Hot Water Heater

The Atwood water heater on the 3300SK goes boom. After numerous firing attempts (while on gas) the water heater ignites and boy howdy does it ignite. Do I need to modify the heater cover to increase the airflow like I've seen, or is there some other adjustment I can do so that she lights first time every time? There used to be an air mixture adjustment on the old Atwoods, but I don't see it on this one. Thanks again for all the input
Greg
 

tdharley

Well-known member
I had the same problem in mine. I adjusted the electrodes ( the part that makes the spark). The insulator can also be cracked.

I would not suggest you do this unless you know what you are doing, I was an oil burner mechanic for many years. Let ther dealer do it.
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
The Atwood on our fleetwood did the same thing. This Bighorn has a Suburban and although it lights good it doesn't heat for crap. It is a 12 gallon tank and we run out of water just doing the dishes! Didn't matter much to me because I had installed a demand heater in the Fleetwood and took it out to install in the Bighorn. I did that this last week and all is fine now. Quiet, uses less gas and you never run out of hot water.
 

HappyKayakers

Well-known member
Pulltab,
That sounds rather odd. We also have the 12 gal tank and can take 2 showers (not navy showers) without any problem. That's assuming we start off with a hot tank and only use electric to supply additional hot water. We typically only use the gas for quick heating.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Pulltab,

As with HK, we get pretty good service out of our 12 gallon unit. Sounds like you are getting a hot/cold mix somewhere along the line or the heater is set too low (guessing).

But you know I like the thought of the tankless :)

Jim
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
Yeah we were really surprised that it didn't heat much, so I thought well it's not a 12 its a 6 but when I drained it, it was definetly a 12 gal. Could have been the heat setting but it didn't really matter as I was going to change it out anyway. :)
 

tdharley

Well-known member
Pulltab
You gotta have a hot water mix. Check your mixing valve behind the tank.

Mine is great. Do you have the 2 switches on for electric hot when hooked to electric?
 
K

Ken Washington

Guest
Pulltab,
There is no setting that can be done on the water heater. It is factory set. One thing that you can check is your out side faucets. On mine the one in the basement was on and cold water was being mixed with hot causing us to think we had run out of hot water. The faucet that I am talking about has a quick disconnect on it. You should not be running out of hot water. Hope this helps!

Ken
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
Doesn't really matter now guys I already put my Endless HW tank in. I was gonna do it anyway but decided to take a few days off from the moving process. As for the valves, none are switched I had checked that and with this heater we have no problems. But I will make someone a great deal on a 12 gallon tank.:)

Ken, we do not have any outside faucets on this model. But thanks for the suggestion.
 

tdharley

Well-known member
I was looking into the endless hot water heater also.

I then started thinking that why should I use my propane for hot water when most of the time I am camping with full hookups. I have never run out of hot water when I have my built in electric coil on and I have 3 grandkids taking showers one after another.

I am also the same with the heating system. Home Depot sells some real nice heaters that work on the campgrounds electric. They also are QUIET!

Just my 2 cents
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
Forrest Fetherolf said:
pulltab,

Endless water heater...........What brand, from where, how much, where installed?

Forrest
Hi Forrest, like Jim said it is a Precision Temp unit. It is designed to fit in the same space as your current water heater although it is actually smaller and they make the flange large enough to make it a replacement. It is probably 8-10" shorter than the 12 gallon and quite a bit lighter especially when you consider there is not a 100lb of water in it. :) Cost is about $850 plus any add on's like weather protection and wind protection. One nice thing about it is you don't have a anode rod to replace ever and you will never get that sour water smell from the accumulating chemicals. Another nice thing is beings it is constant heated water, once you set the shower faucet to the temp you want you don't have to turn down the cold to keep it there. It is pricey for weekenders but for fulltimers it is a must in my book.http://www.precisiontemp.com/pt_rvmd_rv500.htmlhttp://www.precisiontemp.com click on rv500. They are pretty straight forward on installation. You need 12 volts for the ignition and connect to a gas line. If you are not comfortable installing it I am sure any dealer can order and install it for you. Company is out of Cincinnati Ohio
 

Dusty

Well-known member
No Harley, its almost 2 years old and its never worked on gas. It hasn't been a problem for me yet, but sooner or later I need to figure it out. I checked to make sure things were clean and clear and made sure it actually had a connection to the propane tank. Everything looks fine, thanks for the reply.

Dusty
 
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