Possible "spot weld?"

[Castranova]

Went out to check camper after cold night. Had a ceramic heater on the hot water tank which was full. I noticed a small drip coming out of the top right fitting. I think it was the actual plastic fitting, so I put plumber's tape on it and screwed it back on. Since I drained the tank to work on it, I'll leave it that way overnight. Tomorrow I'll fill it back up, but dang, if it's the actual hot water heater (metal right by the part that sticks out,) is there a type or "fix" without spot welding it? Liquid nails maybe?

 

[Derby6]

Clean area well  even try and scuff with a file and use JB WELD.

 

[Castranova]

Thanks so much! I hope I fixed it, but am going to get JB Weld in the morning!  :-*

 

[Derby6]

I cracked an engine block on a demolition derby car and grinded it down into a 'V' and JB welded the block.  Held for a 4th place finish out of 60 cars....That stuff is amazing...lol
I have had less luck with it ob plastic radiators though...I think the expanding flexibility keeps it from holding as well....lol

 

[Castranova]

Derby, now it feels as if we're talking about my waistline~"expanding flexibility," 
I never thought to get Jb Weld, but I knew about. I just didn't think it really worked. Your post shows it DOES!

 

[Foto-n-T]

JB Weld is wonderful stuff, especially the JB Weld Kwik (sets in 4 minutes).  If your hot water tank is actually fractured though I wouldn't get my hopes up too much.  Those tanks do expand and contract and as stated above JB Weld doesn't have much "give" to it.  It sounds like you don't have too much to lose by trying it though.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Ahhh! Duct tape, WD40 and JB Weld! How did we ever live without them?

If the tank itself has a small leak (doubtful), try a plumber's epoxy rather than JB. It is formulated for that type of application. Most any hardware store should have it.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

I'll second Gary's suggestion. I had a crack in the overflow bottle of my radiator (Ford V10 radiators pressurize the plastic overflow bottle) and used JB Weld to try to get thru the next 200 miles. Fortunately, the rig doesn't overheat when the radiator is six inches low because the repair lasted about 20 minutes at temperature.

Ernie

 

[Castranova]

After applying the plumber's tape around the joint, I don't see anymore leaks, but it may because the tank isn't completely full yet. I'm hoping it will be okay, because I felt the leak coming from the plastic when it met the metal orifice on the tank. At least it's easy to get to. The bathroom door opens right onto it in plain sight!