Water Heater Help

[kfp673]

Hello All,

Looking for thoughts here before scheduling 2 months out and taking to the dealer. We have a 2018 Outback that we've owned for nearly 2 years. We do very little camping where we don't have at least electric so we have only run the propane portion of the water heater a few times. Our camper has the option to have both electric and propane running at the same time. Recently I tried that because 5 of us were trying to get showers after swimming and the propane portion was acting up. I've had trailers for 20 years and had water heaters die, but this one is acting strange.

So when we activate the propane section the first time it tried 3 times to light and then stopped. Let it sit for a while and on the next time it did light but then went out after about 3-4 minutes of running. We have had 2 more camping trips since then and I've tried it again on each trip with similar results. Sometimes it will not light at all even on the 3rd set of 3 tries. Other times it will light and go right out. And sometimes it will light and run for 5+ minutes and then go out. I looked for obvious things like cob webs, mouse nests, etc and it looks pretty clean. Any thoughts on 1- what would make it not light and 2- what would make it go out even when it has a strong flame?

Not sure what the warranty is on this thing but would prefer to fix it myself if that is possible.

Thanks all!

[down_home]

Our 15 year old mh has an Atwood electric and or propane 10 gal something high recovery water heater. Only real problems we had was last year and replaced both high and low thermostats. The manual has some instructions on cleaning the orafice with a mall diameter wire about the size of the tiny wire used on old tags for equipment. On line, I haven't looked, but there were variosu psots everywhere on cleaning the orafice. The one thing I don't like is the couple of plug together wires that seem to want to corrode. Dialectric compound not grease on them puts a stop to that. The thin and easily broken fusible link in the clear plastic tube, seems to always want to be in a place where it wants to get bent. Not sure if they can be bought but I will if I can and keep in the tool box. Oh and the drain plug. Someone put a nylon or some plastic plug in it, not me, and from tightening a bit much it later decided it was going to leak and when I touched it it broke and got a quick and very hot bath.
Atwood was at the Rally and gave me a tap to clean up the threads..after the evening before neighbors help we, actually mostly them, with pocket knife and etc to get the old plug out inuring the threads a bit. So we carry a number of the intended plastic or whatever plugs. Still need to find an extraction tool for broken plug I read about somewhere.
The control board has been brought up here a number of times of needing to be replaced.Suppose an extra one in the tool box would be a good idea.
No rocket science about the water heater. Facing an unknown problem, with no idea of what might be the problem the first time is the problem.
The manual on everything are a problem in lack of information.
All those seminars on equipment on our Mhs at Rallys...well I need to start attending them.
A lot more would if they served hotdogs or something ...hint hint.

[A1RVTraveler]

Could you contact a Mobile RV tech?

[CavemanCharlie]

I'm no expert but, I'm thinking that maybe your circuit board has gone bad.

When a old propane fridge quits working and acts like you water heater it is often the board.

I wonder if there is some way to test it ????

[kfp673]

Well I just had a chance to dig into this and try some suggestions. Thought I had it fixed but turned out I was wrong. Took compressed air to most of the parts. Blew out a ton of rust flakes. Didn't change the way it worked. Then, I noticed the "clicking" of the ignition was not consistent. Had a strange rhythm, so I pulled the ignitor prongs out and adjusted the gap just a touch. Put it back in and it sounded perfect. Fired right up. I let it run for 2 or 3 minutes. Thought I found the problem so I shut it off, gave it 3 or 4 minutes and tried it again. click, click, nothing. Second attempt it fired up again so right away I'm thinking we are good. That lasted about 15 seconds and it went off. Went through this over and over again probably 10 times with a combination of clicking and no light at all (other than the big flame pop that happens after 3 attempts) and lighting and going right off. I did notice that even when the burner fires up the ignitor often continues to click, so I feel like something is wrong with the sensor or some sort of electronic that says "I'm lit". Removed and reattached the ground wire to be sure. Got dark so I gave up. Really trying to avoid the hour drive to the dealer if I can.

Also, this is a Suburban water heater FYI.

Thanks

[BB_TX]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
Maybe I read your post wrong. I often do that.

If you are running on electric and propane at the same time is it possible that it is simply shutting off because the water got hot enough and it didn't need to run anymore ???

That was my thinking when I asked if it happened while he was running on both at the same time. But he did not reply.

[CavemanCharlie]

Maybe I read your post wrong. I often do that.

If you are running on electric and propane at the same time is it possible that it is simply shutting off because the water got hot enough and it didn't need to run anymore ???

[corvettekent]

I would remove the burner tube and blow compressed air through the gas orfice.

[kfp673]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will play with it over the next week or so and look into some of these suggestions. I am confident it is not an air in the line issue. I am very familiar with what that looks like and this seems to be something else. I have not had a chance to check the model/brand of the unit yet, but is there a general location of the control board? Is that something I can access from the outside? I dont recall seeing it in an obvious location. I will check all connections and use the air compressor to blow everything out first. If I still have issues I'll start looking to test and replace parts.

Generally speaking, will appliance manufacturers ever honor warranty when you do your own work? Not sure how long the warranty is, but if it turned out to be a control board, has anyone had the brand cover the cost without taking it to the dealer?

Thanks again all!

[wa8yxm]

JimK-NY wrote:

Forget about air in the lines. Once the unit has run for a few seconds or minutes, any air is very likely to have been purged out.

WOW someone who actually understands propane systems !!!!

As I said up-thread I often laugh at the "Air in the lines" responses for after two or three attempts even the longest propane line in a 50 foot motor home will be purged.

[wa8yxm]

2oldman wrote:
Does any WH have a pilot light any more?

I go to youtube and see what they have to say.

Yes they still make pilot light models.

[JimK-NY]

You did not mention the model or manufacturer. It sounds like an Atwood which is prone to similar behavior.

Forget about air in the lines. Once the unit has run for a few seconds or minutes, any air is very likely to have been purged out.

The first step is to check the sensor/ignitor unit. You can pull it out and clean it and also check to be sure the gap is OK and the unit is properly positioned. Even better just replace the unit. As I remember they only cost about $15. There is a good chance that will fix the issue. If not, and for Atwood models, the next most common issue are the electrical wiring connections. Many people replace the control board with a 3rd party, Dinosaur unit. They think they fixed the problem when the only issue was poor electrical connections. The connection with the problem is the main ribbon connector to the control board. Just disconnect, clean the contacts, and reconnect. Mine still kept acting up so 10 years ago I put pressure on the connection with a 1 1/2" standard paper binder clip. That does not seem like it should be necessary, but it fixed my issue without the need to replace the control board.

[ken56]

Had the same issue with mine a couple years back and it was the control board. Usually the warranty is 2 years and mine was within the warranty period so it was covered.

[2oldman]

wa8yxm wrote:

Bad thermonuclear (Flame sensor) Rare but possible
.

That must be some water heater.

[enblethen]

Have not heard whether the water heater is sparking
Haven't heard whether OP can smell gas.
It could be several other things that can be problem.
Thermal fuse, no power from switch or to switch.