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Old 06-30-2010, 10:58 AM   #1
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Pilot lighting

Is there anyone who can give me the runaround on how to light the pilot to the hot water the stove and such...PO was not of any good help. Planning on going soon but obviously need to be able to eat, I cannot find an owners manual anywhere!!!
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Old 06-30-2010, 11:36 AM   #2
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Owners manuals are very generic - not specific at all....I'd suggest you make a list of the mfger/model of each appliance and then google each one......I have a 2007 new to me Sunline and when I need specfics I do just that.....good luck and welcome to the "bestest" forum on the world wide web!
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Old 06-30-2010, 12:40 PM   #3
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To begin, stove tops typically don't have pilots. You turn on a burner to the lite position and click the end dial creating a spark that should ignite the propane.

I have seen the spark wire disconnect due to vibration. It there's no spark lift the burner top at the front and look for a loose wire. Of course a propane fire starter will also ignite a burner.

Usually RV ovens require a propane fire starter. You turn the oven to the lite position and get down at floor level and you'll see a little noozle at the oven burner level at the bottom of the oven towards the center. You may want to locate it first with a flashlite before starting.

This noozle is the pilot and needs to be heated to allow propane to come out. Hold your fire starter under this noozle until you see a small blue flame from the noozle . Once this flame stays lit after removing the fire starter, the pilot is lit. Now turn the oven to the desired temp and the oven's burner will come on with a roar.



Note the pilot does not stay lit when after you turn the oven off. It needs to be lit for each usage of the oven.

Most people have a neighbor that is an RVer and most stoves are the same and typically we all been thru this and your neighbor may also be able to help you.

Please be careful.
If your stove burner does not lite immediately, be patient it takes a little while for propane to reach the burner if the gas has been off for a while.
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Old 06-30-2010, 09:07 PM   #4
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I'll add some to Norm's comments. On the stove, the first time the stove is being started after the propane has been off at the tank, like from the last camping trip, there can be a large qty of air in the lines and using the on board igniter doe not seem to do much as there is not much actual LP gas flowing with all the air coming out

What I do is use a grill lighter, hold the lighter with the flame on next to the burner and then turn the knob on. It will blow air for a good long time, maybe 30 to 40 seconds, then light once the gas reaches the stove it will ignite. I do it this way so I know when actual LP gas reached the burner verses jsut guessing and then igniter.

Once primed then the on board clicker igniter will work better. However I always keep the grill lighter handy as the clickers do not always work so well.
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Old 07-01-2010, 09:10 AM   #5
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Depending on the age of your trailer, some of the propane appliances may or may not have pilot lights. On my '99, the fridge, hot water heater, and furnace are all self igniting. There just needs to be adequate propane and no residual air in the propane lines for them to work on their own.

The oven pilot on mine is manual. There is no pilot for the top burners, but the oven has a pilot that has to be lit by hand. There is a pilot setting on the oven knob. I simply set the knob to that setting and hold my grill lighter to the pilot area under the oven burners. Usually requires getting down on my knees to see it and reach it. It's the bottom section of the stove.

If you have freshly changed out a propane tank, you may well have air in the lines. JohnB's description of getting the stove to work in this situation is the first thing to do.

On my '99, the hot water heater is next. Flipping the switch on in the galley activates the HW heater. The light goes on momentarily and then off. The heater tries to ignite itself. If it fails (because it it trying to light air instead of propane), the light comes back on indicating a fail. I usually have to do this several times, pausing a few seconds in between cycles.

The fridge and furnace mostly take care of themselves once the propane lines are re-filled with gas by getting the stove and HW heater going. The fridge may need to cycle a few times and you'll get the "check" light. Turn the fridge off and back on and it should go.

The furnace simply tries to light itself until it succeeds.

Older appliances with the big red knob all have pilots and have to be manually lit up.
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Old 07-28-2010, 05:44 PM   #6
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Help.......I have a 99' Sunline Saturn 24A and am having trouble with the pilot light on the hot water heater. I light it and appears as though air might be getting in the line as I have watched it attempt to ignite but be blown out instead. I also think my thermostat might be bad could these two be related? How hard is it to replace the thermostat?
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Old 07-28-2010, 08:36 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mouse4ahouse View Post
Help.......I have a 99' Sunline Saturn 24A and am having trouble with the pilot light on the hot water heater. I light it and appears as though air might be getting in the line as I have watched it attempt to ignite but be blown out instead. I also think my thermostat might be bad could these two be related? How hard is it to replace the thermostat?
Is this a new to you camper and this the 1st time you used the HW heater or has it work right before and now does not?

The 1st thought of what you are describing is air in the LP lines. Does the stove inside and the furnace work? If they work then odds are you are purged at least back to those appliances and the LP regulator is at least working enough to run the furnace which uses the most LP in the camper.

Did the unit heat up and shut of and now will not relight? That tells me how far you made it or not.

A 1999 unit. Is your electric ignition or gas pilot light? And any chance of posting the model number? I do not want to give you wrong instructions pending which type of unit you have. On the electric ignition the T stat is in the safety circuit and if it does not work the gas valve will not even open at all and no spark either.

What makes you think the T stat is bad?

Hope this helps but need more info to help better

John
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Old 07-29-2010, 06:29 PM   #8
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John,

This is a new to us camper with this summer being the second season we have used it. The heater and stove work fine.

This is a gas pilot and not a electric ignition. To be honest I am not sure that it ever worked right but when we first got the camper I thought the pilot was somehow being blown out by the wind. My wife and I never had a travel trailor before we had upgraded from a pop-up.

The hot water heater heats up the water but when it needs to re-fire in a sense to heat more water it blows out and doesn't complete the task. In reference to the T stat there are times we have had to run the hot water tank empty in order to get the hot water turn on. Now instead of running the tank empty I turn the T stat to a higher temp to get it to fire right away.

I will be at the camper this weekend and will post the model number.


Doug
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Old 07-29-2010, 07:20 PM   #9
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Doug,

I remember seeing a post on rv.net some time back about someone having a similar problem with the pilot blowing out on a water heater. It seems he was missing some small part in the burner/pilot assembly, something simple like a washer used as a spacer that had fallen out when he cleaned the jet on the burner. I wish I could remember the details but if you can find the model number you can probably find a detail parts diagram to make sure all the pieces are there. Sorry I can't be more helpfull than that.

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Old 07-30-2010, 12:25 AM   #10
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Doug,

Gene reminded me of something when he was talking about cleaning. There are two common and simple problems with these water heaters: spiders and the air adjuster.

The tube going into the burner/combustion chamber tends to attract spiders all the time because of the LP gas present in there. It's possible the previous owner removed this tube to clean it out and put it back on, but didn't adjust it correctly. There's also the possibility there's some spiders working themselves in there, and you just still happen to have a little gas flow.

This tube is held on by two screws, one on a bracket which wraps around the burner tube and the other holds the vent near the gas valve. Remove these two screws and slide the vent out of the way and it should free the tube so you can clean it. A round brush of some sort usually works best, especially something flexible to get around some of the curve. Before you put it back together, also rub the brush around the orifice on the gas valve, just to make sure everything is clean. Also put the brush inside the burner tube, just rub it around in there just to get any gunk out. Then put everything back together, but just slide the vent connection together and leave the screw loose. Get your match or lighter and turn the blue water heater knob to "pilot", light the pilot, and after a second, turn it to "on". The heater should come on at that point, full flame, and then you can adjust this vent sleeve to get the optimal flame. Then tighten the screw.

I haven't adjusted one of these in a long time, but I seem to remember it will run pretty well, but then when it goes to the pilot, it's much more funny about the proper air/gas mix to keep it lit and to keep it burning clean.

A good indication of a poor air/gas mix resulting in a dirty burn is if you have black soot on the sidewall of your coach above the water heater, particularly above the exhaust vent on the door of the WH. Adjusting this vent sleeve will eliminate that.

I think even if you just get the model number from the water heater this weekend, it might be a good idea to clean it anyway, especially if the whole water heater looks dirty and you haven't used it much. Spiders can show up inside there in as short as one winter.

BTW, the water heater model number is probably G6A-7, just to give you an idea what to look for. There should be a sticker on the right side of the heater when you open the door, on the side panel. It should be the first thing listed in the upper left corner. G6A-7 (or G6A7) is the number for a gas only, normal pilot water heater.

Jon
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Old 07-30-2010, 05:25 PM   #11
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I'm not sure if this is going to work right but here are some photos of my water heater. Also I will probably work on checking out that gas tube tomorrow.

Thanks to all for your help.

Doug
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Camper Water Heater.jpg (50.7 KB, 3 views)
File Type: jpg Camper Water Heater 2.jpg (40.4 KB, 2 views)
File Type: jpg Camper Water Heater 3.jpg (50.7 KB, 0 views)
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