Water Heaters - Hi first post but need help with heater nipple

Hi, my first post here. I have a Whirlpool heater that I bought from Lowe's and I think I messed up the install. The heater comes with Dielectric nipples and I thought it was plastic plugs and I tried to remove one of them with a plier. I then realized that it was supposed to be that way. Well I tried smoothing it back and put lots of teflon tape on it and well there is now a very small leak.

I have a flexible copper line on it and was wondering if that was the problem since it has a rubber washer on it. The cold water side is fine and the connections to the wall are fine too.

Just wondering what I can do while I wait for the replacement parts to come in the mail.

I was thinking of soldering a female fitting to a short pipe with a male end and connect it to the nipple then I can tighten it more. Does this sound good?

Also, I tried to remove the damaged nipple with both a vice grip and a channel lock and was unsuccessful. Should I use a pipe wrench on the fitting? The Whirlpool heater I have does not have exposed fittings from the tank and looks like I have to remove the top cover to expose them. Any DYI'ers worked on these before. I don't want to mess things up more than I did already.

Any ideas will be appreciated. Thanks!
Mauka

Me personally...i use a pipe wrench and yank those babies out :)

But they are there for a purpose..just doesn't do much where i live so i'm not going to tell you to remove em. Although in your current situation it may be the best option *shrugs*.

If you want though, your 1st option is fine. Solder a piece of pipe in a female fitting and screw it on the nipple. Use lots of teflon and dope.

Another option..... Remove those fittings and buy some brass fittings. Use teflon tape and thread sealer. The brass will never rust or give you any trouble.

To remove the existing steel fittings, I use a 18" pipe wrench.

You can buy a replacement dielectric nipple at any hardware store.

Yeah you dont *need* the nipples that came with the water heater. You can use any nipple, perferably brass like Jim said.

I seemed to have gotten it fixed. I took everything apart reshaped the plastic, filed it smooth and redid the teflon tape putting at least six wraps around the pipe. It seems to be holding up. I wrapped a paper shop towel around it and there is no moisture. So far so good!

Thanks again!