I had a new hot water tank installed about a year ago. I noticed one of the fittings (cold water inlet) is reacting terribly, and the other fitting (hot water outlet) still looks new.

What are the possible causes of this? Will this lead to problems if not addressed?

Cold Water Inlet...


Hot Water Outlet...


Thanks!
Doug

it is a slow leak

the water is evaporating leaving behind the mineral content

unscrew the fitting - wire brush the 'corrosion' - re dope - reinstall

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

once again my friend from SC is spot on with his assessment.
if in trying to unscrew the adapter the nipple comes loose from the tank, take it right out and re-dope that and the adapter. i doubt that will happen but if it does just don't try to retighten it without re-doping it..

Thanks for the quick replies!

I'm tempted to call up the plumber that installed this and have him come out. The fitting extends up 14" via copper to the shutoff valve - so no simple fix (homeowner-wise) without breaking the connections on up.

How common for a plumber to give a break (discount, not looking for free) if the leak is from his install?



Edited 1 times.

I had the same exact issue only mine was 1 week old and the leak was much more noticeable. This is what I posted in another thread.

Quote

Grrrrrr...

My new water heater leaked yesterday.

It was installed for a week and no leak. I checked when it was initially installed.

But yesterday I went to put on some foam insulation around the hot and cold pipes feeding the tank, and in the process nudged the tank a little, soon after I noticed a puddle of water on top of the tank.

I shut the cold water off, turned power off. Dried everything. Then I noticed the leak is from the cold side, the nipple from the tank is leaking, water seeping up from the tank side.

I disconnected the SS supply pipes, and found out that the 3/4" nipple on the tank can be unthreaded with ease, with my two fingers I can remove it.

I never checked to make sure those nipples are tight! I thought they are supposed to be properly threaded in from the factory!

So I put some pipe dope on it and thread it back in and tightened it. Did the hot side to make sure.

Aren't these nipples supposed to be tight from factory?

Good thing it leaked when it did when I was there.

I would definitely try calling the plumber and see if he/she would come fix it...it's a 50/50 some plumbers take pride in their work and look at that as the cost of cultivating a loyal customer who would call him the next time there is a need, yet some others would say perhaps you bumped into the water heater or sat on it or whatever, and moved the tank which causes the connection to come loose. No telling except to call and find out.

Either full price or free, depending on whether it is covered by HIS guarantee.

once the water is shut and a bucket of water is drained from the heater, it is about a 5-6 minute repair for the slowest of plumbers. he will need a coupling as well. that will cost under 1 dollar.
you should not have to pay for such an obvious mistake..

If it is NOT a "guaranty" repair, it makes no difference if it is 30 seconds or one hour, the cost will be the same.

i would say it is a poor installation and any plumber who has a sense of pride will fix it for free...
i certainly would..

All these replies and nobody questions the copper screwed directly to the steel nipple? Are the plastic lined nipples approved as a dielectric? Do your codes allow copper to steel like that?

apparently dielectric nipples are approved by water heater manufacturers...




[waterheaterreviews.com]

I put on dielectric nipples regardless, I don't care. If the tank has to be replaced and the height isn't a major issue, the next heater won't take but a couple minutes to install. Draining the old tank would take longer than setting and reconnecting a new tank.

Packy, this is from the link you posted - "Care must be taken with the female adapter that threads onto the Dielectric Nipple to ensure that the water is not able to touch both the nipple and adapter where they connect to avoid corrosion problems."

How do you accomplish this? The plastic rim that extends out past the nipple doesn't seat(bottom out) against the inside of the female fitting, so water can make it to the connection point of the dissimilar metals. The rim might have a large enough diameter, that the female cuts a thread in the plastic as you screw it on, but I think that's a lousy way to "ensure" that that becomes a water proof seal.

sounds like we had better bring this before judge wapner.

That is a CYA statement so that if anything happens it is your fault because you didn't follow the directions, even though it is impossible to do so.