Intermittent hot water

[bradleyoder]

My wife gets up pretty early for work. Some days water is fine. Has been for a couple weeks now. But we have had, and do again have, an intermittent problem. Have power, have gas, and yet it still fails to fully ignite from time to time. Rapid-clicks to ignite for a couple seconds, then red light comes on. I feel warm water for a bit, then cold again. Out at heater, I fell warm exhaust, then red light comes on again. Then, later in the day it might work, or the next day. Help!

[daveswenson]

This is probably more than you want to know, but it may give you a clue where to look while troubleshooting. Good luck!!

http://wbccicaravan.wbcci.net/files/...our-rv-iii.pdf

[A W Warn]

Check the ground wire on the outside near the ignition module for corrosion. Even if it looks ok, take it loose and clean it.
Look at the igniter while it's clicking to see if it is getting a good spark.
Look a the placement of the igniter to see if it is the correct location.
If it's not that, you may be looking at a new ignition module.

[Foiled Again]

Yes that is a good reference piece, but to shortcut it, the regulator on your propane tanks may need to be re-adjusted or even replaced, alternately you could have fluid in your propane lines.

A regulator spring can get lose tension and not let enough gas pressure into the lines. The second thing - liquid in the lines - comes from the smell agent and some water precipitating out. Apparently you can hear the gurgle if you're under the coach near the front.

I don't bother going to an RV dealer for propane problems, but go straight to a propane supply company. You might want to learn how to do it yourself, but I tend to hang over the shoulder of an expert and watch for the first time, then make sure I have a manual, review it and decide whether the task is "do it yourself" or "pay an expert". I personally don't mess with propane or electricity very much.

It's a quick and not too expensive fix. Paula

[Lily&Me]

Wasps like to nest in propane lines, so might want to be sure none of that is going on that is effecting your flow.


Maggie

[bradleyoder]

Thanks, all. Lighting the stove before turning on hot water has helped a a couple times. It also seemed that a low tank (though not at all empty) was an obstacle. Does it make sense that the stove works fine with lower tank volume than the the heater?

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by bradleyoder

Thanks, all. Lighting the stove before turning on hot water has helped a a couple times. It also seemed that a low tank (though not at all empty) was an obstacle. Does it make sense that the stove works fine with lower tank volume than the the heater?

YES bigger burner area. Low tank can affect it, but that again sounds like the regulator may need a tweak.

Paula

[bradleyoder]

The sensor that senses the burner is lit is failing to tell the igniter to turn off. When the igniter goes the full way through its igniting cycle, it shuts the gas off, and we just get this oscillation between lit and not lit. I don't know if humidity plays into this, but it's been very rainy today.

[bradleyoder]

Long story short, here, is that I called Gerard, the manufacturer, several times and they've generously replaced a couple of parts gratis. Of course each subsequent part has then failed, so they had to do that a couple times. But I just ordered the last part that could fail, so we're ready if that one goes. First it was the igniter, then it was the water temperature sensor, then it was the control board, and I've ordered the sail switch just in case that fails. It's been a bit of a saga, and we spent lots of weeks without hot water, but since we live in this airstream, we're into the adventure, and a 4 to 5 quart pan heating up on the stove can provide a reasonably comfortable bucket bath in a Rubbermaid inside the shower!