Hi ctevenson,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
No, it is not normal to see smoke from the water heater. I would think the burner needs to be adjusted or the air flow is restricted in some way. Spider web, wasp or something. You might take a look yourself, but if your not sure or feel safe, have a tech look at it.
Enjoy the forum and let us know what you find.
Jim M
Yep, critters love the little nooks and crannies. You can get spiders trying to make a home for themselves or one of the flying critters making a nest. Restricted airflow can very easily lead to your symptoms.
That doesn't sound good. I would remove the cover and look for the source or the smoke/soot. Turn off the LP water heater switch in the trailer. CHeck the burner tube and the large cylinder that the flame shoots into for obstructions.What if I smell burning plastic in addition to having black soot above the exhaust?
That doesn't sound good. I would remove the cover and look for the source or the smoke/soot. Turn off the LP water heater switch in the trailer. CHeck the burner tube and the large cylinder that the flame shoots into for obstructions.
Ray is refering to the vented door on the outside. That is where the burner tube is located.
Peace
Dave
Thanks Dave. That's the first thing (actually the only thing) I did and saw nothing in the tube.
It appears to originate from the exhaust pipe as the soot mark is confined to an area directly above the exhaust on the outside of the RV and is approximately four inches wide by 12 inches tall. I haven't actually seen smoke (which maybe due to there being a pretty constant breeze at the campsite) but when the unit is running (heating the water) I can smell burning plastic.I have inspected the unit as viewed from inside the RV also and nothing appeared out of order or burnt. I didn't remove the insulation but would assume there would be a burn mark or melting of some sort on the insulation if something was burnt beneath it.The water heater is a Atwood 6 gal, bought 2 years ago. I noticed the soot mark about four trips ago but didn't smell the burning plastic until two trips ago.I've never smelled burned bugs but wouldn't expect them to smell like burning plastic. Do they?So let me ask. Where exactly is the smoke/soot coming from?....
Try swabbing the inner surface of the burner tube with a white rag. My guess is that it will come out black with soot. Have you tried observing the flame while it was on? If it's orange, your burner needs to be adjusted.
Yes, I do believe the flame is orange and not blue. Would the burner being out of adjustment cause the smell?
Next time I will check the inside of the exhaust as you suggest but due to the soot's location, I'm sure the rag will come out black.
It makes sense that an out of adjustment burner would cause the soot. Thanks!
The main burner should be a crisp, blue flame with an inner blue cone
configuration. There could be traces of orange in the tips of the flame, but a yellow flame
causes sooting. This usually means that there is a good probability of a clogged orifice, bad
propane pressure or valve, bad air/fuel mixture, or a spider in the burner assembly