Swap Pilot for Electronic (Water Heater)?

[upuaut]

My old trailer had a pilot ignition water heater which worked great and never gave me problems. My new trailer has an electronic ignition Atwood and it does not work on propane, in spite of me troubleshooting for a long time. I know I should be able to get the electronics working, but my question is:

Can you swap in a pilot ignition into the existing water heater, or would I have to replace the whole unit?

[Old-Biscuit]

You stated

The ignitor sparks and the gas valve solenoid kicks in, but it does not light. If I use a lighter, I get tiny little pops like a small amount of gas is getting there. I have taken apart and cleaned and aligned the burner tube. I have use a small wire to poke the orifice, but I think I need to take it apart and clean it.


Well you have most likely damaged that orifice


You stated

.....gas valve. It shows 11.5V on valve when activated.

Both solenoids need to function in order for gas valve to fully open'

There is only 11" WC (~0.4 psi) on propane system.
Flow thru valve and Orifice have to be precise in order for air to properly mix and sustain good flame

New White Rodgers Gas Valve....#93870/93844 Link

New orifice only...............#92742 LINK



11.5V DC is great but are solenoids bad?
Should be roughly 44 ohms each

Replacement solenoids for gas valve ......White Rodgers Valve Coil part #41-1738 (used on Atwood furnace but work on WH gas valve. Have to change connectors on wires to solenoids)LINK

[upuaut]

Model is GC6AA-10E



I tried whacking the valve - no result. It shows 11.5V on valve when activated. That should be enough? Replace the valve?

[Chris_Bryant]

The pilot gas valve needs a boss on the tank for the temperature probe-


The electronic tank doesn't have the correct setup.

Just measure the voltage at the valve while it is sparking- if it's above 12 volts, everything else is fine. If not, go back to where the voltage stops.
You might also try giving the valve a sharp whack while the spark is firing- if it opens, you will still need to replace the valve, but at least you will now what it was.

[upuaut]

I'll get the model. It is a DSI. Since I know the gas pressure is good up to the valve, but no guarantee the issue is the valve vs some electronic component, this is my frustration. I could probably replace the entire wh with a pilot ignition one that is easy and simple to maintain for less than buying a new gas valve for the electronic ignition. My original question was can I just replace the gas valve with a pilot ignition valve. It sounds like it would be cheaper just to buy the whole unit. My current unit works on electric, so I was hoping to keep that option.

[j-d]

Unless I missed it, we need Make/Model to be able to offer much help. It seems the Suburban Direct Spark Ignition (DSI) models often need gas valves replaced. But there could be other things, that the troubleshooting section in the correct manual might turn up.

[JimK-NY]

If there is insufficient flow to the burner, it makes no difference whether you have a pilot light or electronic ignition. Either way your system is not working.

[upuaut]

Cleaned the orifice. It was clear. Still not working. Now just got to decide if I buy a new gas valve or a whole pilot ignition wh.

[upuaut]

ktmrfs wrote:

upuaut wrote:
It doesn't appear to be putting enough gas out. The ignitor sparks and the gas valve solenoid kicks in, but it does not light. If I use a lighter, I get tiny little pops like a small amount of gas is getting there. I have taken apart and cleaned and aligned the burner tube. I have use a small wire to poke the orifice, but I think I need to take it apart and clean it. I just kind of like the simplicity of the pilot ignition, but I have not given up yet.

does your stovetop work and give a full flame? If not, the issue may be with the propane tank excess flow valve. If propane was turned on to fast at the tank, it trips the excess flow and flow will be to low to run the burner for the stovetop, oven furnace or water heater. but enough for the fridge

If it is getting full flow usually blowing out the orifice will solve the problem. maybe the wh gas valve is not functioning properly.

Yes - I turned the stove on and all 3 burners are giving full flame. Even tried the water heater while they were on to see if that made a difference, but it didn't. Going to try cleaning out the orifice.

[ktmrfs]

upuaut wrote:
It doesn't appear to be putting enough gas out. The ignitor sparks and the gas valve solenoid kicks in, but it does not light. If I use a lighter, I get tiny little pops like a small amount of gas is getting there. I have taken apart and cleaned and aligned the burner tube. I have use a small wire to poke the orifice, but I think I need to take it apart and clean it. I just kind of like the simplicity of the pilot ignition, but I have not given up yet.

does your stovetop work and give a full flame? If not, the issue may be with the propane tank excess flow valve. If propane was turned on to fast at the tank, it trips the excess flow and flow will be to low to run the burner for the stovetop, oven furnace or water heater. but enough for the fridge

If it is getting full flow usually blowing out the orifice will solve the problem. maybe the wh gas valve is not functioning properly.

[upuaut]

It doesn't appear to be putting enough gas out. The ignitor sparks and the gas valve solenoid kicks in, but it does not light. If I use a lighter, I get tiny little pops like a small amount of gas is getting there. I have taken apart and cleaned and aligned the burner tube. I have use a small wire to poke the orifice, but I think I need to take it apart and clean it. I just kind of like the simplicity of the pilot ignition, but I have not given up yet.

[Gdetrailer]

Easier and will be cheaper in the long run to buy a new pilot version and replace entire existing tank.

Then you could resell the used tank with electronic ignition on craigslist as long as you inform the buyer that you were having issues with getting to to light. Someone else my be looking for parts or a project.

I have a pilot model and kind of like the simplicity of the minimal design, works great and uses no battery power. Once and a while I think that it would be nice to flip a switch.. But not at the prices they want for the electronic ones..

[Pauljdav]

Is it not trying to work on propane, or is it having problems lighting up?

We can help with more info.

[Chris_Bryant]

You would have to replace the tank- add the cost of the parts, and it's cheaper to buy the whole thing.
These are pretty simple- why not just fix what you have?