No hot water with gas

[Bobstekeur]

I’ve got a 2013 Jayco Eagle 266rks, on the panel there are 2 switches for the water heater, one for gas and one for electric. When we arrived at the campsite I turned on the gas Instead of the electric by accident. An hour or so later I noticed no hot water. So I switched on the electric and it was working. I’ve never tried to use the water heater on gas so I just discovered it wasn’t working. Can anyone point me in the right direction to troubleshoot the problem? We were staying in Myakka State campground in Florida and on Monday night we got a knock on the door that we had to evacuate because of the tropical storm Elsa, could have been a better camping trip

[THE MEEKER]

Check your thermofuse. It is located under the pressure relief valve, usually the far right connection (above where it says "T'STAT). It is covered in plastic. It is a safety device in case you get a large flame kicks up from the burner. You can test the propane system by removing it from the wire and then reconnect the wire directly to the circuit board. If it’s a go, then that’s the problem. Be sure to replace it as it is a safety item. It's a common item you can get at any RV supply store.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Turn on your stove and let it run a couple of minutes. Might have air in your propane line.

[mini4mw]

If you don't use gas between moves, it may get some air in the lines and need to push it out. As mentioned, turn on the stove and get it running on gas. That helps push some of the air out. Then try the gas water heater again. If it doesn't fire within ~20 seconds it usually has a little red 'fault' light. Turn the switch off for 5 seconds, turn it back on and see if it fires up. Repeat 3-4 times.

If you are above 4500 feet altitude, you may need to move the air gap sleeve so more air is allowed. The furnace and fridge don't usually give me any trouble, but the gas water heater always seems to need to be tinkered with to start and keep running.

This of course assumes you have the gas on and have at least a 1/4 of a tank of propane.

[jbagnall]

Another common thing you'll read on here is taking some canned air and blowing out what I'm going to call the "gas supply line". Sometimes spiders and things make homes in there which can mess with the propane flow. Also just simply making sure all the cables are seated properly, too.

Alternatively, it could be your control board. They are notorious for being junk. I just replaced mine (search for dinosaur board) and my water heater works flawless whether on gas or electric.

[Bobstekeur]

Thanks for the replies, if it ever stops raining here I’m going to take a look again. Thinking back it took me a while to get the stove lit so I’m thinking it may have been air in the line. I had just had the tank filled. I’ll go out and light the stove for a minute or two and try it again. I did find an Atwood manual and a couple of YouTube videos on the hot water heater.

[Bobstekeur]

Air in the line must have been the problem, after turning on the stove for a few seconds I turned on the water heater and it fired right up. I did adjust the mixture so to get a nice blue flame. Now I can start chasing the problem in one of my awning motors. Always something, at least I won’t get bored.