Water Heater - Dinosaur Ignitor Board. Great folks!!!

January 23, 2019, 07:47:11 pm

We departed late for our winter trip south, and here we were on day three...with a suddenly dead water heater. Armed with some basic electrical smarts and many tips/troubleshooting posts here, I narrowed it down to the problematic Atwood ignitor board.

The symptoms: Green light on initially, red after 10-15 seconds, no igniter clicking. Plenty of propane, hot water tank full. Checked the fuse, power to the board and all connections. I noticed it would flow propane initially when the green light came on, so I manually lit it - but the red light came back on and extinguished the flame.

Lastly, and perhaps most telling - that wonderful, unmistakable and fresh smell of burnt electronics coming from the ignitor board.

And yet, I consider ourselves incredibly lucky. Because...it happened in Newport OR, and Dinosaur Electronics is 20 minutes up the road in Licoln City!

However, big disclaimer here - one I told them I would make when I wrote this glowing review. As they mention on their web site, they don't sell direct. They are not set up for retail sales, and don't want folks popping in just because they're nearby. However, given I had a semi-emergency, was in their back yard and my begging skills can be somewhat persuasive...they relented, took pity on me and invited me to the shop.

In addition to the high praise their products have gotten here, their customer service is top notch. They told me to bring my Atwood ignitor so they could ensure the proper one was supplied, and also offered to test what I believed to be the faulty unit.

Upon arrival, I met the owner who shared several cool stories, including how the business got started and the great success they've been blessed to have. He put the Atwood unit on the bench, figured out the problem with it in seconds, and spent quite a while explaining the theory of how the unit works and how their design addresses the Atwood shortcomings. Wonderful people, and it felt great to be supporting a small business still making products here in the USA.

For the benefit of others looking to make the swap - in the case of our 2011, it couldn't have been any easier. Everything was plug and play, and unlike some other posts I've seen here - there wasn't even a need to modify the mounting of the unit or drill new holes. There is one resistor on the board that needs to be snipped for water heater installations (same board is used on other appliances where it is needed), but that took 5 seconds and is clearly described in the one-page install guide.

The parts:

The two-tab mounting kit is what makes the install so easy. The back metal tab aligns perfectly with the Atwood mounting holes, and the Dinosaur ignitor board and protective cover attach to that. Yes, it's another $27 or so at Amazon, and I suppose you could just get the cover and drill new mounting holes - but the plug&play aspect of using this component makes it a no-brainer to me.

Onward! Not sure of our plans yet, but if there's still anyone there - perhaps we'll bump into any of the remaining Quartzite Clan in a couple weeks.

Re: Water Heater - Dinosaur Ignitor Board. Great folks!!!

Reply #1 – January 23, 2019, 08:06:35 pm

"The two-tab mounting kit is what makes the install so easy. Yes, it's another $27 or so at Amazon..."

When I ordered the Dinosaur UIB-64 from Amazon a couple of weeks ago, it came with the mounting adapter plate and the plastic cover in the same box. No resistor snipping needed, either. But it cost fifty bucks more the the UIB-S, so I guess you pay about the same either way.

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Re: Water Heater - Dinosaur Ignitor Board. Great folks!!!

Reply #2 – January 23, 2019, 08:59:07 pm

Hey Andy,

Haven't dug into it in detail, but at a minimum - your edge connector looks different? Description says "6+4".

Mine was a single, 6-pin connector - 4 used.

RE the resistor snipping - as explained to me, the resistor is in place primarily for heaters that use the same control board. I believe they said it delays ignition by a few seconds as the fan needs to start up first, but on a water heater - the spark should start immediately. Snipping the resistor facilitates that, and you can't snip the wrong one - the info is printed on the circuit board right at the resistor.

They said they could ID the right ignitor board based on an Atwood model number, but in my case said it would be easier to just bring it in.

Re: Water Heater - Dinosaur Ignitor Board. Great folks!!!

Reply #3 – January 23, 2019, 10:28:22 pm

Dinosaur is simply the best.
They helped me troubleshoot over the phone and repeatedly.
Nice folks there!
I have a Dinosaur board on my refrigerator and another on my water heater.

Re: Water Heater - Dinosaur Ignitor Board. Great folks!!!

Reply #4 – January 23, 2019, 11:26:06 pm

"Mine was a single, 6-pin connector - 4 used."

That explains it. Yes, my 2017-vintage Atwood water heater has 6-pin + 4-pin cables (maybe because this is a propane + 120 VAC model) ...hence the "-64" in the Dinosaur part number.

"the resistor is in place primarily for heaters that use the same control board. I believe they said it delays ignition by a few seconds as the fan needs to start up first..."

Right. On the UIB-64 board, that option is handled by a removable jumper. (Not that snipping a resistor is a big deal. :-)

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January 23, 2019, 07:47:11 pm

Reply #1 – January 23, 2019, 08:06:35 pm

Reply #2 – January 23, 2019, 08:59:07 pm

Reply #3 – January 23, 2019, 10:28:22 pm

Reply #4 – January 23, 2019, 11:26:06 pm

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