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ctfisher · 06-17-2019, 06:57 AM

Thank you all for your suggestions and ideas.

Turns out I made a couple of presumptions that led me down the wrong path. Hearing the pump running at what sounded like low operation and seeing the drip near the #2 grey water drain outlet, I immediately assumed it was a leak from inside the cover under the trailer because of what thought was water draining from the cover outside of the outlet. This turned out to be a false presumption.

My wife and I spent the better part of Saturday crawling through the trailer along with a friend and fellow RV owner looking for the leak.
We primed the water system and I put 40lbs of pressure from an air compressor to the city water inlet as well. The pressure never dropped over the course of about 10 minutes, so we're pretty certain there isn't a leak in the lines or fittings. We confirmed it was not near any of the sinks including the outside kitchen, the toilet or the shower.

I reinvestigated the leak I saw near the #2 grey tank outlet and found it was coming from *inside* the tank, not outside as I had previously thought. The cap was missing and it's possible we may have a bad seal in the tank drain flap/valve? I opened/closed the flap a couple of times and either that stopped the draining or the tank didn't have enough in it to flow out by then. Either way, I put a cap on it and we don't see the drainage now.

The pump did the same thing as before several times, it runs at a low speed as if it's just trying to build a little bit of pressure (at least to my novice estimation). We found that under normal operation the pump kicks on almost immediately when we open a faucet/shower/toilet suggesting it's triggered when the pressure in the line drops, and then shuts off within a few seconds of turning the faucet/shower/toilet off. When the pump is running at a low speed, we found that operating any of the faucets for example doesn't prompt that strong pump operation/sound, and it takes 10-15 seconds for the pump to fully engage. Eventually the pump sounds normal and fully shuts off a few seconds after turning the faucet off. Our friend indicated he's had that happen before and had to adjust a screw on the pump itself to change the pressure it activates at. We looked and couldn't find anything like that on our pump. While the trailer is 7 years old, we haven't used it *that* much and always winterize when the temps are starting to dip into the high 30s. During the summers at our property (9,000+ feet) it rarely gets up into the 50s at night.

Next, when I put the anode in the hot water tank and filled it, I found that under pressure there is a slight seep of water at/near the anode. I drained the tank, pulled the anode, put thread tape back on and reinstalled the anode. I repeated this process 4 times with the same result every time. Still a very slow seep.

Over the last couple of years I've found that a lot of crud has built up on the threads in the water heater which kept me from being able to seat the anode properly. A couple of trips ago I got a round wire brush for our Dremel and cleaned the threads at the water heater. I watched and didn't see any wear on the threads, felt them to make sure nothing was chipped, and installed the anode with the thread tape. The anode seats well and I can tighten it down properly with no play when screwing it in. At that time there didn't appear to be any seepage, but it's possible I just didn't notice because I wasn't looking closely enough until I was looking for a leak. When I pulled the access panel for the bypass inside the trailer, I did not notice any water indications under the tank. There appears to be a nut around the spot where I install the anode that has slots instead of something like a hex nut suggesting it needs a special tool to remove/install. Is it possible there may be a worn seal or crack under there causing the leak?

Any ideas/recommendations? I'm hoping to not have to replace the water heater, but unless it's cracked around the outside of the housing I can't think of anything other than the threads are just worn down enough to allow the seepage even with a generous layer of thread tape.

06-17-2019, 06:57 AM	#5
ctfisher Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 8	Thank you all for your suggestions and ideas. Turns out I made a couple of presumptions that led me down the wrong path. Hearing the pump running at what sounded like low operation and seeing the drip near the #2 grey water drain outlet, I immediately assumed it was a leak from inside the cover under the trailer because of what thought was water draining from the cover outside of the outlet. This turned out to be a false presumption. My wife and I spent the better part of Saturday crawling through the trailer along with a friend and fellow RV owner looking for the leak. We primed the water system and I put 40lbs of pressure from an air compressor to the city water inlet as well. The pressure never dropped over the course of about 10 minutes, so we're pretty certain there isn't a leak in the lines or fittings. We confirmed it was not near any of the sinks including the outside kitchen, the toilet or the shower. I reinvestigated the leak I saw near the #2 grey tank outlet and found it was coming from inside the tank, not outside as I had previously thought. The cap was missing and it's possible we may have a bad seal in the tank drain flap/valve? I opened/closed the flap a couple of times and either that stopped the draining or the tank didn't have enough in it to flow out by then. Either way, I put a cap on it and we don't see the drainage now. The pump did the same thing as before several times, it runs at a low speed as if it's just trying to build a little bit of pressure (at least to my novice estimation). We found that under normal operation the pump kicks on almost immediately when we open a faucet/shower/toilet suggesting it's triggered when the pressure in the line drops, and then shuts off within a few seconds of turning the faucet/shower/toilet off. When the pump is running at a low speed, we found that operating any of the faucets for example doesn't prompt that strong pump operation/sound, and it takes 10-15 seconds for the pump to fully engage. Eventually the pump sounds normal and fully shuts off a few seconds after turning the faucet off. Our friend indicated he's had that happen before and had to adjust a screw on the pump itself to change the pressure it activates at. We looked and couldn't find anything like that on our pump. While the trailer is 7 years old, we haven't used it that much and always winterize when the temps are starting to dip into the high 30s. During the summers at our property (9,000+ feet) it rarely gets up into the 50s at night. Next, when I put the anode in the hot water tank and filled it, I found that under pressure there is a slight seep of water at/near the anode. I drained the tank, pulled the anode, put thread tape back on and reinstalled the anode. I repeated this process 4 times with the same result every time. Still a very slow seep. Over the last couple of years I've found that a lot of crud has built up on the threads in the water heater which kept me from being able to seat the anode properly. A couple of trips ago I got a round wire brush for our Dremel and cleaned the threads at the water heater. I watched and didn't see any wear on the threads, felt them to make sure nothing was chipped, and installed the anode with the thread tape. The anode seats well and I can tighten it down properly with no play when screwing it in. At that time there didn't appear to be any seepage, but it's possible I just didn't notice because I wasn't looking closely enough until I was looking for a leak. When I pulled the access panel for the bypass inside the trailer, I did not notice any water indications under the tank. There appears to be a nut around the spot where I install the anode that has slots instead of something like a hex nut suggesting it needs a special tool to remove/install. Is it possible there may be a worn seal or crack under there causing the leak? Any ideas/recommendations? I'm hoping to not have to replace the water heater, but unless it's cracked around the outside of the housing I can't think of anything other than the threads are just worn down enough to allow the seepage even with a generous layer of thread tape.