water heater leaking fro drain hole

[garryjohnson]

hi there, last weekend the chap next to n]me on the site a was on allerted me tp a puddle under my water heater outside my van, on closer inspection i found water dripping from the drain bung on the bottom left corner, it only seems to do it when the heater is switched on and ive checked the the bung and its tight , any ideas please? thanks

garry

 

[MikeJE]

Garry,

Is the bung you refer to the red plug on the end of a short pipe under the van? I replaced mine with an in line tap from my local caravan shop simply to make draining the system less of a chore. If your bung is leaking this might solve your problem and make draining easier.

 

[boeingtech]

hi, mine leaks a little also (from the drain plug on the bottom corner).I guess theres a sealing washer that needs changing. As it isnt too bad a leak i will leave it until i come to winterise the van at the end of the season.(i will however sort the spare part out and carry it in the van just in case).

I guess it will depend on how bad yours is leaking to decide when to sort it out.Just remember to turn the heater off and ensure the water is cool before undoing it to prevent tripping the heater/ scolds...

 

[garryjohnson]

Garry,

Is the bung you refer to the red plug on the end of a short pipe under the van? I replaced mine with an in line tap from my local caravan shop simply to make draining the system less of a chore. If your bung is leaking this might solve your problem and make draining easier.

hi mike

no, its the actual screw out 1 on the bottom l/h corner of the cowl itself.

cheers

garry

 

[Damian]

There should be an O ring seal on the drain plug, I expect yours has either perished or fallen off when thebung was undone at some time.

There will also be some limescale build up, which is normal, just clean the mating surface up, fit a new O ring and do the bung up just enough to form a seal

 

[MikeJE]

Garry,

Follow Damians advice. I had the same leak and a new O ring solved the problem and, while you are at it, buy some spare O rings. They come in handy as I have found it to be a recurring situation.

 

[garryjohnson]

Garry,

Follow Damians advice. I had the same leak and a new O ring solved the problem and, while you are at it, buy some spare O rings. They come in handy as I have found it to be a recurring situation.

many thanks everyone

 

[waffler]

When you put a new o ring on give it a wipe with olive oil. That'll extend its life.

 

[forestgump]

remebre not to over do the plug its verey tempting to do just one more turn on the spanner.

 

[gary]

It might be useful to know, the ideal size O ring is 18mm ID x 2.5mm section

 

[MikeJE]

That is useful to know. Caravan shops sometimes charge extra for such things when, if you know what to ask for, you can get them far cheaper at a hardware shop. And by the half dozen.

 

[Gagakev]

Sorry to hi-jack your post garry

But on the subject of the red bung how do you remove it?

Does it unscrew or do you pull it out?

I have tried and feel if I do the wrong thing I'll do more damage!!

I have up to know drained from the side of

the van and am aware there will still be a certain amount of water still in the heater

Kev

 

[jacky3]

Sorry to hi-jack your post garry

But on the subject of the red bung how do you remove it?

Does it unscrew or do you pull it out?

I have tried and feel if I do the wrong thing I'll do more damage!!

I have up to know drained from the side of

the van and am aware there will still be a certain amount of water still in the heater

Kev

hi, there should be a flange where the bung goes in,push this up with your thumb and this should release the bung.

also where its leaking from the plug,yes it could be the seal,but if it hasn,t been drained correctly or not at all,it could have iced up and cracked the housing.,.....hopefully not.

 

[MikeJE]

Gagakev,

It was because of the problems I had removing the bung - having to grope under the 'van on my knees, usually in a puddle or on sharp gravel - that I replaced the red bung with an in-line tap. Now all I have to do is bend down, feel for tap and open it. Job done.

 

[Gagakev]

jacky thanks for that, will have a quick peep later.

Mike J E think your tap idea is a good one and next time I'm at the caravan shop I'll see what they have.

Kev

 

[ProfJohnL]

This thread is a good example of how a lack of information from the headline post results in assumptions, and in some cases what appear to be quite wrong assumption being made.

Garry when asking a technical question it is really helpful and important to make sure you include the year, make and model of the appliance you are referring. Not only are there several different makes of water heater available, even what appears to be the same make can have important differences introduced during the products life.

From your description of the "bung at the bottom left" I draw the conclusion you are referring to a Carver Cascade 2 water heater. However there were several different variant of that model, and in particular the drain plug (bottom left) had two distinct designs. The vast majority were of the type and size that Damian has given, but the first tranch used an imperial sized fitting.

In the context of it being a Cascade 2, Mike JE's 1st response makes no sense as there is no red bung on a Cascade.

Forests advice also has no relevance as the bung does not have hexagon to which a spanner can be fitted.

In conclusion, and based on the subsequent posts it does seem to be a Cascade 2 and so an 'O' ring replacement will almost certainly resolve the problem

 

[MikeJE]

This thread is a good example of how a lack of information from the headline post results in assumptions, and in some cases what appear to be quite wrong assumption being made.

Garry when asking a technical question it is really helpful and important to make sure you include the year, make and model of the appliance you are referring. Not only are there several different makes of water heater available, even what appears to be the same make can have important differences introduced during the products life.

From your description of the "bung at the bottom left" I draw the conclusion you are referring to a Carver Cascade 2 water heater. However there were several different variant of that model, and in particular the drain plug (bottom left) had two distinct designs. The vast majority were of the type and size that Damian has given, but the first tranch used an imperial sized fitting.

In the context of it being a Cascade 2, Mike JE's 1st response makes no sense as there is no red bung on a Cascade.

Forests advice also has no relevance as the bung does not have hexagon to which a spanner can be fitted.

In conclusion, and based on the subsequent posts it does seem to be a Cascade 2 and so an 'O' ring replacement will almost certainly resolve the problem

Hindsight is 20/20. But at least my response is seemingly of help - for Kev - albeit in another direction.

 

[garryjohnson]

Hindsight is 20/20. But at least my response is seemingly of help - for Kev - albeit in another direction.

hi john.

many thanks for the help on this, it is as you say a carver cascade 2 with a screw in non hex bung to the bottom left corner.

many thanks to boeing, mike and damien for your help which i followed and, as a great inspector once said, the case is sol ved.

many thanks for all your help.

best regards

garry