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MudChucker's avatar
MudChucker
Explorer
Aug 16, 2013

Atwood hot water tank wouldn't stay lit...

As the title states, my Atwood wouldn't stay lit when we arrived at the site earlier today, I searched this forum and found that many resolve the issue by cleaning the orifice...so I slid the air mixture adjustment tube forward and gently ran some Emory cloth over it...viola ! The flame roared and I thought I was good to go...or so it seemed...I've had to go out and clean the orifice several times since then...

Is there junk in the lines or does the orifice need to be unscrewed and cleaned with something like a torch tip cleaner ?

7 Replies

  • S far so good, decided to spend the day here and I've left the tank on all day, cycles as expected.
  • I saw that little tab and left it alone... I slid the air mixture gizmo out of the way and cleaned the nozzle with some acetone and a que tip...things seem to be working as they should now.

    cheers !
  • On my atwood WH it has a small flat piece of metal that sticks out in front of the burner tube where the flame shoots from. I was trying to be pro active one day and do some preventative maintenance and broke that tab of the burner assembly. Murphy's Law say that the water heater will not work properly with that tab broken off, so I had to buy another assembly.
  • Flame sensor or thermal couple not directly in flame
    Corroded ground wire on LP gas valve
    Dirty connection on circuit board
    Bad ECO
    Bad thermostat
    Dirt orifice needs to be removed from gas valve, soaked in alcohol, blow it out and then reinstalled. Do not use any type of device to clean.
    Depends on model of course!
  • All other propane devices work as they should...we are back on the road this morning at our next stop I will post the model etc.

    Cheers !
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    I know the Orifice in Fridges CANNOT be cleaned with any kind of "object" but I don't know about the larger Orifices in Water Heaters. Go to Chris Bryant's site www.bryantrv.com and look for the Service Manual for your Model. Please include Model when you post about an item like a Genset or Appliance. Like you would for a motor vehicle. Everybody needs Make, Year, Model, Engine Size...