Fixing a REALLY old American Apliance (Suburban) water heater
I have a 1983 Jamboree with the original water heater. The old girl really wasn't used a lot, so the inside of the water heater tank still looks good. However, the electrical bits have failed. The HUGE challenge is that the water heater is an American Appliance brand. They were bought out about 20 years ago by Suburban, but at 30 years old it is seemingly impossible to find listings of correct parts or ANY original spares. A new, direct spark heater is upwards of $400, so I decided to try and bring the water heater back to life.
At first, the heater would click the direct spark ignition, but I would get no flame. Through trial and error I realized that the lower solenoid on the gas valve was dead. The big issue is that the valve/regulator is different than what the Suburban brand uses. Unable to find replacement solenoids ANYWHERE, I tinkered and realized that the solenoid bodies just unscrew from the valve. By removing the lower solenoid and taking out the spring and pin, I was able to bypass it and run on just the top one. That is when I realized that the heater would start up when I clicked the switch and then go out 15 or so seconds later. Those symptoms indicated a faulty flame sensor or controller board. The flame sensor looked OK, but at $20, it seemed worth the risk of trying first. Replacing the flame sensor didn't help, so I searched for a DinosaurElectronics controller board. Lo and behold, the controller for the Suburban water heaters is exactly the same as on my 30 year old antique. The heater now seemed to be working with a UIB-L installed. Total spent was $120.
Move forward 5 months. Believing the heater was working, I installed a hybrid heat upgrade so that we could operate on electric or propane. Niiiiiiiiiiiice.:C Since that has been installed, I have been working on other "stuff" the past couple of weeks and tested the gas supply only to realize that the upper gas solenoid of the water heater is now dead. Time for a tough choice. Do I NOW say "screw this" and buy a new water heater, or do I try to save my investment? That question led to some creative thinking and I purchased the gas valve/solenoid shown below. My thought was to try disabling both solenoids (stuck permanently open) on the existing regulator/valve and inserting two of these replacement solenoids upstream in the gas line. That would allow the controller to open/close the gas feed as necessary, but being far away from the valve itself could create a lag in getting gas to the burner. I was worried that too much time between solenoid opening and ignition would cause other problems, but at $20 it was worth one last shot.
When I had things apart I realized there might be a better alternative. I removed the acorn nut on top of the new solenoids and the coil pack just slid off. Also, the hole in the coil pack is big enough to go around the stripped bodies of my existing solenoids. I could only fit around one existing solenoid body, but I put the the guts back inside the lower solenoid body, put the new coil pack on, applied 12V ..... and ...... IT CLICKED!!!!
In the pic. above, the upper solenoid has been gutted so it is essentially "stuck" open. The lower solenoid is now TOTALLY FUNCTIONAL with the new coil pack. When I switch on the heater, the ignition sparks, the flame catches and the water heater works just like when it was new. A new direct spark water heater with electric option is upwards of $600 and I just repaired/converted mine for less than $200. WOOHOO! I plan to add a second solenoid in the gas line and wire it together with the one at the regulator/valve. The double solenoids are about safety and I am down with that! I am now very confident the hot water tank will last through the lifetime that we own it.
I am very happy with the results.:)
Jose
At first, the heater would click the direct spark ignition, but I would get no flame. Through trial and error I realized that the lower solenoid on the gas valve was dead. The big issue is that the valve/regulator is different than what the Suburban brand uses. Unable to find replacement solenoids ANYWHERE, I tinkered and realized that the solenoid bodies just unscrew from the valve. By removing the lower solenoid and taking out the spring and pin, I was able to bypass it and run on just the top one. That is when I realized that the heater would start up when I clicked the switch and then go out 15 or so seconds later. Those symptoms indicated a faulty flame sensor or controller board. The flame sensor looked OK, but at $20, it seemed worth the risk of trying first. Replacing the flame sensor didn't help, so I searched for a DinosaurElectronics controller board. Lo and behold, the controller for the Suburban water heaters is exactly the same as on my 30 year old antique. The heater now seemed to be working with a UIB-L installed. Total spent was $120.
Move forward 5 months. Believing the heater was working, I installed a hybrid heat upgrade so that we could operate on electric or propane. Niiiiiiiiiiiice.:C Since that has been installed, I have been working on other "stuff" the past couple of weeks and tested the gas supply only to realize that the upper gas solenoid of the water heater is now dead. Time for a tough choice. Do I NOW say "screw this" and buy a new water heater, or do I try to save my investment? That question led to some creative thinking and I purchased the gas valve/solenoid shown below. My thought was to try disabling both solenoids (stuck permanently open) on the existing regulator/valve and inserting two of these replacement solenoids upstream in the gas line. That would allow the controller to open/close the gas feed as necessary, but being far away from the valve itself could create a lag in getting gas to the burner. I was worried that too much time between solenoid opening and ignition would cause other problems, but at $20 it was worth one last shot.
When I had things apart I realized there might be a better alternative. I removed the acorn nut on top of the new solenoids and the coil pack just slid off. Also, the hole in the coil pack is big enough to go around the stripped bodies of my existing solenoids. I could only fit around one existing solenoid body, but I put the the guts back inside the lower solenoid body, put the new coil pack on, applied 12V ..... and ...... IT CLICKED!!!!
In the pic. above, the upper solenoid has been gutted so it is essentially "stuck" open. The lower solenoid is now TOTALLY FUNCTIONAL with the new coil pack. When I switch on the heater, the ignition sparks, the flame catches and the water heater works just like when it was new. A new direct spark water heater with electric option is upwards of $600 and I just repaired/converted mine for less than $200. WOOHOO! I plan to add a second solenoid in the gas line and wire it together with the one at the regulator/valve. The double solenoids are about safety and I am down with that! I am now very confident the hot water tank will last through the lifetime that we own it.
I am very happy with the results.:)
Jose
