Water heater repair worth sharing

I mention in the repair thread that I visited the local RV shops who were unable to find parts for me. That is what led me to repairing one of the OEM solenoids and adding a second solenoid vallve inline.

Jose

Before replacing old or dead water heater is always good to check this water heater through by water heater repairing company or professional. Because some time repairing cost is less than replacement.

I updated the original thread. It all works great!

Jose

Safety is indeed critical and there are certainly some real yayhoo types out there.

In my case, both valves still worked. It was the coils that corroded at the exposed terminals. By replacing the coil on the second valve it functions the same as always. By gutting the first valve and putting a complete new valve in further upstream, I retain all the original safety of the dual valve design.

Jose

This is a good way to burn your RV down.

Oldme wrote:
Good point.

When we bought our it was a while before using it due to some health issues.
The Water Heater seemed DOA.

After cleaning the contacts on the board it worked great and still does.
Now it is something I look at at least twice a year.

I feel that many people are too quick to jump on the disposable item bandwagon.

Thanks for the link.

Similar experience with my 21 year old suburban furnace. It was dead when rig was purchased. The previous owner said it would need to be replace. Well, I looked it over and found its control board looked strangely familiar to the one inside the newly installed water heater. Even the wires matched up so I plugged in the brand new water heater control board into the 21 year old furnace and the furnace fired right up. Suburban's control boards haven't changed in all those years.

The problem is if you can do it with the right parts and safely it can be worth it. Gas valves are not only a safely device but also controls pressure. Using non stand parts can endanger you, your family and others. If you can not repair to factory spec. then replace the item for every ones safety. Saving a few dollars is not worth the cost of a hospital visit or bill from a fire department.

Even the tank can sometimes be repaired. I accidently put a hole in my atwood aluminum tank while replacing the dead control board. After I got it pulled apart I had it heli-arc welded for a few dollars. Much cheaper than a replacement.

Good point.

When we bought our it was a while before using it due to some health issues.
The Water Heater seemed DOA.

After cleaning the contacts on the board it worked great and still does.
Now it is something I look at at least twice a year.

I feel that many people are too quick to jump on the disposable item bandwagon.

Thanks for the link.