Water heater

[debcon60]

Hello, our water heater worked at home and on the road for a day. Now it won't light, the pilot is on but the water heater won't come on to heat. Thanks for any help.

[Gene]

Check all the wiring contacts. They get dirty or corrode—you can't often see the corrosion, but it stops power from getting to where it needs to go. Spray some WD-40 on them and/or clean them with a rag or paper towel. WD-40 doesn't stop electricity from flowing and gets inside the contacts.

If that doesn't work, check the wiring and contacts in the switch. If that is ok, the next thing to look at is the circuit board. Check to see if it is cracked or there are any burn marks on it—that would mean it probably needs to be replaced.

Hope the easiest things works. Happened to us a few years ago and after I cleaned everything, hot water returned.

By the way, small battery terminals also can corrode and batteries will last longer if you clean them and use them again. Or you can scratch the terminals with a pen knife to keep them going. For the house batteries, there are sprays to keep them from corroding.

Gene

[debcon60]

Thanks for the reply Gene.

As it turns out we are okay with the water heater.

Here is a heads up for others, make sure you have the bypass turned off. My sweetie had turned it on to do weatherizing last year and we had not used it yet this year. He realized late last nite and crawled into the cubby under the sink to see and yup, it was on. After turning it off, it filled with water and we have hot water.

When you don't use things it is easy to forget stuff. It has nothing to do with age, ha, ha.

Again, thanks Gene.

Deb

[Gene]

Happens to all of us—somewhere near Talkeetna, Alaska, is a set of keys to the trailer. I think I left them on the propane cover. If you see them, let me know.

Gene