Caulk for HW heater opening?

[Bruce and Jenna]

Woke up this AM to heavy rain on the roof. And "Beep, beep, beep" shortly thereafter.

Aforementioned Beep...emitting from my water leak detector under the water heater. Which detector, apparently, slid out of sight during recent travel.

After removing the false wall under the sink, I saw the detector cowering along the outside wall. Directly under a steady drip of water from the heater. The drip eventually stopped when the rain ended.

I surmise water is dripping in around the caulking between the heater and the fiberglass. Can you suggest a caulk I can apply that will withstand the heat from the burner?

Thanks.
...and if not, it's something else (lag bolt).

PS I'm considering cutting out this panel so I can see the heater.

The door hides that opening anyway. Any reason not to?

[Workshop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce and Jenna I surmise water is dripping in around the caulking between the heater and the fiberglass. Can you suggest a caulk I can apply that will withstand the heat from the burner? PS I'm considering cutting out this panel so I can see the heater. The door hides that opening anyway. Any reason not to?

I have always used a GE Silicone, in white. I don't think the area where the caulk is located would get hot enough to require a special caulk. My install manual only refers to caulking the area.

As far as cutting out the panel....looks like the purpose is to 'hide' all that service stuff. If you don't mind seeing it when the door is open...go for it.

workhorse

[ARRET]

Water leak detector ; you learn new things all the time. Where do you get a water leak detector?

[Still Working "NOT"]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARRET Water leak detector ; you learn new things all the time. Where do you get a water leak detector?

Lowe's or Home Depot. Cost is $15-$20. There's other places that have them also, just don't recall. CRS is working fine.

[Bruce and Jenna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Still Working "NOT" Lowe's or Home Depot. Cost is $15-$20. There's other places that have them also, just don't recall. CRS is working fine.

I found mine, made by Zircon, at Ace Hardware, tho had to order it. See this link Amazon.com: Zircon Leak Alert Electronic Water Detector, 1-Pack: Home Improvement

I put one under the water heater, a second under the shower drain, a third under the lav drain. I should put another one by the water pump. All areas that commonly leak.

Change the batteries yearly for peace of mind. Well worth it, as this incident shows.

[Endeavor2BnC]

We use them also. Saved us from a disaster in the basement. We use "earthquake putty" to hold them in place. We bought ours at Home Depot.

[KU9L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce and Jenna I found mine, made by Zircon, at Ace Hardware, tho had to order it. See this link Amazon.com: Zircon Leak Alert Electronic Water Detector, 1-Pack: Home Improvement I put one under the water heater, a second under the shower drain, a third under the lav drain. I should put another one by the water pump. All areas that commonly leak. Change the batteries yearly for peace of mind. Well worth it, as this incident shows.

Good points to monitor indeed! We had been manually checking all of these areas in our new coach as they had all leaked in our 2001 within the year we owned it. Yesterday as we were packing up to head to Camping World I discovered a leak in our basement that wasn't there a month before. It turned out the metal nut on the shower drain had worked loose, so I had to remove the shower drain trap to secure the metal nut on the shower drain. Fortunately I didn't have to re-putty to drain (yet). Thanks Jack for the tips.

This was just one of several things I was dealing with when packing and cleaning up after being parked for six months. After re-lubing our slide rams our big side (electric) came in but didn't go back out. After 2 - 3 quick calls to Ralph we determined it was jammed. A quick counter-clockwise turn on the ram screw end in the gearbox with a 5/8" box end wrench got it going again, although it still seems a bit jerky and is making clunking sounds as it labors outward. I think on our way out to CO this May we will ask Ralph to order us some new parts to install to remedy the situation while we are under warranty.

The last thing to happen to us today was self inflicted. After getting our new 25.5K low profile Pullrite 5er hitch and Airborne pinbox installed I did not notice that our electrical cord was ripe for dragging on the ground. Our old Fadex 520 pinbox had a tie point to help secure the cord, but it wasn't needed since with our gooseneck hitch I plugged into a 7-pin connecter in the hitch pocket well over the axle. I coiled the 5er pinbox to lay on the flatbed so it never got into trouble.

Today it dragged on the ground sometime after my first stop of our 120 mile trip to Winter Haven from Ft Myers. In a short time it cut through the sheathing and two of seven wires, skinning the other 5. Fortunately it did not affect the truck electrical system and the 5er brakes were still working. Tomorrow I will splice and solder the cord with staggered cuts & shrinkwrap (to keep the repair from looking like an embedded walnut) and perhaps replace it with a new cord at a later date.

Life sure has a learning curve!

Dave

[dream reachers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce and Jenna I found mine, made by Zircon, at Ace Hardware, tho had to order it. See this link Amazon.com: Zircon Leak Alert Electronic Water Detector, 1-Pack: Home Improvement I put one under the water heater, a second under the shower drain, a third under the lav drain. I should put another one by the water pump. All areas that commonly leak. Change the batteries yearly for peace of mind. Well worth it, as this incident shows.

Thanks for the information on the leak detector. I think I will buy 2-3

[dream reachers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce and Jenna I found mine, made by Zircon, at Ace Hardware, tho had to order it. See this link Amazon.com: Zircon Leak Alert Electronic Water Detector, 1-Pack: Home Improvement I put one under the water heater, a second under the shower drain, a third under the lav drain. I should put another one by the water pump. All areas that commonly leak. Change the batteries yearly for peace of mind. Well worth it, as this incident shows.

Thanks for the information on the leak detector. I think I will buy 2-3

[KU9L]

I bought three while we where in central FL and wished I bought 100 so I could give them out to friends and family, RVers and non-RVers alike. It was a bonus that they sound out help in International Morse Code SOS (... --- ...)

Dave