Yet another item to check - Water Heater

Yes, another item to look at as you are checking over your RPod. The way the water heater is installed is that there is a hole in the side of the RPod. The water heater lines up with this hole so that the propane burner has its air intake and exhaust outside the RPod. There is a frame that slides into the inside of the heater casing from the outside and the cover is held on by the two bottom screws that hold the frame in place. Ideally, this is sealed by the factory. Under less than ideal conditions, this sealing may be done incorrectly.

Symptoms: When draining the Hot Water tank, water will not flow only from the heater, but will flow or drip from underneath the RPod in places not directly under the water heater. In my case, it was leaking from the foam plug that is around the LP hose and from the front corner. That meant that water had to come from somewhere. Early on, I saw that the silicone that had been applied to the area did not appear to be done very well, so my dealer added more silicone. I thought it was okay, but I noticed the last time that I drained the tank to check the anode rod that it was still leaking from those areas. I decided to remove the cover and found that the bottom of the frame where the silicone had been placed had been incorrectly and inadequately sealed.

First thing is that the silicone had been placed over the top of the sticker that had the specifications. Unfortunately, the adhesive for the sticker deteriorated. That meant that water was flowing behind and underneath the sticker and under the frame. Second was that the other corner also showed that the area had not been cleaned adequately before it was sealed as there was evidence of grit in the area of the corner, again allowing water to flow under the frame. Since the face of the frame was adequately sealed against water getting in from the outside, this also kept that water from flowing out. It had to go somewhere, so it was flowing into the interior and flowing along the bottom of the wall and floor until it found a way out. This was the cause of the dripping. Third was that the opening for the heater was square and the water heater's corners were rounded, so there was a gap between the water heater and the wall which was where the water was going that got into the frame.

After cleaning up the frame and water heater housing of old sealant, I first sealed the water heater housing just in case. I then used Dicor Cap Sealant, Non-Sag, #251CSB-1 sealant to seal the frame, including to put a good amount on the bottom to fill the area that had leaked previously. If you check my mods, I wrote this up and put pictures there.

I recommend that the water heater area be included in checks of the sealant. If you find that one of the labels is partly covered by the sealant at the bottom, then get it out of the way and re-seal the area. If you have water dripping from under your RPod when you drain the hot water tank, this is likely why it is happening and you should have your dealer remove the frame and seal it properly if it is still under warranty or do it yourself if the warranty has expired.