On 6/23/2017 7:24 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 6/23/2017 5:14 PM, Uncle Dan wrote:
Kenmore gas water heater installed 1/10/17. No dents or obvious
external
damage to the tank. Everything worked fine for 5 months.
Leaked last night. Steady drip, say one half gallon per minute,
visible from
the bottom of the tank. The back side of the tank€”not near any fitting.
I shut off the gas, turned off the water supply, ran out a little
water to
relieve the pressure€”leak stopped.
Came back this morning, re-pressurized the tank. The leak came back
for less
than sixty seconds, then stopped by itself.
Turned the gas back on, relit the burner, everything back as it was.
No leak
now for about 5 hours.
Intermittent leaks can be caused by intermittent high pressure. Where
exactly is the leak? It could be a defective weld in the tank or is it
the PRV?

I was going to suggest that too. Happened to me. I'd see water in the
morning but trail to relief pipe had dried out. Change of valve solved
problem.