Hot water heater freeze.

dougrainer wrote:

JaxDad wrote:

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.

In the USA, there are no BUTANE distributors left for RV filling. I believe you have to go to Mexico to find Butane. Years ago, it was common practice for LP stations to have Butane for warm times and Propane for colder times. Not any more. If his Furnace would light and his inside range would light, then cold vaporization was/is not a factor. His altitude was a factor. Doug

Except you don’t buy “propane” for an RV, you buy “LPG” and there is quite a difference between the two.

LPG consists of a blend, yes, it is normally mainly propane, but also propylene, butane, and butylene in various mixtures depending on the region and season. In warm areas they tend to decrease the amount of propane because it’s the most expensive component.

As for the idea there’s no butane distributors around any more, that’s just silly, every industrial gas supplier carries it, it’s used in a wide variety of commercial products.

From a very recent report on the market for butane in the US;

“The LPG segment accounted for the largest share in 2015 and its demand was 92.12 million tons in 2015. Increasing applications for LPG as a fuel, in residential and commercial sectors for cooking and heating purposes is expected to spur the market growth over the forecast period.”