Water heater thermocouple

[mtbkrdan]

I tried putting the thermocouple into the water heater on my BRAND NEW Laredo 291TG. This is a different type than the one in my last rig where it was just a cap for the low point drain. Long story short, the receiver and the nut on the end of the thermocouple are completely rusted. I put teflon tape on the threads as recommended by the dealer but I don't want to torque down the thermocouple for fear of destroying the water heater.

Last year our first trip out we had a bad experience with a busted shutoff valve in the bypass kit leading to disconnecting the RV from the camp site and dragging it half hour up the road to an RV dealer and spending the day there while they rebuilt the bypass kit. Good time.