Water heater on strike

[Ev in Oregon]

It's been an interesting summer. My 1988 Bigfoot's 3-way fridge gave up the ghost, I had to replace the regulator for the propane tanks, the thermocoupler on the water heater needed replacing, and now it appears the (water heater) thermostat needs replacing.

One friend said to replace just the main burner; another said to "bite the bullet" and install a new thermostat. Apparently "biting the bullet" refers to the pain-in-the-neck task of removing the old thermo & replacing it with a new one.

Has anyone tried one of these fix-its? This is the original 1988 Atwood gas water heater, 6-1/2 gallons, that has been working like a champ so far.

I do have good news: I finally finished hand-waxing the exterior last week. It ONLY took me all summer, and it looks bew-tee-full.

[cmartin748]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w_uC4TSkBU

It's a pretty simple fix if you get the exact replacement part. I found mine on Amazon

[mszabo]

Did I miss something? Did you say what’s wrong with it?

[Ev in Oregon]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

It's a pretty simple fix if you get the exact replacement part. I found mine on Amazon

Thank you so much, Charles. I'm sure I am one of many who thank you for making that video. (Cliffhanger of an ending, though, LOL.)

It does look like a simple fix (maybe I need new friends??). When it stops drenching us here in my part of the country, I'll be checking it out. Q: I've tried Liquid Wrench in the past with good success to drench rusty fittings the night before I want to work on something. Do you think that'd help in this instance? I know for a fact that these particular bolts/fittings have not been touched since new. Amazing. But, then, quality & reliability are only a couple of the reasons we love our FG trailers, huh?

Like you, out of necessity I do most of my own fixes, & I also live in my BF full-time. I actually enjoy most of the challenges, & it makes me familiar with how my Bigfoot "works" . . . or doesn't.

A long-winded way of saying "Thank you!" When I'm able to see what's-what, I'll post the results.

[Ev in Oregon]

Originally Posted by mszabo

Did I miss something? Did you say what’s wrong with it?

Oops, sorry! Problem: No hot water. I installed a new pilot assy about a month ago that has been working fine, but now the burner won't stay lit. The normal blow-torch flame coming out of the burner won't stay lit or even ignite. And, yes, I have plenty of propane

[mszabo]

Let me see that I have this right. You changed the pilot Assy and pilot stays lit.
The burner will come on and then goes out.
Is that correct? If so, two things could be wrong.
The thermostat the lever above the valve may need to be turned up higher.
Move to left I believe.
Second problem you have wasp/bees nest in your exhaust chamber part.
Which cause the exhaust to backup and the flame goes out due to lack of oxygen.
If your pilot doesn’t stay lite, then that’s another problem.
Let us know.

[cmartin748]

Also, make sure that the entire tip of the thermocouple is engulfed in the pilot flame.Sometimes, if the flame is too small or the thermocouple is not positioned right, the main burner will "pull" the pilot flame away from the thermocouple and cause it to go out.

[Tom 72]

I vote that it is the thermocouple. Should be inexpensive and DIYable. Look for how to videos on YouTube.

[mszabo]

She said she had replaced the thermocouple in the first post.
We are all guessing here, until we find out what model heater she has.
Great video but, I don’t think see has that model heater.
We don’t know if the pilot is staying lite or not.
When we have answers to all these questions, maybe then we can help her.

[Ev in Oregon]

Sorry for the delay in getting back here. The wifi can be a bit cranky at times.

This may end up being more info than you asked for, but here goes:

The water heater is an Atwood model G6A3, gas only. It's not exactly the same as Charles's heater in the video, but it's 99% close.

About a week before it quit, there were several times when I had only lukewarm water, no matter how long I let the hot water tap run. Other times, it'd get hot like it should. I hadn't touched the lever that controls the temp, so I figured that wasn't the issue.

When I was finally able to check on it between rainstorms, I discovered the main burner wouldn't stay lit. (Pilot light was fine.) It would stay lit for a minute or so, but then go out. It did this 3-4 times. The last time I tried, the flame was just lightly "floating" about with no particular destination in mind. (Pilot light still fine.) After it "floated" itself out, I couldn't get the burner to come back on again at all. And, pilot light still fine.

[mszabo]

Make sure your burner air adjustment tube is open about a quarter of the way. If your not getting enough air and or fuel could be your problem.
Myself, I would take the burner assembly apart and clean everything.
Compressed air works best.
You have a pilot that stays lit, that’s half the battle.
Spiders love to nest in that tube. That sticky nest will stop the gas flow.
Once lite you will have to adjust your air gap. Until your flame is blue.
You can go too utube and find several video’s on how to clean your heater.
A good cleaning will most likely fix your problem.

[cmartin748]

all of the above sounds like an obstruction

[David B.]

Just another thought here. If the propane tank valve is opened to quickly, sometimes the safety valve is activated and won’t let a good flow of propane to happen. Check to see if all your stove top burners work and your furnace. If this happened, just turn off the propane valve again, then slowly reopen the valve and all should be well. Best of luck to you.
Dave & Paula

[Ev in Oregon]

Wow, so much good advice. I'll be investigating what's-what and checking out all the potential problems that you folks have suggested. That'll be after the pet-sitting gig next week, then working at my part-time job for a few days after that. I'm hoping the sun will be a-shining when I'm ready to tackle the water heater.

What else would we rather be doing than keeping our FG trailers in tip-top shape?

Have a wonderful family- and friend-filled Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

[Ev in Oregon]

Happy 2018! I haven't forgotten to get back to you folks. I do realize how valuable it is to let others know the outcome of fix-it projects; it's just that the water heater isn't fixed yet!

Don't ask ... but at least I was able to remove the original thermostat without shocking my neighbors too badly with my colorful language. BTW, Charles, your YouTube video was invaluable. Thank you, again.

I'll be b-a-c-k when I have the problem solved. Right now it's raining horizontally here on the Oregon Coast; steady winds at 35 mph, with gusts 65-70 mph, so I think I'll stay inside for a bit.

[Ev in Oregon]

Originally Posted by Ev in Oregon

I'll be b-a-c-k when I have the problem solved.

Ta-da! I finally got the water heater fixed today, even though the weather wasn't too friendly. Apparently the culprit was the thermostat, since the heater fired right up after replacing the old one. I replaced the pilot assembly, too, even though I'd just installed a new thermocoupler (don't ask). The burner assy is in great shape, so I didn't mess with it.

Thanks, again, for all the good advice, folks.