Water Heater Problem

[tyndalelady]

I dont know if anyone can help me with this. My water heater has taken on a life of his own...we now call him Puff (as in the dragon) because he keeps coming on and blowing and immediatly turning off.

The water heater works great. It turns on, heats up quickly, cycles off..then he starts coming on for 3 seconds (full flame and everything) then turns off for about 30 seconds and continues this till I turn him off.

This is an atwood gas only heater.

Does anyone know what the problem is? I thank you for any help you can give me.

Missy

[overlander63]

Missy, does your water heater have a pilot, or does it have a piezo ignitor?

[tyndalelady]

Piezo igniter.....could that be the problem?

[jcanavera]

I'm sure there is a flame sensor that detects that the heater has ignited. It's usually a metal rod, much like a thermocouple. I just dealt with this problem on my home furnace. Same symptom. Gas turned on flame ignited. Burner ran for 8 seconds then went out.

The suggested fix was to remove the sensor rod and clean it with steel wool or fine emory paper. Most of the time that fixes the problem. If it doesn't, you replace the sensor.

Now I'm making a stretch here that the water heater has the same components. My trailer is up at the storage lot so I can't just jump outside and check it out. But this is a cheap fix and if it works (it did on my furnace) you save a few $$.

Jack

[overlander63]

You COULD have a problem with the circuit board. You may also have a restriction in the LP line, or the burner is set to deliver too much LP. There is also a sensor that could be malfunctioning, it lets the PC board know the heater is lit.