Water Heater Acting Strange

[gijoecam]

Video

Hey gang,

First trip of the season this weekend. It was kind of last minute, so I only had three days to de-winterize, clean, and prep. When we fired up the water heater, this was what it started doing.

It runs for a few minutes like that, then quits. I thought it was a supply issue, but lighting the three burners and firing up the furnace has no effect on it whatsoever, and the tank is more than half full. Temps are in the upper 70s during the day, low 60s at night, so I don't think it's a pressure issue. I did find a cracked supply hose on one side of the switching regulator, but changing tanks made no difference whatsoever.

What could be causing it to puff like that? Orifice clog? Valve issue? I'm at a loss... I'll pull the burner tube out after breakfast, and can use the electric element in the mean time, but would appreciate some suggestions.

Thanks!

[Old-Biscuit]

Critters just love propane..........

Every camping season routine should be to clean burner/tubes/orifices etc on water heater, fridge, furnace.

Amazing problems spider webs can cause

[Puttin]

Glad you found your problem. One other thing to consider- a loose T-Stat can cause cycling of the burner as well. It has to be screwed tightly so that it fully seats against the tank.

[gijoecam]

Found a small piece of web/nest in the burner tube... Didn't fix the problem... pulled the orifice out and discovered it had the tiniest of bits in it. Blew it out and it's back to normal!

I got some good pics I'll post when I can get too my computer this afternoon...

[eHoefler]

Check for a spider web/nest in the burner tube, also check for a wasp nest in the heat exchanger, big tube the flame is in.

[gijoecam]

The video didn't capture it well, but the orange is from the thermocouple and ignitor tips glowing orange. The flame itself was actually blue, but sounded weak and unsteady. A couple of times, when it lit, the flame backed up into the burner tube and made the jet-roaring noise that happens when the propane on my bbq is running out.

Eta: also, I didn't touch anything since putting it away in the fall... What could cause it to be getting more fuel or not enough air? I'll pop the tube off and see if there are any spider webs down it, but I would think those would obstruct the gas flow too, not just the air...

[trailerbikecamp]

From the orange flame in the burner tube it looks like it is too rich. It's not greeting enough air for the amount of propane being used. The flame should be blue when the mixture is right. Orange flame means that the propane is not being burned properly.