Water Heater will not light on propane

[Tincampers]

2014 FC. The water heater will not light on propane unless I go outside and open the cover a bit. Then, it will fire right off. I have to leave the door open all the time that I need hot water or it will go into lockout mode (red light on).

Any ideas?

[knunut]

Had same problem and it was intermittent. There was a Gasket on the bottom edge of door that the service rep scraped off of mine , and it's has worked ok since. (that was in Jan.)

[cwf]

Are you in Mobile.... or are you at higher elevation than where it worked before...?

I would remove the burner tube and clean it out...also, do you have a 'bug screen' over the vent? try to run a soft wire down the vent to see if you can knock loose any bug nests... let us know what you find.

[Tincampers]

Higher elevations. We no longer live in Mobile. We never had the need to try it out on propane until we started boondocking.

[AStreamNerds]

I have the same thing happening. We are leaving tomorrow for a quick weekend getaway and will check for gasket issue. THANKS

[coloradopete]

I live in Colorado, high elevation. There is an air flow control tube located on the outside of the main fire tube. This tube slides back and forth over the fire tube and it has an opening in it to allow more or less air to flow with the gas. The tube is held in place with a small screw. Loosen this screw and either increase the air flow (higher elevations) or reduce the air flow (lower elevations). A little practice in adjustment will tell you when the adjustment is correct.

[Gsmblue]

Open the cover, there is a black wire that connects to the igniter. The insulator wore down on mine and was shorting aginst the cover!!

[cwf]

Does it 'light' then expire?

[Gsmblue]

Does it light with the cover open?

[Tincampers]

With the cover closed, it tries to light 3 times and then goes to lockout. With the cover open it lights on the first try.

I checked the black wire and it is fine but I went ahead and placed it so that the cover doesn't contact the wire.

I will check that airflow adjustment, that sounds very likely to be the issue.

[JCWDCW]

Adjust the airflow so there is just a hint of yellow at the tips. The flame should be relatively quiet. If it warbles there is too much air. That can make for a harder ignition, but that doesn't seem to be your problem. I would also check the location of the spark and probe that detects the flame. I wonder if it lights with the door open because there is a bit more turbulence with the door open that agitates and moves the gas flow into the spark.
JCW