Chasing a leak in my water heater took 5 months to figure out

Everyone online says water heaters are simple, but my 8 year old Rheem started leaking from the top last spring. I replaced the inlet valve, then the pressure relief valve, then the whole supply line. None of it stopped the slow drip. Finally after 5 months of messing with it, a plumber buddy noticed a hairline crack in the cold water dip tube that only seeped when the water was running. Replaced that $12 part and it's been dry for 6 months now. Has anyone else dealt with a hidden crack in something that looked fine on the outside?

3 comments

3 Comments

jason5244d ago

Friend of mine had a similar issue with a tricky drip, turned out to be a tiny crack in the plastic dip tube that wasn't visible until he took the whole thing apart. That $12 part fixed everything after months of frustration too.

emerycarr4d ago

Honestly, that's rough, @jason524. It's crazy how something so small can cause so much trouble for months. Ngl, I've been there with a similar drip and ended up swapping out the whole faucet before realizing it was just a tiny O-ring. Tbh, paying attention to those little parts is way cheaper in the long run.

wade_perez2d ago

Guessing at parts for months sounds more like a hobby than a fix.