Water heater info needed

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

I have an Atwood 6-gallon hot water heater. It is 10 years old and has never given us any problems until recently.

The first problem was that it would ''cycle'' one time and then stop working. By ''cycling,'' I mean that it would heat until the water got hot and then it would Kick Out -- the yellow light would come on indicating it was not starting again. The water was really hot, but we had to turn it OFF and when we turned it back ON it would restart and heat water again.

Now, here is my new problem:

One: The only info I have on the water heater came with the coach and it is scant, at best. Not much real ''information'' to use.

Two: Today it would not come and heat water at all. I went outside and opened the cover door and told Willa to ''start the heater. Nothing happened. No click, No spark, No ignition, NOTHING.

Three: I removed the igniter and checked for problems. I reset the gap and put everything back together. We tried it again ... NOTHING. I said, "Shux."

Four: In desperation I started wiggling wires. I unplugged everything I could and replaced the wires on the connectors. I wiggled wires and I said "Shux" again.

Five: I told Willa to turn it on again and the igniters came on and the gas valve opened and the beautiful ''roar'' of burning LP sprang to life.

What I really need is a link on the Internet for any and all informationt on a 6-gallon Atwood water heater. It is Mod number G6A-8E. I need to know where the High limit Thermostat switch is located on the heater, and where the control for the temp of the water where the system cuts off is located.

P.S.: I have Googled everything concerning this and have came up with mostly nothing useful. Feel free to e-mail me at seajaycecil@yahoo.com or leave answers on here.

Seajay the sailor man

[tbutler]

Seajay,

Good to see you back on board! The only help I can add is that there is a phone number on the electronic water heater service manual on the Atwood web site. The service manual is for different model numbers than yours but does cover both 6 and 10 gallon water heaters. I would guess that if you called Atwood at the phone number on this manual, you could get some answers about your water heater. The manual displays two pages side by side so you have to scroll over to the right to get to the front page with the phone numbers.

[wolfe10]

Seajay,

Open the Atwood outside access door. You should have labels for ECO and TStat right there and easily accessible. Not difficult to replace.

Also, remove the connector from the PC board and clean the contact area with a pencil eraser while you are there.

Good luck. We don't want Willa to have to take cold water showers.

Brett

[dalltop]

I hate taking something apart without the part in hand to replace it but my water heater had a similar issue. I broke my rule and pulled the sensors. My water heater as two sensors. One calls for heat and the other is the overheat shut off. Mine are held against the tank by a spring. I removed and tested by heating in hot water on a stove and using a ohm meter to measure open and closing. They tested ok but I noticed that over time the contact point between the sensor and the tank was not clean. Small strands of insulation had worked down between the sensor. I cleaned the contact area and placed sealed the black foam insulator that prevents cold air and moisture from entering. That black seal had lost its sticky and was not sealing correctly. I have not had any issues since.

Of course it stopped working at about three days of 40 degrees and rain. It never seems to happen when it is convenient. It really helps if it would just stop working completely. I hate intermittent issues.

Good Luck.

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

Ok guys...... Many thanks for the input. I cleaned the ''contact posts'' with a pencil erasor and put a dab of contact cleaner on them and slid them back on the posts as instructed by Wolfe. All seems well except the unit still heats one cycle and then the Yellow light comes on indicating ''Flame out'' again. This is ok because we dont leave the unit on except when we need hot water and the water will stay hot for hours with the gas off.

I checked out Toms link and I advise everyone that owns a motor home with an Atwood water heater in it to Bookmark that link and read it end to end.

(Hay Tom,,,,,,, do they have a link like that for the Atwood furnaces?) (mine is doing ok but you never know .......)

To daltop. Many thinks for your input on this issue. You remind me of ME. I fugure if it ain't working.......... TAKE IT APART... You are no worse off because it aint working anyway ........

Keep the info coming folks and when I get home in about a month I will remove the water heater and find out for sure the problem.......AND FIX IT...

I will try to contact Atwood and talk to a tech. and get advise on ''spare parts'' I may need to carry......

Again. the unit has worked for ten years without one problem and I figure its time for it to give a little problem.......

God bless our troops and bring them home soon and safe

God bless our vets for their service to this country

Seajay the sailor man....

ps..... When I can find one I am going to put in one of those ''Hot Rod'' water heating elements to use in case of emergency like this. I have seen them advertised somewhere. this will give me auxilary water heating ability and if I am boon docking I can start the ''scooter'' and run it on my own power if necessary......(Willa gets real ''crankie'' if she dont have a HOT SHOWER.)

[Guest Wayne77590]

Seajay,

See if this article helps.

I'm also glad to see you back.

[wolfe10]

Seajay,

Virtually all parts controlling the propane firing of the water heater can be diagnosed and replaced WITHOUT removing the water heater. They are accessible from the outside water heater door.

And Atwood recommends against hot rods because of electrolysis/possible thread damage to the aluminum tank threads. Your decision on this.

Brett

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

Many thanks for all the good input, guys. I have contacted Atwood and gave them the modle numbers off my water heater and my furnace and they are mailing me hard copies of the factory info on these items. You can download them and print them, but I prefer the hard copies for the factory. The tech I talked to was very nice and very informative about my situation with the heater. He suggested a couple of ''checks'' to confirm where my problem was and how to ''fix'' the problem. He was amazed at my knowledge of the basic operation of a gas water heater. He said I would have to meet the fifty dollar minimum when I order parts.

Anyhow, thanks again, everyone. And a special thank you to my Marine friend Wayne for his input on furnace opperation link. All these things concerning the furnace and the water heater I will read and understand, and with my background in boiler maintanence and my work in propane heaters and water heaters, I am pretty sure I should be able to troubleshoot and repair either item when the need arises in the future.

God bless our vets for their service to this great nation.

God bless our service personnel and bring them home safe and safe.

Seajay the sailor man ...

ps. if any of you guys have a hotwater or furnace problem, let me know and I will be glad to help.

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

FIXED IT..... The water heater ...... The problem was the THERMOSTAT. sixteen bucks for the replacement parts ....

Note ..... the thermostat is located on the front side of the unit (the end you can see with the burner and stuff showing.) The trick is that the thermostat is located UNDER THE STUCK ON RUBBER FOAM with the four posts sticking out of it. TAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAHAAAA... Unplug the wires and lable same as you pull them off the posts. rip off the rubber foam stuff. Underneath you will find two little heat sencor thingies each with two posts for the wires you just un done. Call Atwood and give the tech the modle number of your heater and he will give you the proper part number to ask for at the parts shop. This info is free. Their number is 1 800 546 8759 push 2 for the tech dept. they are very helpful...(where was I?)..............(i'm re reading ,,,,,, hangon)

Ok, go to the supply store for R.v. stuff and ask for these parts and take about twenty bucks with you. Stop at Auto Zone and pick up some ''electroletic grease'' to dab on the posts to keep them from going canker over time. Keep in mind that you have two little thermostat thingies . One is the ''High Limit Control'' and the other is the actual water temp cut off thing. KEEP THEM AS THEY ARE COMING OFF THE CARDBOARD AND DONT MIX THEM UP. As you face the ''card they are on'' the one on the LEFT was the High Limit Control and the one on the RIGHT hand side of my card was the actual thermostat. Get out the new foam rubber thingie and you will find ''instructions'' under it when you manage to get it off the cardboard. The actual hardest part is putting the items back into the holding prongs on the water heater. Take your time and dont lose nothing and dont spill your Jim Beam. When you get it all back together and the wires put on after you put the electrolitic grease on the posts tell your lady to ''GIVE IT A TRY'' ...... Mine cycled fine. Just like it should and it costed me sixteen dollars and about an hour driving for the part and a taste of Jim Beam....

As you guys can see, I am a big believer in DO IT YOURSELF IF YOU CAN. I have found that most of these ''TECHS'' are people who just throw parts at a problem till they stumble on the answer. Most of them have no TROUBLE SHOOTING METHODS AT ALL . The real pain is that they charge you for all the parts you dont need and they charge from 80 to 120 dollars an hour to guess what your problem might be. Believe me, I have seen it and been bitten by this situation before.

Anyhow, If i have confused you e mail me and I will be glad to try to help with this problem.....

Seajay the sailor man ....

[dalltop]

It always feels good when everything is back working again. Of course if it never broke we would not have anything to do.

Good Job!