somatronicon
Sep 09, 2017Explorer
Replacement valve assembly for Atwood water heater
Hi everyone,
This is my first post. The community seems like a very knowledgeable one so I thought I'd ask my question here. We have a '91 Winnebago Chieftain class A with an Atwood GH6-6E water heater. I've had about three people look at the issue, and it appears one of the two solenoids/valves are faulty. One of them appears to open, and the other doesn't, so no flame. It's an electric ignition as well. So, at this point, we are looking for a replacement valve. However, given the age of our RV, it's a bit tricky for me to find an exact replacement. Can anyone tell me if it's common/okay to use a different valve than the exact model that's currently on the water heater?
For example, there was a service company that recommended an AT93844 valve assembly. I looked it up, and only found the following possible replacement part:
http://m.opentip.com/product.php?products_id=6168695&osCsid=b359421l2kv2pv232d5090ta35&ats=product_landing
Looking at it, they definitely appear to be different. However, conceptually I think they do the same thing. One thing I'm concerned about is that the clearance between the top of the valve and the flu vent (above) may not be sufficient. Is it possible to rotate the valve so that it will fit? I wonder if that would impact the performance/safety characteristics of the valve.
Here is an image of the existing valve:

And an image of the replacement valve:

Any help on this would be appreciated. I'd hate to get the wrong replacement valve and end up down a hundred bucks :D
Thanks everyone!
Christopher
This is my first post. The community seems like a very knowledgeable one so I thought I'd ask my question here. We have a '91 Winnebago Chieftain class A with an Atwood GH6-6E water heater. I've had about three people look at the issue, and it appears one of the two solenoids/valves are faulty. One of them appears to open, and the other doesn't, so no flame. It's an electric ignition as well. So, at this point, we are looking for a replacement valve. However, given the age of our RV, it's a bit tricky for me to find an exact replacement. Can anyone tell me if it's common/okay to use a different valve than the exact model that's currently on the water heater?
For example, there was a service company that recommended an AT93844 valve assembly. I looked it up, and only found the following possible replacement part:
http://m.opentip.com/product.php?products_id=6168695&osCsid=b359421l2kv2pv232d5090ta35&ats=product_landing
Looking at it, they definitely appear to be different. However, conceptually I think they do the same thing. One thing I'm concerned about is that the clearance between the top of the valve and the flu vent (above) may not be sufficient. Is it possible to rotate the valve so that it will fit? I wonder if that would impact the performance/safety characteristics of the valve.
Here is an image of the existing valve:

And an image of the replacement valve:

Any help on this would be appreciated. I'd hate to get the wrong replacement valve and end up down a hundred bucks :D
Thanks everyone!
Christopher