain plug.
3 - Examine the threads on the drain plug to see if they're damaged at all.
4 - If necessary, buy a replacement at Camping World or Amazon. Get two; it never hurts to have a spare.
5 - When re-inserting the drain plug, wrap the threads with white Teflon thread tape. Wrap in the same direction the plug will turn, so the tape doesn't try to come off as you screw in the plug.
6 - Do not over-tighten when reinserting.
7 - Refill the water heater and check for leaks again.

[Wadestearns]

Thanks so much
No need to winterize in CA so never really looked that close
I guess there’s a reason it is Plastic but that plus the location makes it miserable to even drain
Thanks again

[glcmranger]

Based on your question, I wonder if you EVER drained the water and flushed out all the gunk that collects on the bottom....... recommend once per year (minimum)!

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by glcmranger

Based on your question, I wonder if you EVER drained the water and flushed out all the gunk that collects on the bottom...

No need to sound judgmental. We're here to help those less experienced than us, not make them feel bad about being less experienced.

It's hard for a reader to guess the emotion behind something we write, but capitalizing that word "EVER" did make your post seem judgmental, whereas leaving it lowercase would have made it a neutral statement.