New Flex lines leaking like a sieve.....help?!?!

[Ed5]

Just replaced old heater with new tank and went to connect new stainless braided water lines from Everbilt 'kit' and cold leaked constantly from top and hot leaked from bottom(tank) connections. I cleaned threads and used 3-4 wraps of tape and I declared it was a shoddy kit. I went and purchased flex copper lines similar to previous connections, but also made by Everbilt. These also leaked in same places. What am I doing wrong? I'm not new to water tight connections (water pumps, washing machine, dishwasher, toilets), but this is my first water heater replacement. The leaks appear to be coming from behind the nut (both braided and copper lines) and not in front where the union takes place with the threads and tape.

Any advice...greatly appreciated

 

[Cacher_Chick]

I have seen ones that seal with a rubber gasket in the nut, much like a garden hose. These should not have any tape on the threads, as they need to be tightened snugly up to the gasket.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

On many of those, adding tape will CAUSE a leak, not stop it. If there's a gasket in there, nix the tape.

 

[Ed5]

Your experience is much appreciated!...... I will try them without the tape

 

[Ed5]

Stripped the tape off and also ran into another forum response steering me away from the stainless shrouded lines due to eventual breakdown of rubber material. Reattached copper lines and worked like a charm!.......I'm pretty amazed that after searching the web and watching countless videos, that not one individual mentioned tape being the cause of a leak. Your direct input with my specific information was invaluable!

THANKS!! You guys are fantastic!

 

[Jadnashua]

I learned a lot of this stuff here by listening to the pros. I try to feed it back as accurately as I can to help others. Mess up once in awhile, glad I got this one right.

 

[hj]

Tape "causing" leaks is an 'old wives tale'. If the seal is with a gasket, anything on the threads is immaterial.

 

[Terry]

Tape "causing" leaks is an 'old wives tale'. If the seal is with a gasket, anything on the threads is immaterial.

HJ, What happens sometimes, is that the person wrapping the tape leaves a strand where the seal is supposed to be. If the tape were only on the threads it wouldn't be an issue. It would do anything, but it also wouldn't hurt it.
However, if a small strand of tape is left where the rubber seal is supposed to come in contact with the "end" of the pipe, that is a problem. I have sound many leaking supply lines where the tape was messy and allowed a gap between the seal and the end of the pipe.
I don't bother using tape there at all. It does nothing. The flex supply nut is a straight thread and is just there to pull the seal down to the end of the pipe.