Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Sunline RV Forum
Sunline User Photos

Go Back   Sunline Coach Owner's Club > Model Specific Forums > Sunline Travel Trailers
Click Here to Login

Join Sunline Club Forums Today


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 04-05-2014, 06:48 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
SUN #5667
Uwharrie is an unknown quantity at this point
Water heater- gas scare

Was camping last weekend. Got up early to let one of the dogs out and cute the water heater on so I could shower later and went back to bed. It was very windy. Woke up an hour later with the gas alarm going off. At the time I was not sure if it was the CO or gas alarm. I thought it was the CO. I cut the heater off, reset the alarm and all seemed well till the alarm went off again. I then went outside and cut the tanks off and cracked roof vents. I did notice a very faint gas odor that tine.
The wind was blowing right into the water heater so my guess is it blew the pilot out? Anything I should do before using it again?
__________________

__________________
Uwharrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-05-2014, 07:23 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
jim44646's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,125
SUN #4040
jim44646 is an unknown quantity at this point
Ya. Your gas valve in your water heater should have shut the gas off as soon your pilot went out. I'd be checking it out. Also u might have a gas line leak. Check for leaks with soapy water at line connection at water heater
__________________

__________________
Jim and DW Darlene
2001 T-2553 Sunline Solaris
2006 GMC Sierra Duramax 2500HD 4X4
Firestone Transforce AT tires
Reese Dual Cam Sway Control
jim44646 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-05-2014, 07:29 PM   #3
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
SUN #5667
Uwharrie is an unknown quantity at this point
How do I check the valve? I had no issues for the three previous days so the cut off malfunctioning sounds plausible
__________________
Uwharrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2014, 06:43 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
jim44646's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,125
SUN #4040
jim44646 is an unknown quantity at this point
Not sure how to check gas control valve. do you have to light pilot manually or is it electronic spark igniter?
__________________
Jim and DW Darlene
2001 T-2553 Sunline Solaris
2006 GMC Sierra Duramax 2500HD 4X4
Firestone Transforce AT tires
Reese Dual Cam Sway Control
jim44646 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2014, 12:37 PM   #5
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
SUN #5667
Uwharrie is an unknown quantity at this point
No manual lighting. I just cut the switch on an it works
__________________
Uwharrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-2014, 07:32 PM   #6
Moderator
 
JohnB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 12,643
SUN #89
JohnB is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uwharrie View Post
The wind was blowing right into the water heater so my guess is it blew the pilot out? Anything I should do before using it again?
Quote:
No manual lighting. I just cut the switch on an it works

H'mm something does not fit here. If you have electronic ignition, there is no pilot.

Any chance of a Atwood part number and what year camper?

If this is electronic ignition, the flame sense would of shut down the gas valve if the flame blew out.

And this gas would be "outside" the camper not inside. The heater is sealed to the side of the camper and the gas controls are outside.

This points to something else sending the LP detector off. Like the stove burners or oven. Odds are favorable a burner not being off.

A pressure drop test will confirm a gas leak. I'm assuming you do not have a manometer. You can try this, do you have a auto change over gas regulator? Charge up the system, see it turn green, then shut the tanks off. Using a stop watch look to see if the indictor turns red and how long it takes. If there is a good leak, the indictor will drop fairly quickly.

Here is a post on the pressure drop test. It might give some useful info
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f7...cks-10981.html

Any LP service guy can do the leak and regulator check. It is not unique to campers.

Hope this helps.
__________________
Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

Google Custom Search For Sunline Owners Club
JohnB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 04:27 AM   #7
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
SUN #5667
Uwharrie is an unknown quantity at this point
I will look today and see if I can find a part number. the camper is a 2003 T1950. The water heater is right under the bed and the sensor is at the foot of the bed. The camper had been set up in the same place for four days ( this was the last morning at about 4 am) I had not used the gas heat or the stove. The winds were really high and gusty that morning and it was blowing right into the water heater outside vent door. I could smell gas very faintly when the alarm went off. I cant help but think whatever happened it was due to high winds blowing into the water heater compartment.
__________________
Uwharrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 05:42 AM   #8
Moderator
 
JohnB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 12,643
SUN #89
JohnB is on a distinguished road
A 2003 T1950, OK this is for sure all electronic. There is no pilot light.


I am not totally familiar with the 1950 layout, the HW heater and the location of the LP detector. It “sounds” like maybe from your description the heater is in the rear wall of the camper and the LP detector is at the far end of the bed. And there is the big storage space under the bed.

When you woke up the 1st time, do you remember the roar of the HW heater running on LP gas? It may not have needed to run at that time, just asking to try and help put the puzzle pieces back together.

Here is a “thought”. When the heater was running, the high wind ended up blowing the exhaust fumes into the camper. After enough time of doing this, the compartment under bed had enough accumulation to set the LP detector off. They are very sensitive. And since the storage area is so big, that area held enough left over fumes to set the LP detector off again.

That is speculation but at least a thought that may add up. A LP leak is a big deal if it is a real one. If the “thought” above is right, the unique conditions of wind blowing at the back of the camper and the heater running on LP created the situation.

If that is the case, a few options for the future,

1. Turn the heater off when not in use and high winds are blowing.
2. Run the heater on 120 VAC when high winds are blowing. Your 2003 has this feature.

There is no fan on the HW heater to blow the gas flame into the heat chamber like there is on the gas furnaces. Natural convection carry’s the heat into the heating tube and up and out the top. I know on mine even when it is windy I can hear the sound of burner flutter sometimes in the wind. It has never been an issue, however I switch the heater off when not using it. It only takes 10 to 15 minutes running both LP and electric to bring it back up to temp.

If you have not ever had a LP pressure drop test done on the camper in a while, it is a good thing to do as it does test the regulator and the rest of the system. This check is a good thing to do annually.

Hope this helps and let us know how this turns out

John
__________________
Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

Google Custom Search For Sunline Owners Club
JohnB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 10:04 AM   #9
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
SUN #5667
Uwharrie is an unknown quantity at this point
yes that is the layout.
I keep the water heater off until about 15 min before I need hot water. ( gotta conserve that pricey lp)
I could hear the waterheater kick on (or at least did just before I went back to bed)
Right now the electric element in the water heater is kuput. We will be replacing it as as soon as we can get by the RV place to pick one up. Since I only stay where I have shore power it would be a much more economical way to heat water anyway.
I will check into doing a LP pressure check. It does make sense to do one annually!
__________________
Uwharrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 10:57 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Poppy & Nana's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New York
Posts: 2,909
SUN #93
Poppy & Nana is an unknown quantity at this point
Are you sure you have electric to your water heater??
__________________
Kathy & Leo SUN 093
Central Adirondacks of New York
2013 Rubicon 2900 Toy Hauler
We loved our 2007 T-2499
2010 Ford F-350 4x4 Lariat Super Crew Dually Diesel
Poppy & Nana is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 12:36 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
bunjin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 759
SUN #5039
bunjin is an unknown quantity at this point
according to our very fine file archive..... gas/electric with push button ignition was standard in 2003.
__________________
TT:1983 Sunline T-1550
TT:1996 Sunline T-2053
TV:2005 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 2UZ-FE i-Force 4.7 L DOHC (MFI) V8 4WD SR5 Automatic
P3 break control
"I know a lot about nothing and nothing about a lot"
bunjin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 01:26 PM   #12
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
SUN #5667
Uwharrie is an unknown quantity at this point
Yes it has an electric element. Most likely it was not turned off at some point and the tank drained, hence the kuput electric water heating ability
__________________
Uwharrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 07:11 PM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Virginia
Posts: 30
SUN #6056
jhorne05 is an unknown quantity at this point
I was changing out the 120 volt electric heat element in our 2475 solaris, the gas line would not be totally sealed , on our tt due to the hole the gas pipe runs through from its location gas can get into the tt.
Was a week of upgrades: twin usb outlets w volt meter, new upgraded 120 volt heater element from 1400 watts to 2000 watts from home depot ( camco product) , changed out faulty valve at top of toilet to pipe fitting w a valve to turn on sprayer to rinse when needed.
Flushes better than before valve went.,
Max flo vent covers to finish off today.
__________________
jhorne05 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 07:15 PM   #14
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Virginia
Posts: 30
SUN #6056
jhorne05 is an unknown quantity at this point
Will the water heater use only electric heat when hooked to shore power, or will it be dual gas/electric , was not sure tt
It is 03 Solaris 2475 w master bed room
__________________
jhorne05 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2014, 07:56 PM   #15
Moderator
 
JohnB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 12,643
SUN #89
JohnB is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhorne05 View Post
Will the water heater use only electric heat when hooked to shore power, or will it be dual gas/electric , was not sure tt
It is 03 Solaris 2475 w master bed room
When hooked to shore power, yes you can fire both the electric and the gas at the same time if you want for faster recovery. Or run each separate.

In the summer time when in some campgrounds the voltage can drop real low on brutal hot days with all the AC units running all over the CG. That is a good time to use LP gas to heat water if you need hot water in place of electric. It will help with the voltage drop at your camper not using the heater or the fridge on electric. Leaving only the AC unit to draw down the power at your shore line circuit.
__________________
Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

Google Custom Search For Sunline Owners Club
JohnB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2014, 05:13 PM   #16
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Virginia
Posts: 30
SUN #6056
jhorne05 is an unknown quantity at this point
Do you turn off the gas to run electric only, new to all this
__________________
jhorne05 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2014, 06:34 PM   #17
Moderator
 
JohnB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 12,643
SUN #89
JohnB is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhorne05 View Post
Do you turn off the gas to run electric only, new to all this

If you are referring to the hot water heater, the 120 V electric portion and the gas are separate systems. They can run at the same time or both independent. You do not have to turn the gas off to run electric or even have the gas turned on to run electric and visa versa.

One thingsneeded for both is water in the heater. If you turn on the electric with no water in the heater, the heating element will burn out quickly as there is no water to cool it. And you do not want to run the gas very long with no water in the heater either as the heat exchanger tube can over heat.

OK now? Questions are a good thing. Ask away.
__________________
Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC

Google Custom Search For Sunline Owners Club
JohnB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2014, 06:24 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
jim44646's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,125
SUN #4040
jim44646 is an unknown quantity at this point
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhorne05 View Post
Do you turn off the gas to run electric only, new to all this
When I'm on shore power, during a normal day I just use electric but in the morning when it's shower time I kick on the gas also for faster recovery. When showers are over I flip the gas switch back off.
I don't know how hard your electric switch on you water heater is to get to. I know on mine you have to be a contortionist to get to mine so I just use the circuit breaker to turn mine on and off.
__________________

__________________
Jim and DW Darlene
2001 T-2553 Sunline Solaris
2006 GMC Sierra Duramax 2500HD 4X4
Firestone Transforce AT tires
Reese Dual Cam Sway Control
jim44646 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
no gas to the water heater or furnace. Musikaldave Repairs and Maintenance 4 10-26-2012 07:39 PM
gas water heater electric ignition jtc1724 Repairs and Maintenance 5 04-04-2011 02:38 PM
Adding Electric to gas water heater OhhWell Modifications 6 03-04-2011 07:37 PM
Had a non-towing scare today kanyonkitty Sunline Community 6 06-15-2008 08:45 AM


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sunline RV or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:53 PM.


×