Hot water heater freeze.

richclover wrote:
We put a cold weather test on the new rig last month. 3 nights in a row with temperatures in single digits.

Second night, 2AM, I was awake and heard the water heater igniter clicking. No light off and no fault light. Frozen in the morning.

So... After the sun, and warmer temperatures, thawed out the system, every time I went by the hot water heater switch I cycled it and got a light. Did it twice during the third cold night. Hot and cold water available on the third morning.

It seems like the heater isn’t liking cold weather and won’t reliably light with just the thermostat. Perhaps altitude is an issue? We camp at 7-8000’ above sea level.

The rig was purchased new last spring.

Any ideas?

If the tanks are full of butane, or a butane / propane blend you likely won’t have enough vapour to feed a water heater for very long.

Straight butane has a boiling point of about 30 deg. F. whereas straight propane will boil down to about -40 deg. F.

Especially during the summer it’s common to get lots of butane, mostly because it’s a lot cheaper so profits are higher.

Try a different tank of known straight propane and see if your results change.