1975 Overlander Water heater woes

aircalif · 01-12-2009, 12:22 PM

I have a water heater that fires up fine, pilot lights, burner comes on and starts to heat for about 3-5 mins. then it clicks and shuts off completely.

I have a new gas valve, thermacouple, gas regulator, no leaks in line, all other appliances work fine.

Once the pilot is lit and the burner comes on, I can move the thermostat from hot to cold and it will switch from pilot to burner and back to pilot with out a problem.

I have had it in the repair shop and they spent hours trying different new parts, the gas vavle and thermacoupler, and no change in problem. They also called Atwood and they were of no help.

Any suggestions?

cameront120 · 01-12-2009, 12:32 PM

Is this the original heater?

aircalif · 01-12-2009, 01:05 PM

yes pretty sure it is the original water heater. The tank is in good shape and all the parts are new, the gas valve and thermacouple.

cameront120 · 01-12-2009, 01:20 PM

Is there water in the tank? Is there any way that it could be overheating?

Honestly, if it were me, I'd replace it with one of the new models. I replaced mine with one that operates on both propane and 110 AC, which is handy for when you canplug into shore power. It also has an elecric ingnition with a switch inside the trailer, so no need to go outside to light the pilot. You can get a new one for less than $300 from Palomino RV, or even off ebay and installation is easy. I suggest this, because you may end up spending more trying to get the old one to work.

aircalif · 01-12-2009, 10:46 PM

can you give me the model number for your water heater, that sounds like a good idea. I already replaced everything, so I will mess with it a few more times. Then go for the replacement.

ticki2 · 01-13-2009, 05:43 AM

Check to see if the pilot is strong enough and close enough to the thermocoupler to heat it properly. Sometimes the pilot tube needs to be taken off and cleaned to get a good flame. Good luck.

cameront120 · 01-13-2009, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aircalif

can you give me the model number for your water heater, that sounds like a good idea. I already replaced everything, so I will mess with it a few more times. Then go for the replacement.

I'm assumiong that yours is the 10 gallon heater, rather than the six which is what I have.

If you go to the Atwood website, they have a brochure that you can download with all the model numbers. You just have to decide which option you want.