Hot water heater

[Loosegoose]

Lighted my heater and got some warm water .Then found out the fire blew out. It keeps doing this. I have plenty of propane. Could wind blow pilot out and if so is there any fix to this problem? Thanks to all Loose

[mobeewan]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
You don't mention:
What year/brand/model of water heater
How long pilot flame will stay lit
How long main flame will stay lit
How much wind

Could be pilot flame orifice dirty
Could be pilot flame not positioned correctly
Could be thermocouple
Could be main flame orifice dirty
Could be main flame not aligned properly
Could be gas valve
Could be obstruction in combustion/exhaust 'U' tube

Check pilot flame....should be strong enough to just engulf thermocouple but not so high that it extends far beyond thermocouple
Check burner tube alignment....should be a straight path from gas control to burner---even if gas control/burner at installed at an angle
Check main flame---should be nice strong blue flame with tingles of yellow at tip. Adjust air shuttle open/close to get proper flame

Clean up the orifices (pilot & main).......alcohol
Clean thermocouple......emery cloth
Check that thermocouple is tight at connection to gas control
Clean out combustion chamber/exhaust chamber

Could also be bad propane. My pilot light would go out when the flame shut off after heating the water up. was going to replace the pilot light thermo couple assy and after burning through te tank and having to relight the pilot several times it hasn't happened again the last 2 30 lb cylinders. I didn't get that refill at the same place I normally do.

[planter8]

Veebyes wrote:
"Hot water heater" One of those phrases that always makes me go hmmmmmm.

Why would one need a water heater if the water is already HOT?

The appliance is a WATER heater.

Yikes! The internet terminology police have arrived!

[bikendan]

Loose, it's always good to provide more info. like year/make/model of RV or make/model # of water heater.

you also can download a manual for your WH, that should have a troubleshooting guide, if you don't have one in your RV's paperwork.

[Loosegoose]

Thanks to you all. I will let ya know how it turns out. Loose

[Ex-Tech]

Do you have a Direct Spark Ignition system with no pilot light?
If no pilot light, there is no thermocouple but rather a flame sensor.
So, we need to know what you have to give an accurate reply.

[Veebyes]

"Hot water heater" One of those phrases that always makes me go hmmmmmm.

Why would one need a water heater if the water is already HOT?

The appliance is a WATER heater.

[Old-Biscuit]

You don't mention:
What year/brand/model of water heater
How long pilot flame will stay lit
How long main flame will stay lit
How much wind

Could be pilot flame orifice dirty
Could be pilot flame not positioned correctly
Could be thermocouple
Could be main flame orifice dirty
Could be main flame not aligned properly
Could be gas valve
Could be obstruction in combustion/exhaust 'U' tube

Check pilot flame....should be strong enough to just engulf thermocouple but not so high that it extends far beyond thermocouple
Check burner tube alignment....should be a straight path from gas control to burner---even if gas control/burner at installed at an angle
Check main flame---should be nice strong blue flame with tingles of yellow at tip. Adjust air shuttle open/close to get proper flame

Clean up the orifices (pilot & main).......alcohol
Clean thermocouple......emery cloth
Check that thermocouple is tight at connection to gas control
Clean out combustion chamber/exhaust chamber

[doxiemom11]

We have had ours go out on very windy days where the wind was blowing almost directly into the outside vents. Only a couple of times in 3 years though.

[path1]

When I had problems with mine... I got good advice here. Somebody mentioned going to youtube and find a vid that goes over maint. Found couple that covered the basics and an hour later had it working and clean out and flame adjusted. There is a lot of little steps that would be hard to write down, so youtube vid was great idea. You could actually see what they were adjusting in vid.

[wa8yxm]

Step one with your kind of issue is "Standard routing maintenance" which includes

1 Insuring no critters have nested in the heater. EPICALLY the heat path.
2: Cleaning the burner oriface and flame chamber
3: Other cleaning.

Then we get to step 2.. In my case that resulted in replacement of the control board yestarday. Before replacement (181 dollars) normal AC operation Absolutly NO Propane

After, Normal operation both modes.

[rrupert]

Carefully remove the burner orifice and soak it in rubbing alcohol for several hours. Blow it dry, do not stick anything in the little hole, and install. There could be some crud in the opening. There could also be low gas pressure in your system, that would need to be checked by an RV or HVAC serviceman. Had similar problem with the refer not keeping cold in gas mode. It turned out to be a defective gas regulator at the tanks.

[popeyemth]

Try cleaning the thermocouple that sets in the flame from the pilot lite. Make the little wire shiney and try it again.
Good Luck, Mike