Atwood Furnace problem
New Atwood Excalibur 8531-1V New Atwood Hydroflame 2000 thermostat New Camco Double-Stage Auto-Changeover Regulator 2 7 gallon bottles, full. No leaks or kinks. 13.6 V from converter to unit. P...
Forum Discussion
I agree with Old - Biscuit on his list.
When I go into troubleshooting these kind of things, I think through what is and what is not working then go prove them out which you do not know.
Reading the responses you need to rule in or out a few things.
Not enough spark or not enough gas is an indication from what you describe. If you hear the igniter clicking and no fire, you can rule out the over temp shut down switch as it would not be trying to ignite if you are over temp during that event. That said, the overtemp will shut it down, but if it is clicking spark, your past this. Do not loose site of this as there may be more than 1 problem.
The sail switch was mentioned, this is in the main saftey circuit. If the sail switch does not make, then the unit will not attempt to run the igniter. When the sail switch goes flaky it can drop out the flame. You need to keep in mind, is the igniter click or not?
The regulator, since you are measuring pressure and reporting 11" WC, are you on a gage or a manometer? I do not know how fast your gage is, if it is a gage but if it is a manometer, have it hooked up and light all stove burners and hot water heater on gas. Now stare at the liquid line, when flowing it should be at 11" maybe a little more. Not 10 or under.
Now while looking right at the liquid line on the manometer, fire the furnace with the rest of the appliances on gap and burning. When you hear the gas valve clunk (if you can) but for sure listen for the clicks of the igniter. The liquid level should at least bounce until the flow stabilizes rather quickly. If there is no wiggle, or very little wiggle, then gas may not be flowing or very little. These cheap regulators are for sure going to create an upset when the full gas valve opens on the furnace. Your looking to see that a large draw is actually working. This can be why the dealer tested OK you you not. He was on a different regulator.
Point is, if the igniter is working (sparking) and you have gas it should try and fire. It might not stay lit but if you are short on gas there should partial fire. If you can hear the clicks, then the igniter has to have enough upmh to jump a gap unless it is jumping somewhere else (shorted wire). A gap that is not a long enough distance may not have not enough energy to light. It takes more energy to jump the right gap. Old Biscut was talking about this
You have to sort out if gas is flowing. There may be a clogged line, or bad gas valve if the regulator is working. The regulator needs to hold 11" WC when all gas is flowing. There can be a momentary upset when the valve opens but should rise to 11"WC quickly and hold. I believe the maximum lock up pressure allowed is 14 "WC when you shut everything off so a 12" when full flow is not totally bad.
Hope this helps and report back what you find
John
When I go into troubleshooting these kind of things, I think through what is and what is not working then go prove them out which you do not know.
Reading the responses you need to rule in or out a few things.
Not enough spark or not enough gas is an indication from what you describe. If you hear the igniter clicking and no fire, you can rule out the over temp shut down switch as it would not be trying to ignite if you are over temp during that event. That said, the overtemp will shut it down, but if it is clicking spark, your past this. Do not loose site of this as there may be more than 1 problem.
The sail switch was mentioned, this is in the main saftey circuit. If the sail switch does not make, then the unit will not attempt to run the igniter. When the sail switch goes flaky it can drop out the flame. You need to keep in mind, is the igniter click or not?
The regulator, since you are measuring pressure and reporting 11" WC, are you on a gage or a manometer? I do not know how fast your gage is, if it is a gage but if it is a manometer, have it hooked up and light all stove burners and hot water heater on gas. Now stare at the liquid line, when flowing it should be at 11" maybe a little more. Not 10 or under.
Now while looking right at the liquid line on the manometer, fire the furnace with the rest of the appliances on gap and burning. When you hear the gas valve clunk (if you can) but for sure listen for the clicks of the igniter. The liquid level should at least bounce until the flow stabilizes rather quickly. If there is no wiggle, or very little wiggle, then gas may not be flowing or very little. These cheap regulators are for sure going to create an upset when the full gas valve opens on the furnace. Your looking to see that a large draw is actually working. This can be why the dealer tested OK you you not. He was on a different regulator.
Point is, if the igniter is working (sparking) and you have gas it should try and fire. It might not stay lit but if you are short on gas there should partial fire. If you can hear the clicks, then the igniter has to have enough upmh to jump a gap unless it is jumping somewhere else (shorted wire). A gap that is not a long enough distance may not have not enough energy to light. It takes more energy to jump the right gap. Old Biscut was talking about this
You have to sort out if gas is flowing. There may be a clogged line, or bad gas valve if the regulator is working. The regulator needs to hold 11" WC when all gas is flowing. There can be a momentary upset when the valve opens but should rise to 11"WC quickly and hold. I believe the maximum lock up pressure allowed is 14 "WC when you shut everything off so a 12" when full flow is not totally bad.
Hope this helps and report back what you find
John
