Water Heater Won't Heat

[tdmaymac]

I've just recovered my AS from its first winter sleep and all systems are go except the water heater. An tips on how to go about troubleshooting it to revive it? It's an Atwood in a 2011 FC. The gas works for the furnace and fridge but the water heater won't fire on either electric or gas Thanks.

[nvestysly]

I'm not certain what you mean by "won't fire on either electric or gas." Does your water heater have an AC mode as well as a gas mode? I've heard of those but I've not seen one and I'm not familiar with the controls.

Regarding the gas operation. Several things come to mind. Do you hear the "click" of the solenoid valve opening to allow gas to enter the combustion tube? Do you hear the different sounding "click" of the electronic ignitor? Both those clicks should occur nearly simultaneously. That is, the gas valve opens then the ignitor starts the flame.

If those two things are happening but there is no flame you may simply have air in the line. That happens to our trailer when it's stored for several months. It indicates there is a leak somewhere but if it only happens over a period of months it may not be a problem. Of course, it should be checked.

So back to the flame. If you're hearing both clicks but no flame... simply turn the switch on and off several times in succession to blead the air from the line. After 4 to 5 on/off cycles gas should ignite and you're on your way.

If the solenoid is not activating that needs to be fixed before you can proceed.

If the electronic module is not sparking you can easily replace that yourself. In the meantime, you can use one of the Bic type ignitors to light the water heater manually. It will take two people. One person uses the Bic lighter in the combustion tube while the second person turns on the switch inside. You must have the Bic lighter ignited before the person inside turns on the switch. Assuming the solenoid is working, you'll hear the gas come in and Bic lighter will ignite the flame. The water heater will turn itself off later. However, you'll have to light it manually. If this method makes you uncomfortable don't do it. If you're not familiar with gas (propane) and you're scared of flames then you should take the trailer to a trained service person. If you don't have a problem lighting a gas grill manually then you should be fine.

Good Luck.

Lucius

[reo]

You might try something simple like wiggling the wires or removing and replacing the push on connectors at the valve and circuit board.

[tdmaymac]

Originally Posted by nvestysly

I'm not certain what you mean by "won't fire on either electric or gas." Does your water heater have an AC mode as well as a gas mode? I've heard of those but I've not seen one and I'm not familiar with the controls.

The water heater in my 2011 FC has on/off switches for both electric and gas in the bathroom. Thanks for all options to explore.

Tom

[Protagonist]

My Interstate has a 6-gallon Atwood with both electric and propane heating. Having recently un-winterized (summerized?) my own, I'll offer some suggestions. Please don't be offended if something I list seems idiot-simple; those are the things most often overlooked.

In terms of troubleshooting, first questions MUST be, does it have water in it? (to verify, when you turn on a faucet all the way on "hot," does water come out at all?) Are the drain valves/plugs closed? I'll assume the answer is, "Yes" but the questions still had to be asked.

Side note, are you using municipal water, or on-board tank and water pump? If you're using the water pump, is the pump working? Again I'll assume the answer is "Yes."

Second, have you checked the fuse? Not only does the fuse control the power to the electric heating element, but also to the pilotless ignition. No power, no spark to light the propane.

Third, on the water heater control panel, there is probably a red indicator light in between the switches for the electric and propane heat. This light is a fault indicator, so if it's lit up, that means the heater has locked itself out for safety. My water heater had a problem with this due to a faulty thermostat.

If the fault indicator light is lit up, you will want to try the "Computer Help Desk" solution: Shut off all the power to your water heater (and maybe your whole trailer), wait a minute, and reboot. That should allow the fault indicator to reset. Even if the fault indicator light isn't lit, you might still want to try this, just to say you've tried everything.

If none of these suggestions help, then I'm stumped for now. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

[xrvr]

Pro T,,great advice. jim

[BigGrey]

Shot in the dark but could it be somehing as simple as a fuse ?

[tdmaymac]

Thanks, all, for your suggestions. This past weekend, I took my trailer to a rally on Cape Cod and received some instant troubleshooting upon arrival. The problem turned out to be that I forgot about the hot water heater bypass valve I had closed under the sink when I winterized it last fall. Duh!

[AirsDream]

Aren't rallies great places to get help? A couple of "old hands" looking over your machine can really do wonders for one's learning curve! When I went to my first rally, I learned more about my trailer than I'd learned in weeks of self-teaching.

So yup, they've got safeties that are supposed to help prevent burning up the water heater if there's no water in them. I have two ways of preventing your issue on my trailer:

1.) I use a checklist for winterizing / de-winterizing, 'cause it helps me remember stuff like that and helps me to work in an appropriate sequence (like if I don't change over the bypass valves before pumping antifreeze through the lines, the pump tries to fill the water heater with antifreeze - doh! - did that, but only once ... and like forgetting to run antifreeze through the sink's hand sprayer so it freezes and breaks over the winter); and

2.) I leave the drain plug out of the water heater over winter - leave it inside the exterior access panel, so I don't lose it - that way, when I first turn on the water, assuming that I get a gush of water out of the access panel, I know that I remembered to change over the bypass valves, and I get a little flush-out of the water heater tank itself, which is a good thing ... just a little messy.

[tdmaymac]

To AirsDream:

Yes, the rally I attended was a real wealth of information for this relative newbie. And thanks for the additional tips, as there are a few ideas there I hadn't come across. By the way, I looked at your profile and it shows City: Perrysburg and State: Ann Arbor. Is it possible that you are from Perrysburg, Ohio (not far from Ann Arbor, Michigan)? My mother was born in Perrysburg, OH.

[Roy B]

That's funny tdmaymac ..... we were at a rally here in GA this weekend and I couldn't figure out why the hot water was just only a little warm turned out to be bypass valve that i had forgotten to close back after draining the system last winter, woinder if I will remember this next year? So i was going to suggest that as a fix till i got down to your post about it. :-)
roy B

[nvestysly]

It's certainly good that you fixed the problem. The words used in your original post were a little cryptic

Originally Posted by tdmaymac

...but the water heater won't fire on either electric or gas Thanks.

Consequently, many of us attempting to help you from remote locations were thinking ignition problems, electrical problems, gas supply problems, etc.

Hot water is a good thing. Now you can enjoy the camping season.

Lucius