Weekend Water Heater (And Other) Woes

[JimboC]

We went out for the second weekend in out new Swift. Had a couple of problems. First, we had 2.5 Gallon container of water leak under the dinette storage area and the wood (hahahaha) on my door side swelled and looks bad along the floor now. I'm considering getting that dinette replaced. My fault so I know I'll have to pay for it. It's still brand new after all.

Second was the wood over top of it cracked (probably under my big butt) and broke. Went to Lowes and bought a nice piece of blondewood 1/2" and had them cut two out to replace the 1/4" original. Feels much sturdier already.

Last and most annoying. I appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. My water heater kept shutting off. I would start it, hold the button down for 30 seconds and move it to the on position. It would take off and do great. It seems that after it would get the water to temp, it would just shut off instead of going into pilot. This, we would notice after showering when the water did not heat back up. First night out, I thought it we were out of gas until I went to pull the tank. Gauge still read about a half tank. Frustrating because it was cold the first morning and I didn't fool with the heater because I thought we were out of gas.

Even with that, great time being out and about. We've now spent 4 nights in it since we bought it. Figure as of now,each of those days cost about 2500. Gotta camp some more to bring that per night rate down.

[clutch]

With a new trailer that nightly rate is a killer. It sounds like the thermocouple that shuts off the gas supply is faulty. The dealer should be able to take care of that.

[Terry]

Yeah - we have all done something "stupid" with our campers and done some damage. I get mad at myself every time I see mine!

On the water heater - are you getting a nice pilot flame that is making good contact with the thermocouple? Sometimes they just need a slight adjustment.

[JimboC]

Originally Posted by clutch

With a new trailer that nightly rate is a killer. It sounds like the thermocouple that shuts off the gas supply is faulty. The dealer should be able to take care of that.

I kept thinking it might be something I was doing wrong but the fact I could get one tank out of it leads me to believe I was lighting it correctly. Plus it worked great on our first trip out and I lit it exactly the same way. I'm going to call the dealer this week about it.

[JimboC]

Originally Posted by tafische

Yeah - we have all done something "stupid" with our campers and done some damage. I get mad at myself every time I see mine!

On the water heater - are you getting a nice pilot flame that is making good contact with the thermocouple? Sometimes they just need a slight adjustment.

I think I am going to fix it myself next spring. If I have the dealer, they are just going to use the same particle board. I am going to get some nice cabinet grade plywood, use the existing pieces as templates and stain them to match. Should last much longer. When I realized what happened, I was kicking myself.

I am getting a nice pilot light when I'm lighting it. Then, when I turn it to on, it takes off.

[mcfarmall]

I'm surprised that your new (I assume 2011) doesn't have a pilotless direct spark ignition water heater. Seems like a backward trend in technology to go back to a standing pilot.

I would lean to the thermocouple issue. Just because you ran a tank through it with no problem doesn't mean something hasn't failed recently. Also try cleaning the themocouple bulb with some 240 grit sandpaper.

[RedHorse1]

My new 2012 23B has a pilot light. I agree, a step backwards.

[azjerry]

And my new 2012 Swift SLX 145RB also has a pilot light.

[mcfarmall]

My 23B is an '06 and the only appliance with a standing pilot is the oven burner. Everything else is spark ignition.

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by mcfarmall

My 23B is an '06 and the only appliance with a standing pilot is the oven burner. Everything else is spark ignition.

In my earlier post I said the water heater is pilot. My stove has a spark igniter but the oven requires a match-light (no pilot). The furnace is the only thing that is "automatic". Year-to-year variations in the equipment they can get the best discount on may drive that year's features.

[muelldawg]

We also have a pilot light hot water heater.

It has always been an exercise to light pilot; and frequently is goes out by the next morning. I have had some success with dealer fixes on this but not 100%.

Yesterday I did some spring cleaning and attempted to light pilot. Again it was a extensive exercise. And gas tank was topped off. Did not test how long it stayed on.

What help is sanding the thermocouple bulb?

[clutch]

If the thermocouple is dirty or has soot on it it will not transfer enough heat to the switch and it will shut off the gas. That is why you have to hold the button down for a few seconds when lighting it. If it is not hot enough the pilot will go out.