water heater question

[Roamingusa]

Hello all from Prairie City Oregon,
We have a problem with our hot water heater. It will not fire up on propane, works fine on elec. You can hear it try to ignite, but no go. Any ideas? Wonder if it had to do with our "zapped and fried" recent episode? Arrrgggg....
Thanks in advance.
Albert & Chris

[HamRad]

Roamingusa,

I assume you mean it works well on propane gas but not on electric. And yes it could be related to your recent 'zapped and fried' episode. Your statements are somewhat contradictory or at least confusing to this old brain.

So is the heater working when on electricty?

Or is it working on your propane gas?

Sorry I'm so confused.

HamRad

[Roamingusa]

quote:Originally posted by HamRad

Roamingusa,

I assume you mean it works well on propane gas but not on electric. And yes it could be related to your recent 'zapped and fried' episode. Your statements are somewhat contradictory or at least confusing to this old brain.

So is the heater working when on electricty?

Or is it working on your propane gas?

Sorry I'm so confused.

HamRad

Sorry, I just edited my post! I meant to say it works well on ELECTRIC. I was the confused one!
Chris

[HamRad]

Chris,

OK. Thanks. If it works well on electric then the "zapped and fried" thing is probably not the problem. When I have this sort of problem I first make certain that I have a good supply of propane. I then light the burners on the stove. If they light and burn well for a few minutes then you should have a good supply to your HWH.

Sometimes spiders and or other insects will crawl into the burner tube on the HWH. Make sure this is clear and clean. Also don't forget that if your water is already warm or hot from the electric element the gas may not light because there is not enough difference in the water temp for it to ignite.

To test turn off the electric element and let the water cool down. When water is cool or cold then try the gas. If it was just the temp differential then the gas should ignite.

There. I've exhausted my meager knowledge of the HWH.

Good luck and let us know when you fix it.

Dennis

[stimpy123]

Recently I've had to have the gas valve replaced under warranty. The "flt" light stayed lit on the control panel near the on/off switch for the water heater.
The repair tech told me that this was rather unusual, but had also had to replace another just that week on a SOB.
I had tapped lightly on the gas valve inside the water heater cover with my pocket knife, and that made the valve open on time for the electric igniter. However, that didn't work the second time I tried this, so off to the dealer nearest me, although not a Monty dealer. The water heater is the same in many brands.
Best wishes.
Steve

[Desert RVer]

Recently had this very problem on a 2006 3400RL with exactly the same symptoms. One of the coils shorted out on the Suburban gas valve. This in turn caused the electronic module to burn out. Had to replace both. Replace the Suburban Electronic Module with one that has a fuse in the output with a 3 year warranty.

[Roamingusa]

[quote]Originally posted by stimpy123

Recently I've had to have the gas valve replaced under warranty. The "flt" light stayed lit on the control panel near the on/off switch for the water heater.
The repair tech told me that this was rather unusual, but had also had to replace another just that week on a SOB.
I had tapped lightly on the gas valve inside the water heater cover with my pocket knife, and that made the valve open on time for the electric igniter. However, that didn't work the second time I tried this, so off to the dealer nearest me, although not a Monty dealer. The water heater is the same in many brands.
Best wishes.

Thanks all, we have tried all suggestions. Nothing. It at least runs on elec. Where we are now there is no RV dealer in the surrounding area. We went to Baker City OR and talked to a fella that works on RV's, he said we could bring it in and he would look at it. It's about 65 miles. He does mobile calls for a service call of $90 and $1.50 a mile to and from.....NOT! We just landed here from Reno and we are not going to tear down and take her in. We will be here for two months and then back to Reno for DR appts and will make one for the Monty. Then ???? Who knows. Albert had a total knee replacement in May and can't go back to work for a while yet.
Didn't mean to ramble on. LOL Thanks again all. I will write a follow up on our "zapped and fried" episode tomorrow.
Albert & Chris

[racerjoe]

you may hear it trying to light,but are you getting a spark or just a noise? you may have lost the igniter if you had an electrical problem before.

[sreigle]

The one time we had this problem it was a spider had built a web in the tube in the burner area. A can of compressed air took care of it. Spiders seem to love the smell of propane.