Water heater mdl G6A-8E

[mocus]

I have scanned information on form re water heaters and nothing seems to fall in my category. We are preparing to leave in a few hours for our first camping trip to western Virginia and would like to take a hot shower in the trailer, if possible. I turn on the switch and the red light comes on, and I can hear unit trying to start. I get the flash on each attempt, which I guess means gas is getting there momentarily. I have cleaned fuel lines, finding a "stink bug," that I thought might be problem, cleaned out exhaust, and cleaned all contacts. The unit is Model G6A-8E, Atwood (4750), on my 2006 29' Bambi.

Like I said, this short notice, and I will have to forgo any drawn-out fixes. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

[mocus]

Just went out and tried again and she finally lit. The only problem now is the red light not going out. Can you leave on with the light on? Flame looks (blue) and sounds good.

[Phoenix]

If your hot water heater has been unused for a period of time in storage, the propane has leaked out of the supply line; and the line now contains air. The red light is a "failed to light" indicator. If the water heater is working, the red indicator should be OFF.

To purge the air in the propane line to the hot water heater, light the burners on the stove. This may take several attempts, too. When your stove burners stay lit, propane is most of the way down the line to your hot water heater. Also, if you haven't checked, your refrigerator burner may not be lit either. This will purge that line, too.

Turn the hot water heater switch OFF, and wait a few seconds for the system to reset. Then, turn it back on. You'll hear clicking (outside), and the burner should ignite. If it doesn't, after a short pause, it will attempt again, two or three times. Then, the red light will come back ON again.

If it does, just repeat the above procedure until the hot water heater burner successfully ignites.

Use this same procedure for the refrigerator, if it doesn't start. However, the hot water heater is down-line from the refrigerator; so if the water heater starts, you should have no problems with the refrigerator.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure the propane tank is at least 1/3 full and the valve is open. I know that this sounds dumb, but I have personally forgotten to do this more than once.

The empty weight of a 30 pound propane tank is stamped on the metal handle, and a full tank weighs around 55 pounds. I use a cheap luggage scale to weigh the tanks when I suspect they need to be filled (around 1/4 full). The one below is about $8.00. You can buy a better one, but extreme accuracy isn't required.

Protege Luggage Scale and Tape Measure: Luggage : Walmart.com

[mocus]

I will definitely try your advice as soon as we get back from our first trip this year. I want to get'er working correctly. I went out this morning, turned on the water heater, she kicked on the 3rd try and made plenty of hot water. Now....the light did not go out for several minutes had passed. The water got hot. I ran the hot water for a few minutes and burner kicked back on, light came on, again it stayed on for several minutes..water reheated. I ran off a copy of your information and will take it with me.

We will be back Sunday/Monday and I can spend time following your instructions. Thanks for the information. Tom

[Hodum]

If your water heater is igniting and burning you definitely don't have a problem of air in the line. You may need to clean the flame sensor and check the proper distance of the sparking device. If all of this is OK the electronic control board may be malfunctioning. On Atwood's web site you can type your model number and download a complete service manual for your water heater. With an ohm meter it will walk you through the process of checking the control board. Yours is a very common model and a control board should be relatively easy to find. They are cheaper through some online suppliers than from Atwood if you need one. If it is lighting may be you just need to use it awhile and see if it clears up.

[mocus]

I wanted to check the forum before pulling out this morning...certainly glad I did. I removed flame sensor and spark device to clean and a very good possibility I need to adjust. Will let ya know when we get back. Many thanks. Tom

[mocus]

Well, ya both....unit is working fine without doing much except mumbling to myself. Refrigerator/stove/water heater working fine. I guess I try to put too much thought into these problems when it is an easy fix (easy after expert advice). Entire unit, especially sensor cleaned. The first camping trip great and going out again within the week. I will keep your advice on file just in case.....Thanks to ya both

. Tom

[mocus]

Guess I oughta tell what I did to repair water heater. I did what I could following instructions above and was still scratching my head. I decided to replace the both ECO/T-stat, & Thermal cutoff, clean everything on unit, gas tubes, etc. Unit works better than new. Sorry for delay..thanks to all.