Water Heater inlet leaking

[MrWildBill]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and would like some advice and opinions please.

My home is going to be 6 years old in a couple of months and has an electric 40 gallon Bradford White water heater. I recently noticed that the inlet connection on top of the water heater is corroded and seeping water out of it. I wiped the flaking corrosion away and tried to tighten the connection, but it didn't seem to do anything except maybe make it seep more.

I called the plumbing company listed on the tank (original installer of it) and the lady told me that the water heater is under warranty for 6 years (so it would be covered) but not the labor. After describing the seeping connection to her, she wanted to contact a plumbing tech and ask him if the water heater would need replacing or just the connection. She called me back and said that the connection isn't warrantied and would have to charge parts and labor.

My question is... does the connection or the entire water heater need replacing since it's corroded on the connection and on the inlet to the water heater?
Also, should there be thread tape on there?

Thanks in advance,
Bill

 

[Basement_Lurker]

I can't see where there is any water seeping from in your picture, but I think it's safe to say that the nipple and connector hose should be replaced...you have a lot of corrosion going on there.

If your water heater is still doing its job and heating the water, then no it doesn't have to be replaced...just the inlet connection(s).

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jimbo]

Can't really tell what you have there.....they used a short nipple, which probably was hard to tighten up. There is too much teflon tape in the picture, and if all that tape is on the top side of the nipple, that is WHY it is leaking. NO TAPE on gasket connections.

Get a galvanized 3" dielectric nipple, a new flex line, and a big wrench.

 

[Kingsotall]

Maybe wouldn't hurt to have the plumber in mind finish the repair. He might have some knowledge about the rest of the water heater that might prove useful while it's still under warranty.