My tank is only about 2 years old and I would never have thought it would take a dive this quick. I have read a few blogs and some Q&A about this problem and I was hoping that there is something else I can do before replacing the electric water heater. It is leaking from the bottom of the outboard line. I am guessing it is the outboard and not the in line because it is the line without the water shutoff. But the leak isn't coming from the connector but it looks like it is coming from the tank working it's way up into that hole. But that doesn't make much sense because there are two other lines that it should be leaking out of as well. I have released the pressure on the tank even tightened the line a little bit but nothing has cured it. I turn off the water shutoff and it doesn't leak at all, as soon as i turn on the water it starts to go. It is a slow leak but it eventually seeps up until there is a little puddle and then everywhere. I really appreciate any feedback.
Water heaters do fail under warranty and have to be replaced. Every manufacturer expects a certain amount of this because of limitations in the manufacturing process.
The question here, though, is, is it the tank or the plumbing. The plumbing you can fix. The tank you can't. If you have a copper flex line, replacing it may solve this problem. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a flex that was only a couple of years old that had split and was spraying water all over the place. If it hard-plumbed with copper tubing, it will be messier.
If you think it is leaking at the nipple, you can try removing that and replacing it with six wraps of Teflon tape. If it still leaks after that, time for a new tank.
