Water heater won't light on propane

rvn4fun

Well-known member
First the furnance and now the water heater. Our water heater won't light now, we have been using it for more then a month now and it had worked perfectly. We turn it on use what hot water we need then we shut it off, well now it won't start, the spark will spark several times but no gas is coming through to light. Don't know if there is a thermocoupler on these or not. Hot water heater will still work on electricity and yes we have plenty of propane. Any ideas?
 

hoefler

Well-known member
Since the furnace has the same problem, you have a propane problem. Check your propane supply, regulators, transfer vales, etc.. Are propane bottles frosting at the liquid level? If it is very cold where you are, the bottles could be too cold for the liquid propane to vaporize efficiently. If you have more than one appliance demanding gas, all the above mentioned could effect the appliances performance as the demand for gas increases.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
There is no thermocouple. The ignitor doubles as a flame rod once the burner lights. Proper alignment in front of the burner and flame profile is critical. If the flame does not light within a couple seconds, the gas valve shuts and locks itself out after trying to light for a few seconds. If you give it a couple minutes (for the gas to clear), and cycle power with the switch, it will try again.

If there is no spark, you might have a bad ignitor board, a loose connection or ground, or dirty/misaligned ignitor. (The ground connection is via the screw that holds it in place) Also, the connectors on the circuit boards are usually edge type connectors. Make sure the connectors and foil contacts on the board are clean, as the boards are pretty much outside and exposed to moisture and temperature extremes. An Eraser works well for this.

Good luck, and be careful. High voltage and propane can make for a serious oops.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
Thanks, I was able to get it to light tonight, hopefully it will continue to do so. I didn't have a little brush or a can of compressed air so I used a straw to blow through and blew into the end of the ignitor. There was some carbon ect that blew out. I really didn't think this would be enough to make a difference, but it was. Tommorrow I will go to rv supply and get a brush to clean better, but for now it works, thank goodness for a straw.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We had issues with our NT in the past with gusty winds in just the right direction, blowing out the burner, so that it wouldn't stay lit. Wind died down, no more problems.
 
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