Greetings,

I have a small amount of water leaking from the area where the pressure/temperature relief valve attaches to my Kenmore Powersaver 12, 80 gallon hot water tank. I replaced the relief valve which was encrusted pretty badly. However, the leak continues. And yes, I taped the threads. Is my next chore to start reviewing hot water tanks? Should I try to fix the leak (assuming I can find it) with marine epoxy? The tank is about 5 years old.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Cheers,
Moj

Hey MOJ...

Exactly how many wraps of teflon did you use? The leak is not at the T&P valve threads, but at the tapping of the water heater... yes? Let me know.

Otherwise, the tank being only 5 years old tells me that the tank is still under warranty and you should be able to contact local handler of these units and get a new one for no or very little charge (shipping and handling, for example). You will need to get the serial number and the model number and name on unit (all located at front of heater).

Let me know more here...

Thanks...

MARK

Greetings Mark the Mass Plumber,
I probably did about three wraps of tape around the threads. Should I use more? Best I can tell, the leak isn't between the threads on the nipple and tap, but appears to be coming out about a quarter inch below the where the nipple is threaded into the tap (if I understand you).

Mojo...

Try to wrap about 7-8 turns (clockwise) of teflon tape in this case. If that fails then you may need to replace the entire heater.

Any time I install a nipple to a water heater I use extra teflon tape as I have had a couple nipples leak because I went light on tape.

Let me know how it goes.

MARK