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Old 10-07-2017, 11:30 AM   #1
drjjj
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Mystery Water Leak?

Traveling Northern New Mexico. Currently in Chama. Woke up this morning to find the carpet runner in the kitchen wet, more so at the end next to the water heater. Water heater is working fine, no obvious leaks on the outside. Our unit (3400RL, 2007) has an L-shaped island. There is an access panel on both sides of the hot water heater. When I removed the access panels I can see a small amount of moisture on the floor, but no obvious leaks. The kitchen side access is where the plumbing is, and I could not feel or see any leaks. So far this morning no more leaking. It did get down to 32 last night, and I did not run the furnace as we have two ceramic space heaters. Is it possible that enough condensation occurred overnight to cause this? There is no obvious condensation on the water heater or leaking that I can see. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Old 10-07-2017, 01:08 PM   #2
mlh
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I don't think it's condensation. Put a paper towel at the place on the WH floor where you found the moisture and any other place something might be leaking.
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Old 10-07-2017, 03:31 PM   #3
Phil P
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Hi

On our 2009 3665RE the hot water heater is located in the L shaped cabinet with access to the outside and to get to the inside we remove the shelves from the living room side of the L shaped cabinet and you have full access to the back of the heater.

I had to change the check valve and that made it very easy to do.

I would access the back side and put the paper towels in there and also look at the outside and make sure you don’t have a leak there and the sealant they use to keep the water in that part of the heater install out of the inside is not leaking.

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Old 10-07-2017, 04:29 PM   #4
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How about overflow from condensation in fridge. If you open the outside lower access panel you will see a rubber tube which drains into a small plastic container. Mine would occasionally fill up the tray into which it drips, and then eventually come out onto kitchen floor. It is supposed to evaporate. I re-routed the drip tube so it drains to the outside of the trailer. Solved the problem.
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Old 10-07-2017, 06:01 PM   #5
Slufoot733
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dr, I also rerouted the condensation tube to the outside where it drips harmlessly onto the ground. I hope this is your problem cause it's super simple to correct.
BTW, isn't Chama neat!? There's nothing there! I mean there's a Subway, a couple bars, and homes. No big stores, no supermarket, one hotel/motel, and some homes. No gas station, no convenience store, etc. But of course there IS the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. If you're there you HAVE GOT TO RIDE that train ! Take the long run, from Antinito to Chama. It's truly awesome.

Good luck with the water leak.
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Old 10-08-2017, 04:18 AM   #6
WaltBennett
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drjjj View Post
Traveling Northern New Mexico. Currently in Chama. Woke up this morning to find the carpet runner in the kitchen wet, more so at the end next to the water heater. Water heater is working fine, no obvious leaks on the outside. Our unit (3400RL, 2007) has an L-shaped island. There is an access panel on both sides of the hot water heater. When I removed the access panels I can see a small amount of moisture on the floor, but no obvious leaks. The kitchen side access is where the plumbing is, and I could not feel or see any leaks. So far this morning no more leaking. It did get down to 32 last night, and I did not run the furnace as we have two ceramic space heaters. Is it possible that enough condensation occurred overnight to cause this? There is no obvious condensation on the water heater or leaking that I can see. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Ours has the same layout and I had water on our carpet that I eventually traced to the hot water heater tank having cracked. Apparently it had started with a small one and really gotten bad after we drove around Chicago. I had to remove the vacuum (four screws, not hard) and use a flashlight to see the rear of the heater and floor to find it though. There's a small plastic door on the outside of the L on ours that is barely large enough to get my hand in, and didn't give a good enough view. After replacing the unit, I had a terrible time getting the pipe fittings sealed - finally had to use some epoxy plumber's putty.

One thing you need to look carefully at is that our tank was supported by a piece of composite board held up on the outside edges by two 1" x 1" sticks. The crack had leaked onto it while getting worse and worse, and of course the composite had deteriorated to the point where it had sagged to the sub floor. This had also helped make the crack worse over time as well. I put some shims underneath the middle part when installing the new heater so it's fully supported now.

If yours is like our '10 3665RE and you need to replace the heater, you'll have to cut a hole in the kitchen side wall of that L to access the gas line. I tried every way I could to not do this, but it's the only way to be able to pull it back (copper tube, and stiff) get the old one out, then push it back to the hole it goes through on the new one. Guess they built the thing around the heater! Anyway, you just need a box cutter as the paneling is very thin. Be careful as there are a couple of wires behind it besides the gas line. I built and attached a frame out of stained oak molding, glued it to the scrap and then mounted it back with some small screws in each corner. Isn't hardly noticeable now, but can be removed easily if someone (hopefully not me!) ever has to get in there again.
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Old 10-08-2017, 02:31 PM   #7
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Just a shot in the dark. But did you happen to find water after doing a black tank flush? Those valves are notorious for leaking.
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Old 10-08-2017, 03:54 PM   #8
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An update-after the first night in Chama we have not observed a leak on the floor again. However, there is now a significant fresh water leak dripping off of the Valterra sewer hose tube at the front of the rig. I know it is fresh water by process of elimination (turned off the fresh water supply and it stopped). I have thoroughly checked all the plumbing inside and in the belly and nothing leaking-everything is dry. I have to assume the leak is underneath the trailer and hidden by the belly covering. Not even a plumber in Chama much less an RV person, so it is going to have to wait until we get home. I will let everyone know what happens.
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Old 10-08-2017, 10:01 PM   #9
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Did you pull the back wall of the basement to look for the water leak behind the convenience center is wear all the water lines are in your rig sounds like your leak is
back there you should before you flood your rig.

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Old 10-09-2017, 07:54 AM   #10
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Disconnect from city water, put some water in your fresh water tank. Turn on the pump switch and use some water. The pump should go off when you stop using water and should not come on again until you do. If it comes on when you are not using any water, You have a leak somewhere.
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Old 10-09-2017, 08:32 AM   #11
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Disconnect from city water, put some water in your fresh water tank. Turn on the pump switch and use some water. The pump should go off when you stop using water and should not come on again until you do. If it comes on when you are not using any water, You have a leak somewhere.
Good idea!
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Old 10-09-2017, 09:09 AM   #12
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Disconnect from city water, put some water in your fresh water tank. Turn on the pump switch and use some water. The pump should go off when you stop using water and should not come on again until you do. If it comes on when you are not using any water, You have a leak somewhere.
DO THIS! This is one of the several checks that my excellent dealer does on his pre-delivery.
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