Troubleshooting a water heater issue

Great news and Great Job, Jose!

I have been working on many different projects, but have a successful RV repair update. If this thread should move the general section, I don't have a problem with that.

I have continued to work on my water heater issue by pulling the anode rod (there was no rod left-it, was just a plug) and looking inside the tank. The inside was in darned good shape, so I decided it was worth some effort and money to see if I could get this guy up and running again.

The first thing I did was put in an anode rod and convert to electric with a Camco "Hybrid Heat" kit. It's only a 450 watt element, but it certainly gets the water over 125 degrees. The hardest part of the install was getting 120V over to the area by the water heater. The instructions in the Hybrid Heat kit are very clear and it worked like a charm by the time I was done.

Now that I had a functional water heater, I turned my attention to the LPG function. I found a 12V solenoid coil that allowed me to repair/test my existing valve/reg. setup. I also tried a new flame sensor ($20), but it would still turn on, then die almost immediately. After some more testing, I decided that the real problem was in the board. My water heater was made by a company that no longer exists and I couldn't find an OEM replacement. A call to Dinosaur electronics confirmed that my water heater could use their UIBL model board ($80). I installed the solenoid coil and new board today.

The combination of the new board and solenoid body worked!!!! I was able to get my water nice and hot and the heater turned off on its own. I drained down the hot water and the burner turned on to reheat. So now I have a functional, hybrid (LPG/120V) water heater and it cost me $150 (not $600 -$700. I am VERY satisfied with the function and quality of the Dinosaur board in combination with the electric conversion. Now we can use electric to heat/maintain the water temp. and save gas. Or we can also give it both electric and propane to heat quickly.

Jose

My first instinct was to not try anything and just replace, but when the parts cost was only $27 for the flame sensor I had to try.

Labor around here is about $150 an hour, so $300 would be "reasonable" to put in a WH. I just had to have a mechanic change out a fuel pump because I don't have the time or a lift to make the job easier. The part was $350, so there went $650. BLAH! I HATE paying people to do what I can, but sometimes there just isn't enough time in the week, ya know.

I did not check my grounds, old-biscuit. That is a GREAT piece of advice. I will triple check that.

Jose

I'd get the new WH in a New York minute assuming, of course, that you can install it yourself. My local dealer wanted something like $300 to install it when I was considering a new one.
P.S. I fixed the 10 year old one myself.

Several parts to the spark electrode assemble

*The High Voltage wire.....comes out of module and goes to spark electrode
Must have good continuity and can not be grounded anywhere
*Spark electrode.....has ceramic insulator---can not be cracked.
The spark electrode needs to be positioned where it is engulfed in the main flame so that a milivolt signal can be induced back thru spark electrode via high voltage wire to module.....flame proving. Spark electrode must be clean of carbon/soot. Milivolt signal is produced via 'Flame Ionization'
*Spark electrode Grounding Rod....must be positioned so that there is a 1/8" gap between it and tip of Spark Electrode

Water Heater has to have a clean/tight ground connection on the frame and on the ground side of gas valve

Why post this in the C class section, instead of the tech issue, or general section since all Suburban water heater are the same regardless of the box they are used in.

There were Suburban WH discussions on the Tech Issues forum over the last couple months. A search there might yield some ideas.

Yup j-d, that manual seems to cover the type of ignition an flame sense circuit on mine.

I am taking the rig on a paintball weekend tomorrow. If the heater doesn't behave, I have at least figured out how to energize the still working regulator solenoid and can manually turn on the water heater. I can't leave it on and ignore it, but I can at least let it run to make hot water for a shower and turn it off when I'm done.

So if the heater behaves this weekend, I will see if I can re-wind the dead solenoid or replace with a modern suburban two valve regulator. If it doesn't behave, I am not throwing good money after bad. I will replace with a new heater.

Forgot to mention that I had already bought an electric conversion kit for what I have, but didn't install it yet. I figure I can use it with either of my two options and have a modern, dual heat setup. Woohoo!

Jose

This Manual from Chris Bryant seems to be about older Suburban WH's. It has a DSI section, wonder if it's anything like yours.

Our Holiday of your coach's vintage already had its WH replaced when we bought it. I know the prev owner and found out it was a last-minute replacement just before a trip. Is your WH a "MorFlow"? I think that's the one that became Suburban. The one that came out was DSI like you have now. If you can't fix your current one, YES DO install another DSI. Ours was replaced with a "Standing Pilot" WH and it was a PITA. It'd blow out, blow itself out, and sat there wasting LPG if we wanted to have hot water at the ready.
Check your outside wall cutout dimensions AND your interior "depth" carefully. Essentially, modern Atwood and Suburban WH's mount at 90-degrees to each other. In one the tank is lengthwise to the coach and the other is crosswise. In our Holiday, somebody cut the outer skin to allow installing the Atwood. You may be able to avoid that by selecting the right manufacturer, as well as features.
Our current WH is a Suburban DSI WITH 120VAC electric.