Carbon Monoxide leak from water heater !!

[Snowy]

Agreed. It's a strange leak for sure.

Here you can see the water heater from the inside. It's the white box at the back. The white is thermal insulating cover. I've never removed it.



I drop it off at the dealer next week, we will see what they say.

[A W Warn]

The heat exchanger is an aluminum tube inside the water heater tank shown in the photo. Both ends of the tube are welded to the tank on the outside, where you can see the welds. If that tube is cracked anywhere inside, water would be leaking out in the area where you see the flame. I doubt that the water heater itself is leaking CO.
Maybe the seal around the flange is not caulked continuously (which is very unlikely) letting some CO inside.
If those wires at the top of the water heater go through the steel water heater shroud to the outside, check the seal at that location.
If that operable window above the water heater is open and the draft is drawing the WH exhaust inside, that could be where the CO is getting inside.

Add edit:
When you added those batteries did you create holes to the exterior for electrical cable routing?
Do those batteries have a vent to the outside? Could your sensors be detecting gas from the batteries instead of CO?

[Snowy]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

Add edit:
When you added those batteries did you create holes to the exterior for electrical cable routing?
Do those batteries have a vent to the outside? Could your sensors be detecting gas from the batteries instead of CO?

Thanks.

No external holes for wires.

CO meter reads 0 until water heater turned on propane.

No window open.

[sgschwend]

Here are the pics from the 6 gallon I replace today. The first shows the skin that is meant to separate the water heater gases from the cabin. There are several holes that are poorly gasketed. I noticed that the grommet for the gas line was ripped likely when the last person installed a new water heater.


The next pic show the tank, in the correct orientation. It is a welded aluminum tank. If this tank had a leak water would be present.

Last pic showing the heat exchanger weld.

[Snowy]

Our airstream goes into the dealer today for scheduled work this week to look into the CO issue. I'll post results.

[Steve Bryant]

Originally Posted by Snowy

Our airstream goes into the dealer today for scheduled work this week to look into the CO issue. I'll post results.

Snowy,
What did you find out regarding the CO leak source & resolution?

[Snowy]

Originally Posted by Steve Bryant

Snowy,
What did you find out regarding the CO leak source & resolution?

Dealer called, said that there was a faulty propane regulator. However when I asked if they measured the CO they replied "the monitor did not go off". I'll need to go in and test it myself with the professional monitor which provides almost instant readings.

On a brighter note they are replacing the AC/heat pump under warranty. It's never worked.

[Ruscal]

The faulty regulator would upset the air/fuel ratio causing a "yellow flame" which would produce high CO. Still, there must be a breach in the sealant somewhere letting in the fumes. Maybe get a helper to shine a strong light on the exterior while you observe inside?
Russ

[Snowy]

Well our AS is finally back from the dealer. I checked the CO using my instant read professional CO meter and things check out fine. Looking at the water heater flame it's clean and blue so I think the issue is sorted.

I'm still going to be cautious using the water heater and any of the propane powered utilities.