Water heater issue??

[djnedd]

Hi all

I have a problem with the water heater that has me confused.

I have a Suburban water heater with an electronic igniter. I use LP exclusively as I am Boondocking 50-60 % of the time.

Most of the time the it works well, lighting and relighting as needed. Occasionally, it will try to light and fail. The system trys to relight 2 or 3 times automatically. By this time enough LP has accumulated that I will get a little fire ball out the vented water heater door. (THIS CAN'T BE GOOD).

If I turn it off and wait a bit, usually it will light again on the first try. Then it will work right again for a couple of days.

I have tried to clean the igniter tips, but it has not corrected the problem.

Anybody had experience with an issue like this? Or insights that could help me out? Thanks
DJN

[djnedd]

Thank you both for your guidance on where to begin. Especially thanks for the link to the Service Manuel. It certainly is more informative then the owners manuel that came with the trailer.

DJN

[handye9]

Here's a link to a service manual.

[prichardson]

Is the electrode positioned correctly? The wrong gap between the electrode and burner can cause erratic lighting.