Water heater question

[newrvguy68]

Today I flushed out all of the water lines in the new trailer and de-winterized it. I was also able to try the water heater on electric mode and it worked like a charm. Here is my question...how on earth am I supposed to use it on gas? I opened the cover on the outside of the trailer and looked and looked but I didn't see any dial or any way of turning the gas on to it or, for that matter, how to even light the pilot light. Talk about frustrating! So am I missing something here? If I turn on the propane, then turn on the remote switch to "water heater - gas", does it just fire itself up or something? This could be a classic case of overthinking how it works but this is really annoying.

[scottm]

Just flip the switch that say water heater gas. It will fire it's self up and you don't have to do a thing.

[wiscampsin]

Your probably have a DSI (Direct Spark Ignition) water heater that comes with the Convenience Package. There is no pilot light. Do what Scottm suggests, you should hear a clicking sound from the water heater. That's the electronic spark trying to light the gas. As soon as the gas is lit the clicking sound will cease. You'll hear the flame heating the water. Just make sure the LP is turned on and there's water in the water heater.

[Terry]

As wiscampsin says - you probably have DSI.

One tip - you might hear it click and try to light a few times and then a fault light will appear on your panel. If your heater can not light after a few tries, it will quit trying. Being that yours is new, you may have to purge the air out of the lines. Just shut the gas switch off for a minute and try again. It might take a few cycles until it will go.

Also - you can run it on BOTH gas and electric and it will not hurt a thing - in fact, it will speed up the times it takes to get hot water.

Enjoy!

[newrvguy68]

Okay....thanks for all the input...I'll have to try what people have suggested and see if it works out. That does make sense.

[Terry]

Also - just as another FYI - which ever water heater you have, they have safety devices that prevent the gas from flowing so you dont have to get worried you are going to turn something on and blow yourself up. On a pilot water heater, there is what is called a thermocouple that will be right above the pilot. If the pilot were to blow out, the thermocouple cools down and it causes the gas to be cut off on the pilot. (This is what you will find in your Atwood oven). If it has electronic ignition, it will have a flame sensor. This will send a small voltage to the circuit board and tell it you ignited properly. Again, if something causes your flame to go out, it would stop the gas. You also have several other safety features, especially on the DSI models.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

[Crabman]

According to Jayco`s website the 6 gallon gas/electric heater with auto ignition is standard equipment on the 2011 Jayflights. So there should be no pilot light to light, just turn on the propane and turn on the gas water heat switch on the inside panel. Try lighting the stove first to purge any air out of the gas lines. -Lee

[Terry]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Try lighting the stove first to purge any air out of the gas lines. -Lee

Yeah...best bet is to put a stock pot on there and boil up some crabs! Lee will provide them.....

[clutch]

The DSI water heater switch will also tell you when you are out of propane if you are using propane to heat the water. A small red light next to the switch will come on.

[newrvguy68]

I can confirm that, in fact, all I had to do was turn on the propane, turn the switch to "water heater - LP" and ta da...it was just that easy. Boy have trailers come a long way since my 1973 Trillium 13'.

[Terry]

Good deal! Glad it worked....you will love that DSI function.