I wanted to bounce something off you guys about my water heater we just replced on Saturday. After a very long day of problems trying to install this thing because we couldn't get the lines dry enough to solder on the cold supply, we were all ready to pack up and noticed the fittings where the hot and cold pipes were leaking. We unscrewed it and noticied some of the insulation they put in spilled into the threads. I thought that's what was causing it to leak but we pealed all of it off. I was wondering if you know of any tricks to plug that up. It isn't a huge leak, but it puddles a little bit around the recessed fittings. Someone had suggested wrapping a rag soaked in salt and water and letting that, I guess, corroded around there wipping off the excess. Is this a good idea? Any other suggestions would be aprreciated. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by jduke44

I wanted to bounce something off of you guys about my water heater we just replced on Saturday. After a very long day of problems trying to install this thing because we couldn't get the lines dry enough to solder on the cold supply, we were all ready to pack up and noticed the fittings where the hot and cold pipes were leaking. We unscrewed it and noticied some of the insulation they put in spilled into the threads. I thought that's what was causing it to leak but we pealed all of it off. I was wondering if you know of any tricks to plug that up. It isn't a huge leak, but it puddles a little bit around the recessed fittings. Someone had suggested wrapping a rag soaked in salt and water and letting that, I guess, corroded around there wipping off the excess. Is this a good idea? Any other suggestions would be aprreciated. Thanks.

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What fittings? What "insulation"? Plug what up? What leak? Where from? A rag soaked in salt? Repair a leak by letting it corrode?
I'm sorry but I can't make much sense out of your question. I'm sure you can see this clearly in your minds eye . However I need more details before I can answer. Perhaps one of the other experts can make sense out of this. How about it guys? Tom

Sorry for the vagueness. I don't know the terms very well and you're right I can see it better than explain it. Ok, here goes again. It is leaking where the two hot and cold water supply lines go into the water heater. They put insulation inside the water heater and it seemed some of it spilled over where you would screwed the supply lines into the water heater. I scraped most of that out of there but it is still leaking. A friend heard about doing the rag in salt water as a way to seal the leak provided it is a ver small leak. Corroding it is the best way I could describe what he was talking about. I hope I explained it better. Thanks

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Originally Posted by jduke44

Sorry for the vagueness. I don't know the terms very well and you're right I can see it better than explain it. Ok, here goes again. It is leaking where the two hot and cold water supply lines go into the water heater. They put insulation inside the water heater and it seemed some of it spilled over where you would screwed the supply lines into the water heater. I scraped most of that out of there but it is still leaking. A friend heard about doing the rag in salt water as a way to seal the leak provided it is a ver small leak. Corroding it is the best way I could describe what he was talking about. I hope I explained it better. Thanks

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... pipe sealant (such as Teflon tape) on the pipe threads before connecting the pipes?

I already have that on there. Is there some other form of sealant that I could use? I was going to go to a True Value Hardware store to see what they say.

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Originally Posted by jduke44

Sorry for the vagueness. I don't know the terms very well and you're right I can see it better than explain it. Ok, here goes again. It is leaking where the two hot and cold water supply lines go into the water heater. They put insulation inside the water heater and it seemed some of it spilled over where you would screwed the supply lines into the water heater. I scraped most of that out of there but it is still leaking. A friend heard about doing the rag in salt water as a way to seal the leak provided it is a ver small leak. Corroding it is the best way I could describe what he was talking about. I hope I explained it better. Thanks

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Thank you, you explained it fine. If True Value doesn't have what you need try Grrip Pipe Joint and Gasket Sealant made by Hercules Co, check it out at
http://www.herchem.com/PDF/grrip.pdf
I hope this takes care of your leaks. Regards. Tom

Thanks Tom, Flickit. You guys are awesome! I have a plumber friend locally but sometimes don't like to ask him because he sounds like my father did when he was alive. Needless to say, he makes me feel stupid and doesn't realize I was never taught these things. I am trying to learn as I go. You guys answer our questions without belittling us. Thanks again.