Lighting the Water Heater

[80 Cruiser Rod]

I spent almost an hour lighting my water heater last night. I have the Unitrol model and man did it take way to long to get lit. Is there some magical trick to get this thing lit. I did follow the directions which didn't do the trick.

[Kozmo]

I am in the same boat. It is a PITA to light. I have not figured out what the secret is.

[TWP723]

Do you need to manually light it with a lighter?

[TWP723]

Move the gas regulator to the pilot setting, and hold it in. Light the pilot light manually with a long lighter or match.

[Kozmo]

Yes, a lighter. I do all of the above and it takes forever to ignite. I wonder if the line takes that long to fill up with propane? I usually take my camper stool and sit and wait for blast off.

[Bsqrd]

My propane problems came from a build up of oil/ethylene glycol in the lines. Just after the regulator the propane hose made a large "U" shape and that's where the crud collected. Removed the line and let it hang down and drain. Problem solved.

[go wild]

To be clear, are you having problems getting your pilot flame lit? Or is the problem that the pilot flame is lit but when you move the knob from "PILOT" to "ON" the gas valve doesn't open?

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by Kozmo

Yes, a lighter. I do all of the above and it takes forever to ignite. I wonder if the line takes that long to fill up with propane? I usually take my camper stool and sit and wait for blast off.

It does take a while. I used to sit for about 15 minutes with my Coleman. Takes a while for the gas to travel the lines without pressure. Also check for insects in the tubes. Spiders love those tubes to nest in.

[BCK]

Is the water heater the first thing you try lighting?

I always light the high output burner on the stove first by turning it on full and holding a lighter until it ignites. Then I turn on the furnace and fire it for half a minute or so. That gets all the air out of the propane lines and then the fridge and water heater both light right away.

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Originally Posted by Bsqrd

My propane problems came from a build up of oil/ethylene glycol in the lines. Just after the regulator the propane hose made a large "U" shape and that's where the crud collected. Removed the line and let it hang down and drain. Problem solved.

Wouldn't that have cause problems in lighting the stove also?

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Originally Posted by TWP723

Move the gas regulator to the pilot setting, and hold it in. Light the pilot light manually with a long lighter or match.

That's exactly what I did, like 20 times!

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Originally Posted by go wild

To be clear, are you having problems getting your pilot flame lit? Or is the problem that the pilot flame is lit but when you move the knob from "PILOT" to "ON" the gas valve doesn't open?

Getting the pilot flame lit. Once and when I finally got the pilot flame lit there wasn't a problem firing up the water heater.

[bigironcoder]

Granted you might your water heater might have a problem (like an almost invisible spider web or a loose thermocouple), but keep in mind the water heater and frig don't use much propane and trying to light them first will take a long time to get all the air out of the lines. The kit stove and furnace use a lot more propane and getting them going will get the air out of the lines a lot quicker.

My usual M.O. is to open one of the kit stove burners until I can smell propane (usually takes 30 seconds), then I light the burner and let it run for maybe a minute.

The water heater is usually somewhere close to the kit stove, so now it shouldn't have much air left in the line. It still might take a few seconds to get the air out of that section of the line.

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Originally Posted by bigironcoder

The water heater is usually somewhere close to the kit stove, so now it shouldn't have much air left in the line. It still might take a few seconds to get the air out of that section of the line.

The stove in my camper is further away from propane tank, where the water heater is the closest to the tank. I did light my stove 1st before trying to light the water heater.

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Should I start up and run my heater, stove and fridge before I attempt to fire up the water heater?

[WeRJuliian]

@Bsqrd... My guess would be that you got "bad propane" somewhere.... it's not supposed to have oil, or anything else, in it (aside from very small amounts of ethyl mercaptan, added for the smell).

I'd recommend scrapping the bottle...exchanging it, if you can, or gEttington it professionally cleaned out.. blowing out the lines and regulator, and maybe finding a different supplier.

[MagooIsBoo]

Like someone mentioned earlier, we light the stove first, just to get the gas moving. Our water heater is farther away from the propane tanks too. We usually just have to wait a few minutes from lighting the stove to lighting the pilot in the water heater. We have never had the lengthy delays as mentioned.

[norty1]

When it’s on pilot, you are pushing in on the valve and after lighting, continue to push in for a minute?

[Greg Birky]

I agree with BCK. If you don't light the stove first and then the furnace it will be forever getting your water heater to light. The entire process from start to finish should take under ten minutes. Good luck!

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Originally Posted by Greg Birky

I agree with BCK. If you don't light the stove first and then the furnace it will be forever getting your water heater to light. The entire process from start to finish should take under ten minutes. Good luck!

Okay, I'll say it again! I did light the stove 1st.

As I asked before, should I also start the heater and gas fridge to before attempting to light the Water Heater?