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Old 05-12-2019, 08:23 PM   #1
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water heater won't stay lit

Hi, I have an Atwood water heater on my Eagle 322FKS that I am trying to operate via propane. The original owner of the rv always had it hooked to electric so propane has never been used.

I can turn the cabin switch to on and it will spark and light for a few seconds however the flame comes out of the flue instead of burning in the flue and staying lit. I have attached a video to help explain the problem. I looked through both the burner tub and flue to and they both appear clean and brand new. The trailer is level. I have not ran anything through the complete flue so there is a slight chance of something in the blindspot elbow. I am not near the trailer anymore so any ideas for when I return would be helpful

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Old 05-12-2019, 09:11 PM   #2
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I suspect spiders have made a nest in burner assembly.

Remove the tube that mixes air, and clean it. Then clean/blow out the flame chamber. Try compressed air or a blower.
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Old 05-13-2019, 03:35 PM   #3
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The large hole just above and to the left is where the exhaust is supposed to come out. I suspect wasps or spiders have clogged up the passage through you water heater. That is why the flame comes back out down where the burner is located.

They make some really nice screens that will keep bugs out of your heater vents.
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Old 05-13-2019, 06:49 PM   #4
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Thanks, that is what I assumed.. I removed the burner tube and the exhaust tube cover and as far as I could visibly see it was clean up to the bend (spotless like brand new) I didn't have anything to push or pull through the bend and was only able to spray water through which was successful. I will give it another try this weekend with a rag and coat hanger to see what I can come up with.
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Old 05-14-2019, 06:34 AM   #5
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I don't know what the inside of the heat exchanger looks like, so be careful trying to push something through it. Do you have a shop vac? If so try sucking or blowing on the exhaust port with it.
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Old 05-14-2019, 12:17 PM   #6
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I don't know what the inside of the heat exchanger looks like, so be careful trying to push something through it. Do you have a shop vac? If so try sucking or blowing on the exhaust port with it.
The Atwood service manual for my unit says to use a bent coat hanger and a rag to clean the flue tube. They also sell a flexible Atwood flue cleaning brush so hopefully I won't damage anything in the bend. My rig is in an area without power so vacuum is not an option. I could possibly fill my compressor at home and drag it along with me to blow it out but would rather not take up limited space in the suv
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Old 05-14-2019, 02:50 PM   #7
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If you find out your flue is clean, it could be the control board. There was a bad batch of them out there for a long time.

But with a bad control board, you wouldn't have had that back-draft on the flame. At least not that I've seen anyway.

If it is the control board, get a "Dinosaur" board from Amazon. Good product, and easy install.
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Old 05-14-2019, 10:54 PM   #8
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mine was doing the same thing last year, I ended up changing that thermal fuse that on the center right of your youtube video. I made a jumper first to test it, and sure enough with a jumper installed everything worked as advertised, so i went down to the r.v. store and bought 2 pre-made thermal fuses, one for install and one for a spare.
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Old 05-15-2019, 06:10 AM   #9
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If you find out your flue is clean, it could be the control board. There was a bad batch of them out there for a long time.

But with a bad control board, you wouldn't have had that back-draft on the flame. At least not that I've seen anyway.
My thoughts exactly.

The other thing might be the adjustment on the tube, maybe it's not set up for enough air. (Or it's clogged.)



Edit: I went back and looked at your video and your tube is almost all the way closed. I'd open that up and try again.
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Old 05-15-2019, 09:54 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by parallax View Post
mine was doing the same thing last year, I ended up changing that thermal fuse that on the center right of your youtube video. I made a jumper first to test it, and sure enough with a jumper installed everything worked as advertised, so i went down to the r.v. store and bought 2 pre-made thermal fuses, one for install and one for a spare.
I have ordered two thermal fuses for spares but I thought since it is sparking and gas is flowing briefly that the fuse should be ok. Did yours spark and light before you changed it.
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Old 05-15-2019, 09:57 AM   #11
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My thoughts exactly.

The other thing might be the adjustment on the tube, maybe it's not set up for enough air. (Or it's clogged.)



Edit: I went back and looked at your video and your tube is almost all the way closed. I'd open that up and try again.
I had the burner tube off to check for blockage before my video was made. I also loosened the nut and tried to give maximum, middle and minimum air but no difference unfortunately. I will however adjust it as to the video you sent once I get the flame to run in the right direction.
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Old 09-27-2019, 11:43 AM   #12
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. correct, mine would light then putter and turn off ,,like gas wasn't flowing, mine was the thermal fuse. LOL,,, i know its been months, but still curious if you had a solution. to share.
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Old 09-27-2019, 01:24 PM   #13
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. correct, mine would light then putter and turn off ,,like gas wasn't flowing, mine was the thermal fuse. LOL,,, i know its been months, but still curious if you had a solution. to share.
Sorry, I meant to report back but forgot. I used a long brush with a flexible handle that I purchased online and pushed it through. Hasn't failed since except when it's windy it will sometimes go into fault after 3 attempts.
Same happened with the fridge flu a few weeks later where it would often not relight, so in the case of the fridge I used a flex hose attached to the my compressors blower and blew it out. All it seems to take is a bit of dust or suet and there are problems. Cheera
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