Quote:
Originally Posted by jsm5394
I hear a soft clunk just before the electronic ignition fires, not after. The furnace, stove and fridge have gas and work fine. On the water heater I can’t hear any gas flowing nor can I smell gas.
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Hi Jim,
The timing of when the gas valve clunks and the start of clicks of the igniters is almost the same. If you heard the faint clunk (some are louder then others) but you still heard the gas valve being powered up, and the igniter was clicking, that is a good sign the control system is working.
Now, with the furnace able to fire off, and you cannot smell any gas at all, well you may have other issues, but we now know the controls are working.
When was the last time this water heater was run on LP gas?
It is possible insects have clogged the burner tube. This is semi common. Sometimes it is just spiders making nests, other times stink bugs crawl in and die, lots of them, and other times the worst, mud daubers move in and they make a real big mess. Use a flash light and look real close in the gas burner, the air shutter slots for any blockage. You may have to take the gas burner off to inspect it close enough. You do not have to take the gas valve off, it can stay in place if needed. The bracket that holds the gas valve and burner does need to come off, but the gas valve can stay attached to the copper feed line. Take care around the igniter porcelain to not crack it. Make sure the 12 volt power is off and the LP gas.
The gas valve has a brass nozzle on the end of it and a tiny gas orifce jet screwed in the end of the larger brass nozzle. If that orifce is plugged, no gas will come out, and the main burner tube being plugged is an issue too. You can unscrew the orifce tip from the larger brass nozzle while the nozzle is still in the gas valve. Just hold the nozzle with a wrench while taking the orifce tip out.
Do not pin stick or anything else in that gas orifice. You can unscrew the tip and soak it in alcohol and then look through it with a light. The human eye can see through that hole. That will tell if it is open or clogged.
The main gas burner is easy to see and once removed from the heater, you can clean it out with a wire or small round wire brush. The burner is a big hole. There is also an Air shutter on the burner tube, a screw holds it from sliding. Make sure you mark where it is so it goes back to that area.
This link will take to a water heater, same vintage as yours, total rebuild. It has lots of pics which may help
https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...tml#post154839
Let us know what you find and if you need more help
John
PS, do not blow compressed air back towards the gas valve. It may plug dirt into that gas valve orifce. Blow down stream of the orifce if needed.
If anything I mentioned above is beyond your means, let it be and find a gas stove or RV repair guy. We are not sure of your abilities.