Drip leak from water heater

springdove

Hi all - so I’ve discovered a small drip leak from the water inlet going into our water heater,  see photo attached.  Any ideas what has caused this and how to deal with it?  

Thanks

grumbler

It's just a tap (sort off) to drain the system. Try to close it tighter using, e.g. an adjustable wrench.

If this doesn't help, it needs replacing

Jeepers_Creepers

The square nut to turn is on the underside. Tweak it only just enough to stop the drip.

If this doesn't work, it's likely the rubber washer is damaged. You'll need to shut off the water mains - which I guess supplies that pipe? - and then undo that square drain nut instead; water will come out that hose nozzle until the pipes are drained. Fully remove that nut and check the rubber washer.

Fix it by removing any debris on it/ turning it over to expose a clean undamaged surface/buying a new washer. If you have a tube of silicone GREASE in the house - always a useful thing to have - then smear the rubber washer and the nut's thread before refitting. Tweak it just tight enough.

grumbler

I didn't even know they had a washer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn5vvX9z3Zs

springdove

Thank you to both of you.  Is it likely to get worse?  It's only a drip leak that perhaps I can collect in a little bucket?  I am not that confident with DIY plumbing to be honest.  
Separately, I recently purchased a water leak insurance from Home Serve / Aviva - shall I get them to do it (I need to pay £30 excess, I think), or shall I take the risk and do it myself if it is simple enough as the posts/video above suggest it is?

Jeepers_Creepers

Have you tried just tightening it a teeny bit - literally no more than an 1/16th turn? A 'tweak'? A rotational millimetre or so? If not, try that.

Is this doesn't stop it, is it likely to get worse? No reason why it should. So by all means place a small bowl under it, scrunch up a newspaper page and drop it in there - the drips will spread out on this and evaporate much more quickly, perhaps even fast enough to not build up.

Worth getting someone out to sort it for £30? Well, that's a cheap cost for such a fix - I'm sure a plumber would charge £50 or possibly a lot more since it's still a journey out of their way, albeit for a small job. If your excess is really only £30 (check!) and if this call out doesn't affect your policy in any other negative way (check!), then by all means go for it if you want peace of mind.

If you don't feel happy doing such DIY, then working with water is probably not the best way to start - it can become wet... :-)

springdove

I just did that - looks to have fixed the issue!  The first time I think I unscrewed it and that let out a bit more water from there - then I screwed it back on a bit.  

That said I have left a bucket with some toilet tissue in it to see if this was just a temporary fix or if I’ve genuinely fixed it.

I checked and yes the excess is £30 but I have a maximum number of 3 claims in a year - so if I use one for this, I pay £30 and I then can only claim twice more (paying £30 again each time).  

Thanks very much - will report back in a day or two and hope this has genuinely fixed it!   

springdove

so far so good - thank you again both!

Jeepers_Creepers

Happy New Drip-Free Year :-)