Forum Discussion

lowfuss's avatar
lowfuss
Explorer
May 22, 2015

6 Gal Pilot type Atwood water heater

Hello,

I have a 6 gallon pilot type atwood water heater (Manufacturer's date 2001; White Rodger thermostat & Jade pilot). When cold I can light the pilot and start the unit and operates as it should ... after four minutes it shuts off (no pilot or flame). I can turn the knob to pilot and light it again ... but as soon as I turn it "on" pilot turns goes out and unit does not fire. I cleaned the whole unit, no obstructions, I removed thermocouple and tested it with a voltmeter that went to 25mV when heated ... back to zero when cooled. Last thing I'm thinking it is the thermostat but at $300 here in Canada ... big bucks to experiment with ... it's only $100 in the US.

thx,
Richard
  • 72cougarxr7's avatar
    72cougarxr7
    Explorer
    May 23, 2015
    SoundGuy wrote:
    72cougarxr7 wrote:
    BTW, are you the same Soundguy from WFM?


    Sorry, no ... maybe I have a brother I don't know about?! ;)


    Oh, ok, LOL. There is a guy on a John Deere garden tractor forum I frequent that has the screen name Soundguy and he is from Canada.
    Small world I guess!
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    May 23, 2015
    72cougarxr7 wrote:
    BTW, are you the same Soundguy from WFM?


    Sorry, no ... maybe I have a brother I don't know about?! ;)
  • 72cougarxr7's avatar
    72cougarxr7
    Explorer
    May 23, 2015
    Ah yes, people from Kingston come over here to Watertown all the time to shop and save $. When I used to work at the Nissan dealership, I would even have the occasional Canadian customer that made the drive to save money on an expensive part.

    BTW, are you the same Soundguy from WFM?
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    May 23, 2015
    72cougarxr7 wrote:
    Shoot, I paid less than $300 for a complete new 6 gallon Atwood pilot water heater from ebay.


    Not here in Canada you won't, and if you read the OP's post you'd know that's where he's located. Yes, he could order one on eBay but at the end of the day, by the time he pays exchange rate, shipping, brokerage, and any other import charges his cost could easily be twice your quote and not much better than just sourcing one from is local Cdn dealer.
  • 72cougarxr7's avatar
    72cougarxr7
    Explorer
    May 23, 2015
    I think I'd try a $30 thermocouple before I replaced a thermostat.
    Shoot, I paid less than $300 for a complete new 6 gallon Atwood pilot water heater from ebay. My Atwood unit has the Robertshaw thermostat and, so far, Its been trouble free.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    May 23, 2015
    Pilot flame height is a result of propane pressure and pilot orifice size (earlier models had an adjustment screw but it had little affect)

    Pilot flame has to engulf tip of thermocouple.

    Things that will shut off pilot when button released:
    A weak thermocouple will drop pilot flame out------replace
    A weak magnet in gas control valve will drop out pilot....replace gas control valve
    A tripped ECO (one time/one shot high temp t-stat 190*F) will drop out pilot flame.....replace gas control valve (The ECO can be tripped by a 'large pilot flame due to mods on orifice)


    Main Flame will not/can not occur until pilot flame stays lit
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    May 23, 2015
    lowfuss wrote:
    Hello,

    I have a 6 gallon pilot type atwood water heater (Manufacturer's date 2001; White Rodger thermostat & Jade pilot). When cold I can light the pilot and start the unit and operates as it should ... after four minutes it shuts off (no pilot or flame). I can turn the knob to pilot and light it again ... but as soon as I turn it "on" pilot turns goes out and unit does not fire. I cleaned the whole unit, no obstructions, I removed thermocouple and tested it with a voltmeter that went to 25mV when heated ... back to zero when cooled. Last thing I'm thinking it is the thermostat but at $300 here in Canada ... big bucks to experiment with ... it's only $100 in the US.

    thx,
    Richard


    Make sure the thermocouple is positioned close enough to the pilot flame first.

    Second is to try a lighter along with the pilot to thoroughly heat the thermocouple and see if the pilot still shuts off.

    Third is the thermocouple COULD still be bad and give you a NO LOAD voltage when hot (your meter will not draw enough current to show this fault)..

    Under load the thermocouple may not be able to supply enough current to hold the pilot valve open. Thermocouples are pretty cheap, perhaps $9 or so and you can buy generic ones at Home Depot/ Lowes or many home improvement stores like those. I would try that first before spending money on a gas valve.
  • darsben's avatar
    darsben
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2015
    Try here for the service manual

    http://bryantrv.com/docs.html
  • 3boxerss's avatar
    3boxerss
    Explorer
    May 22, 2015
    I have the manual to my 2001 atwood water heater on pdf file on my computer but dont know how to share it on here my email is cynny81@yahoo.com send me your email and i do know how to email it lol
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    May 22, 2015
    Is the thermocouple directly in the pilot flame? Some White-Rogers gas valves have a pilot flame adjustment screw. Also, take a look at the orifice of the pilot tube and the main flame. Sometimes, I've blown back into them with an air chuck and they start to work.

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