Oh oh, water leak

Z-Peller wrote:
Was it raining? I thought plumbing leak from water heater area on brand new rig. Turned out it was rainwater leak from top of flange where water heater unit is mounted into trailer. Was dripping down and followed plumbing lines on floor. Unit mounted with butyl tape and then sealant around metal flange at outside of trailer but some gaps in that sealant. Ran a good bead of Geocel across top of flange on outside and no more leak.

Same here. Some generous application of silicone fixed the problem on my prior rig. Took while and some thinking to figure it out. My water heater was on the door side, and normally the awing is up, so no leaking when raining. didn't leak until later that summer, when I had to put the awning up due to wind(first time).

Was it raining? I thought plumbing leak from water heater area on brand new rig. Turned out it was rainwater leak from top of flange where water heater unit is mounted into trailer. Was dripping down and followed plumbing lines on floor. Unit mounted with butyl tape and then sealant around metal flange at outside of trailer but some gaps in that sealant. Ran a good bead of Geocel across top of flange on outside and no more leak.

If you have a compressor you could try and see if you can hear where the leak is or use some soapy water on fittings. You could also unscrew the connections to the tank and put a temp. cap on them. If the leaking stops, it's the tank.

Water leaks on new or newer RV's are not unusual in my experiences. I had at least five in my 2015. They were all connections that were not tight enough and sometimes it takes them a while to show up.

Yours is probably the same thing and not a WH issue.

When water is heated it expands, and on a previous trailer I had this problem. Fittings may be fairly tight, but the extra pressure will cause a leak.
I would dry up area and put down some paper towels in strategic places to help identify leak. If water heater tank is leaking, the cardboard outer cover will be wet or show stains.
If fittings on tank are loose, lines may have to be disconnected and re-done to tighten them.

I agree with MFL a 2015 tank should not be a problem. I would check in back of the WH and if the leakage is not obvious put paper towels under the tank and fittings where it attaches to the tank and see where the towels get wet. The two times mine leaked were in very cold weather and I re tighten the fittings and the leakage stopped. Start with the simple checks first.

Atwood water heater tanks are aluminum which are known to leak either through pinhole openings at weld points or because the tank itself has split. A friend of ours had exactly the same experience a couple of years ago while camping so together we pulled his tank ... fortunately in his case the leak was at a weld spot so he was able to later have it successfully aluminum welded and avoided having to buy a new tank. That said, I've personally seen several Atwood water heater tanks at my local dealer that did split wide open - not a pretty sight - with the only practical recourse being to replace the tank. Fortunately Atwood does sell replacement tanks and the kit includes the required gasket set which you will need because you'll destroy the originals in the process of removing the damaged tank. Although a leak could occur at a fitting most Atwood leaks I've seen have been the tank itself, which is often not apparent until you remove the tank from the trailer and inspect it.

A water heater in a 2015 trailer should not be the leak source. It is most likely a loose plumbing fitting to/from the water heater, or pump, if it is near the leak area.

If the trailer lived in a former extreme cold climate, a cracked line, damage to pump or WH from freezing could be possible. Since you are in Texas, this shouldn't be the issue.

Jerry

First of all you need to determine where it is leaking.
Dry it up if you can, then investigate.
Check the pump connections.