I noticed water leading again from under left-most corner of steps out onto the floor in front of the refer. Assumed it was leaking from drain again (after repair of last fall at joint of kitchen drain ABS connection to flexible tubing under refer). That is another very long story about a multi-week repair trip a shop.
I removed the return air grate under refer and inspected the previously repaired joint, and found it intact. The ice-maker supply was also dry. I followed abs pipe until it turned back under steps and noticed that abs glue joints looked solid and dry, but some water was pooled at the back of the stairs.
At that point, I decided to see if the abs joint at the right hand side was sound. Tried to get a good look from the pass-through by following the shower drain pipe, but could not see where it joined the pipe from the kitchen drain. Removed panel on left of breaker panel and immediately on the right of the stairs, to gain access to abs drain joints.
After removing the panel, the stack of abs drain pipes was visible. The arrangement is (starting at the top): ABS pipe up to the roof with several wyes joining the bathroom sink drain, shower drain, laundry drain, and kitchen sink drain with the bottom abs pipe joint down into the gray tank. All the abs drain joints were well glued and dry, with no evidence of water drips below the drain pipe stack.
I then went back to the space under the refer, and removed the vacuum port under the refer to get a better look. While drying the floor, I felt a drip hit my hand. I could see the water heater cold water supply connection, and it looked dry. With the aid of a hand-held mirror and some arm contorsion , I was able to inspect the water heater hot water outlet, and saw a drip forming on the white nylon connection. It appears to come from the back of the connection, and not the brass check-valve itself.
I also noticed the water heater was angled down rather than being level as expected.
I placed a drip pan and it seems to drip only when the water heater heats; producing about 1/2 cup a day on those days when we run the dish washer and shower.
We left the drip pan in place for several days. After we returned from a quick visit to Denver, I verified that it was only leaking when the heater was heating water.
I considered removing the vertical trim on the left of the stairs, but decided it would be tough to reinstall it without a brad-nailer (which I don’t have with me). The only other option for access to the rear of the water heater is to remove the water heater.
Power and propane was cut to the heater, and water was shut-off. The sacrificial anode plug was removed and the tank was drained. After removing the trim ring, the heater was pulled-out, and rested on a short step-ladder. Looking inside the trailer, it was clear that the white nylon connector between the check-valve and the PEX had worn a 1/8 deep grove on the 1/2 pine nailer used to support the stairway luan plywood trim. The fitting was loose. The pex insert gasket was replaced, the fitting was reinstalled, and the tank was pressurized by turning on the water supply to the trailer.
A small seep was noticed at a pex joint between the short pex piece connected to the water heater, and the main pex feed line. The old crimp sealing ring was removed, and replaced with a worm clamp. No leaks after repressurizing the system.
A six inch high platform about 6 inches by 9 inches was constructed out of old scrap 1/2 plywood screwed together. The platform was placed in the water heater compartment such that the water heater outlet end would be supported, and the water heater was reinstalled.
After reinstalling the water heater, there is now about an inch of clearance between the hot water exit fitting, and the 1x2 trim nailer. The tank now sets level. I believe the unsupported tank had angled down while towing the trailer, and the constant rubbing of the fitting on the 1x2 nailer had caused it to work loose, and leak. The slight seeping on the loose pex joint contributed to the leak as well.
Too bad DRV did not properly support the water tank in the first place. Another short-cut during their vaulted manufacturing process led to a lot of hassle. I doubt that the original repair to the sink drain flex/abs joint was really warrented.
Attached are a few pics taken after the repair. There is one pic (enlarged and cropped down) which shows the wear-spot on the 1x2 nailer.
__________________ 2016 40KSSB4 2019 Ford F450 DRW Regular Cab
Linear Mode
