Water Heater Won’t Ignite March 28, 2023, 08:09:59 pm We’re having a good trip so far. But, my water heater quit working on the first day. After some problem solving with my multimeter and a YouTube video, the problem seems to be a bad circuit board. One of the only places that has a direct replacement is Amazon. I’m reluctant to have it delivered here in case it arrives after we leave this State Park. It’s always something and always interesting 🤔.
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #1 – March 28, 2023, 09:26:31 pm Have it delivered to an Amazon locker in the next town you will be traveling through.Larry 3 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #2 – March 28, 2023, 09:57:06 pm Quote from: Larry W - March 28, 2023, 09:26:31 pmHave it delivered to an Amazon locker in the next town you will be traveling through.That’s exactly what I did last summer when my propane sensor started its five year end of life beeping, ordered it sent to a city three days away. Also ordered a few construction supplies for my pantry I built. Probably used the hub lockers five times.CaveatsAmazon hub lockers aren’t everywhere, found huge stretches in Idaho, Montana and even Washington without lockers, and apparently none are in Alaska. Mainly around large cities. Google “Amazon hub lockers”If the package is too large, it can’t be shipped to a locker, or sometimes I encountered even smaller packages couldn’t be sent to a locker because it didn’t have space.If you are arriving at location X, make sure the delivery date is at least the day before, preferably two days before. Couple times I missed a package because it was delayed.No problem if the package is delayed or you change your plans, Amazon automatically returns the package after a few days, crediting your account. 1 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #3 – March 28, 2023, 10:01:58 pm I'll third that - the Amazon Lockers work very well. Only problem is in some areas of the country the delivery may be delayed several days from where you currently are. So look very carefully at the delivery date and revise location as necessary!
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #4 – March 28, 2023, 10:39:00 pm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002MG2IK/?coliid=I3IWJHI8KUFTN4&colid=1UIO2PDI55DQ5&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_itBest replacement board for water heater is Dinosaur! See link.Dinosaur has good customer service, give them a call. 2 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #5 – March 28, 2023, 10:53:57 pm Right now our plan is to use campground showers until we return home. In the meantime, I like the idea of talking to the Dinosaur customer service to see if their circuit board is compatible with our 2009 Atwood WH. I’ll follow up with an update. And thank you LD Neighborhood.
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #6 – March 28, 2023, 11:16:37 pm Quote from: Ed & Margee - March 28, 2023, 10:53:57 pm In the meantime, I like the idea of talking to the Dinosaur customer service to see if their circuit board is compatible with our 2009 Atwood WH. Dinosaur will have a board that is compatible with your water heater.Larry
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #7 – March 29, 2023, 08:58:49 am Water heater update. After a bit of fussing about this water heater, I ordered a replacement circuit board also called an igniter board. It's suppose to arrive tomorrow at a nearby Amazon box. If it doesn't arrive before we leave this State Park on Sunday and it's not picked up in 3 days, it’s returned to Amazon. Fingers crossed. And thanks again for the help, which is so very reassuring to us. 2 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #8 – March 29, 2023, 10:23:22 am Most Whole Foods also take amazon stuff. Either returns or deliveries. In-Store Amazon Pickup and Returns | Whole Foods Marketglen
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #9 – March 30, 2023, 04:54:18 pm Update…drum roll please. 🥁 🥁 🥁 We have a working hot water heater which made Margee hoot with excitement. (And me too). The circuit board was the problem. Hot showers in our LD … glamping!In a little while, I’ll edit this with a link to the YouTube video that helped us. This is the video that helped us isolate the issue. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IyJWLmlnQ4IHope this helps. 3 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #10 – March 30, 2023, 08:48:19 pm That was a good, clear troubleshooting video... right up until he put his voltmeter probe on the output of the high-voltage transformer. I don't know the exact voltage that circuit puts out, but it is for certain WAY higher than the 20 VDC mode that he had his meter set to. If that circuit had been working, I can almost guarantee it would have killed his meter. 2 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #11 – March 30, 2023, 11:35:31 pm I thought the exact same thing,Andy.Jon 1 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #12 – March 31, 2023, 12:28:55 am All you have to do is look at that transformer, and the rubber boot over the wire that plugs into it , and you know it's putting out thousands of volts. In fact, it looks just like a flyback transformer from an old CRT television set or computer monitor, because it's doing the same job: stepping up input to a very high voltage.Granted, few people nowadays have ever seen or heard of a flyback transformer. But you don't have to have seen one to know that it takes what we techs used to call "high joltage" to make that ignitor spark, so it should be intuitively obvious that it'll be very unhealthy for a cheap digital multimeter.I skimmed the comments to that video, hoping somebody had pointed this out. But at least as far as I got, nobody did. I'm not a Google/YouTube member (for security reasons), so I can't post. But somebody should. 3 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #13 – March 31, 2023, 12:46:29 pm "Granted, few people nowadays have ever seen or heard of a flyback transformer."Count me in Andy... that was common knowledge back in the 60s.
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #14 – March 31, 2023, 12:50:54 pm Well, I had looked at a different video, That was different, maybe better. This one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXtp_2sA8Ao involved a dual gas and electric heater. I didn't like that he said the wire was good inside the thermal fuse. Apparently he was looking at the wire, but really the element that heats up to 'blow' the fuse is inside that silver cylinder with the green sealant. If the external connecting wire is broken, that would make it not work also. He handled that part pretty roughly. It was good to see the sparker removed. I didn't like that he felt he had to adjust the spark gap when he had just stated that it was working fine. The little diverter for the propane is to mix the gas with air, and make sure that there was some near the sparker. I would have also just left that alone. He did explain that the air at the top of the water inside the tank was partly to help the pressure relief valve not 'weep'. I liked that he showed how to adjust the flame air mixture to prevent the 'jet engine' sound level. And that altitude affected the proper mix ratio. It would be nice if you could see the meter display while he was testing for continuity. It is always a good idea to watch several 'videos' to get a good idea of what really is involved. RonB 1 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #15 – March 31, 2023, 01:49:32 pm "It is always a good idea to watch several 'videos' to get a good idea of what really is involved."Absolutely. The video Ron mentioned covers some things that the one Ed & Margee mentioned doesn't, and vice versa."I didn't like that he said the wire was good inside the thermal fuse. Apparently he was looking at the wire, but really the element that heats up to 'blow' the fuse is inside that silver cylinder with the green sealant."Right. You can't be certain just by looking that that fuse hasn't blown. (On the other hand, if its clear plastic sleeve is scorched, it's a pretty safe bet that it has blown.) The video Ed & Margee linked to shows one quick way to test: by bypassing that fuse. If the water heater lights, then the fuse was the problem.One thing neither of these videos mentions is cleaning the flue--the big tube the gas burner sits in. The most common reason for that thermal fuse being blown is when the flue becomes partially blocked by spiderwebs or other debris, causing the flame to "backfire" into the compartment. When that happens, the thermal fuse will blow in order to prevent the wiring and control board from being torched. Atwood makes a flexible brush, part number 91871, that makes it easy to clean out the flue. 1 Likes
Re: Water Heater Won’t Ignite Reply #16 – March 31, 2023, 08:22:55 pm I am curious what diameter that brush is? I have many different brushes for cleaning boilers etc. I could not find anything in the details. I think that is a good idea to clean the firing chamber, maybe each time you service the hot water heater biannually or what ever the manufacturer recommends. I believe that we have only done ours once a few years ago. One more item for the maintenance list or get use to a cold shower! Karen~Liam 98 ~ MB NinA
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