How to fix a RV Water Heater // Atwood G6A-8E
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- čas přidán 27. 10. 2018
- Well this one had me running around everywhere! Going into this, I knew it hasn’t been running in a long time so I bought the rebuild kit from PDX in hopes that not only would I fix the “issue“ I would also replace some of the old things that needed some love in the first place. Boy, was I wrong!
All the links to the parts used are found in the website article.
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Thanks for watching!
-Zach Manring - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Wow!!! This was an awesome video/channel!!!!🎉
I have always wanted to change my thermostat control in my water heater… (That black patch you put on.)
I have never seen that installed. My hot water in my 2000 Bounder gets so so hot!!! 🔥 🔥
I bet this would be a the fix!🤔
I get nervous about trying to fix things on my RV… But you really inspired me!!!!
I only have a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, two hammers, LOL but when you live in an RV I guess you just got a jump and try to fix things otherwise it gets expensive!!
My driver’s side hydraulic levelers is also leaking.!.!. (Hey, did we buy the same RV???? LOL LOL🤣😂)
The RV repair guy told me he had to replace the whole thing. He explained my lift is not made anymore so it had to be special built or something like that and it’s gonna cost me $1800🤦🏻♀️
That is what he quoted me. I wish I had the ability to check things out myself!!
My RV is pretty old and I don’t drive it anywhere. I have the repair guy come to my RV spot and fix it.
Your video inspired me to at least check out my hot water tank. Maybe I could save money trying to fix that part.
I never knew you could replace a sunroof. Mine is above the shower. I live in Arizona and my white plastic one gets so hot!
I bungee corded a huge piece of foam into the cavity during the summer. I recently took it off to look at it and all the foam turned black. At first I thought it was mold… But then I realized it look like it had burned from the heat😬😳
Nice to know they sell tinted ones. I’ll have to check that out in your other video.👍
My biggest thing is that when we drive the RV the steering wheel vibration is so bad…It makes it almost impossible to drive. I haven’t figured that one out…
Your Fiancé is beautiful. 🌈 She might be with your wife by now… LOL I just found your channel this morning…
Hope that you get paid doing these videos so you’ll continue to do them. Because you have really impacted my life in a positive way! You give me hope that maybe I can fix some things in my RV!✌️🌻
God bless you and keep you both safe!!
Wow that's probably the nicest comment I've ever had lol! So glad I can inspire you and hopefully others to try something outside of their comfort zone.
It is supposed to get to 140 degrees. House heaters are set at 120, to prevent scalding. When you only have 6 gallons to play with, you want it hotter, so as not to run out as fast.
@@ConvairDart106 OMGoodness is this true?? It makes sense!!!👍
I did get my thermostats changed all by myself… And I changed another part I think it was called Thermo cut off
That part fixed the popping or maybe there was a air bubble because after my last Propane fill up I have not heard a popping.
Thank you for the information!!
@@sunriseskies3883 Roger that!
Finally, finally a guy with brains I got to see how you take off the cover for the EO and the thermostat and I watched you remove the two sensors and clean them nowhere else could I find that and I looked for hours thank you thank you thank you ha ha God bless America. !
Haha happy to help!
I like that you posted the “problems”. Many CZcamsrs only post everything going right
I face a lot of problems lol
Thanks for being man enough to show your failures I learned from these things thank you very much. I am going to try to blow through my lines.
Haha hey you know, if it helps someone else not make my silly mistakes then it's a win in my book :)
@SouthernGinger
Not silly, just unanticipated or overlooked. Think about haw many other would have given up or installed a new water heater just to have found out about it later and charged that customer for something they didn't need! Really thorough job, way to stick with it!
zach youre right. there isnt much for content online for furnace repairs. really great job man putting this together and explaining all the different parts. thanks for sharing.
Thanks Scott!
Great video. As an RV owner I will certainly keep this video in mind. I know how frustrating it can be diagnosing things we don't know much about, but you soldiered on and figured it out. Great Job! And thanks for sharing. Your effort to make this video is very much appreciated. Thank you.
Thanks Richard I appreciate that very much! We love our RV :)
Zach, good job of troubleshooting. On the bright side the hot water heater should be in good shape for years to come. Lots of valuable information you have passed on to others. Thanks for sharing.
Hehe thanks buddy :)
Thanks, that is one of those that will drive you nuts, and on average no one else has had that problem! Glad you got it fixed!
Working on mine, and it hadn't been working, or lighting, I took the cover off this morning and touched the cover, it felt warm,, then touched the burner tube, it was hot, but no hot water! So now I'm back at that , Thanks again!
Good luck!!
This is the exact video ive been looking for. Thanks bud!!
Happy to help!!
I had the same problem (with the exact same heater). It ignite, but the flame would not stay on.
I was about to buy all the parts.
I bought a cleaning air can and I tried your tip.
Now everything works.
THANK YOU, you saved me a few hundreds of dollars.
You're quite welcome, funny this heater is still running strong all this time later :D
Good video on a hard to find problem. I would not have thought about plugged gas lines but I can see it is a possibility. Well you have almost a new heater now with all the new parts. Thanks for posting.
Haha yeah I wish that wasn't the case.. save some money unlike me
Good Job! Makes you feel good.
Yup always fun to solve a problem haha
You are the best, you saved me a good amount of cash! I have a 1990 Bounder and the rust on the valve indicate it's all original. Thank you.
Awesome, happy to help!
I've been watching other videos this morning and I'm glad I found yours. The "clogged" gas line sounds like it could be my problem. Thanks. I'll check it out today.
Great, let me know how it goes
Glad you figured it out. It is so frustrating to keep trying stuff and it doesn't work. Looks like you'll have hot water whenever you need it for a long while now.
Yeah man I was getting fusturated for sure
@Zach Manring
#1 video in my book in fixing the same issue I had! Thank you so much Zach! 🙏🏼👍🥇
Thank you so much :)
How do I find the link for the parts you bought?
Should be in the description or in the article
Wonderful video, it'll help a lot of people. I felt like I was watching myself this whole video. From the limited shots, it looks like we got the same rig too, 2005 36S Fleetwood, maybe (our water tanks are the same make, model # indicate diff size tho)? I dealt with similar water heater problems a year ago and gave up because I got the electric side working. I went from only gas to only electric (those electric side thermostats & element are a booger)! Electric heats ok but not nearly as fast as gas. Plus, the biggest problem is, my rig is 30 amp😥, so ANYTHING I can run with gas makes a world of difference, esp a power hungry water heater. This video has renewed my quest. I'll let you know how things turn out...for everyone's sake (those of us dealing with these rv problems need all the help we can get. Maintenance and upkeep is almost as ridiculous as owning a boat!) Thx
Hehe thanks so much! Yeah it's funny how the by-product of propane will clog up the lines :(
Well, after seeing this. I am going to start with blowing out the line first to see if that helps. Thanks for the video, great info for those of us new to RVing.
Yeah I'd always check there :)
Great troubleshooting! We have a camper with an Atwood hot water heater. Nice to know! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Paul :)
Great Idea to blow out the lines with an air compressor! I will have to try that as I'm having similar issues. Thank you for creating these videos!
Very nice, glad I was able to help! Good luck fixing your hot water heater 😁
Good Vid,, I just reminded me of our old camping days ,in the 70s, . Spider webs were a problem in the Feed tubes, exit side. . how it got into the closed line was a poser. If in fact that was the problem .Cheers, Keep up the good Vids....Dog.
haha awesome, thank you!
@@SouthernGinger My Pleasure
Good diagnosis -way to chase it down! Thanks for posting this.
Hope it helps :)
Thanks. I will have to figure out how to blow out the propane line. I think that may be my problem too. I've been puttering with mine for a few days now. As a fulltimer, I need my hot water! Nuked water to wash dishes...I will check your links. 👍
Wow yeah I would give that a shot for sure!
Good video! Troubleshooting mine right now. Mine burns, but only an orange flame, no matter how I adjust the air mixture. Going to clean out all tubes tomorrow, including from the tank to heater, as was the solution for you. Thanks for posting.
Yeah that might be the issue! Glad to help
Today I pulled the metal tube off that the flame comes out of. There were 5-6 dead stink bugs! Burning strong and blue now! Thanks again for your video.
Awesome!! That's one way of doing it for sure
Thank you my good sir , your video is the only one out there , I got the same heater.
Happy to help, did you get it fixed?
Thank you!*!* bro i needed this so bad make and madel and all. Well i got ah bounder with the same heater. I appreciate the hard work
You bet! Treat that bounder right :)
This helped me immensely! My Shasta has been sitting for 3 + years. Water heater came on but wouldn't stay lit...no hot water. So, I will try your method. Thanks! CD
That's amazing, happy to help!
Did you ever figure it out ?
Hey man.. wanted to thank you as don’t thing I would have thought about the line and that was my problem. That’s after I bought a $135 replacement valve on the WH end. Thanks again
You're very welcome! Glad i could help 😃
I guess you have a few back up parts now that you took off. A bit of dirt can be a confusing thing. Good to see you got it sorted out.
Haha yup I keep all the parts unless they're completely destroyed because you never know :)
Great video. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Glad to help, hope is saves folks some money lol
I'm about to revive one of these heaters. I have to change out the cracked water tank too. So I think I will be sure to get fire before I invest in a tank or other parts.
My camper is a 2004, so I bought some new rubber lines from the tanks to the regulator and from the regulator to the copper lines. Interestingly, my line from regulator to copper had some oily residue in it. I didn't even think to blow it out, but I will if the water heater fails like yours did.
I have also run the stove as you did. But I ran it to check before repairing my indoor air heater, which now fires.
Thank you so much for the heads up, some times its a small thing. I'm sorry you had to go through all that to get your hot water back.
It's part of the game and I'm happy to share it! I hope it helps more folks :)
@@SouthernGinger Well, I got lucky. It lit off. Ordered a tank. Again thanks!
Player great video epic trouble shooting thank you for putting this info out there!
Awesome! So glad I could help. I didn't see this info anywhere so I had to do something lol
I learned stuff it was a good video you don't have to worry about it breaking down for a long time
I am at that frustration now. Changed out everything except the gas part and I haven’t cleaned out the lines. I’m thinking that’s it. Thanks for the info.
Good luck! I know it can be frustrating
Thanks so much. You’re the only one I found who discovered the problem with mine. 😊
Hehe happy to help!
I’m having the same problem I was about to order 250 dollars worth of parts hopefully this works thanks for the vid
Yeah hope it helps! At the very least you will know it's not that haha
I have they exact same issue, heater ignites but will not stay running. Cleaned the thermo rod but nothing.. Interesting on the fix though. I will try that before going into the buying mode. Thanks for the suggestion, have NEVER heard of such a thing and I’ve worked with furnaces in my past jobs for years.
Yeah I wasn't totally convinced either but it's still working to this day hehe, 3yrs or so later. Let us know your findings 😀
Thank you for a great explanation and your time for the video
You bet! Hope it helps :)
Awesome video dude!
Thank you
Ha ha thanks... blew my valve out and the tube going into heater... works like a charm now. I think the valve was plugged
There you go! Glad I could help!! :)
Many thanks Bud , this was a great Video ,,
Absolutely, happy to help
Great job I learned a lot I’m a newbie to rving so that helps
I'm a newbie too.. hehe welcome to the club :)
TY , I think this is ok , you found trbl plus have new parts
Ive been having the same problem. Replaced all the main components with no change or help to the original problem. I'm going to try your fix of disconnecting & blowing air through the lines. Fingers crossed!!!
I think it is a good idea to do along with rolling your tires once a month to fire up the frig and water heater
Great idea, add it to the monthly list
Thanks for this. I’m thinking the line is my issue as well.
Awesome, good luck :)
Cleaned out the propane line????
NEVER would have thought of that. Would've reminded myself that:
A. It's copper. (It's not going to break down)
B. The stove works fine.
What clogged it? Glad this crazy act of desperation worked 😂. Thank you for your video. Liked and subbed. I'm dealing with the same old water heater right now
Propane has a by product of oil so eventually the oil will cause a clog in the lower parts of the lines. Least that was my theory and on this case it worked and has been working ever since :)
@@SouthernGingernot to sound sceptical, but do you have a source for that info? I've heard conflicting reports in my years of dealing with Buddy heaters and reading lots of forums...
Apparently Buddy heaters only need a propane filter when using off-brand hoses with a BBQ tank. The reason being that it's the (cheaper) hose that breaks down to an oily residue and clogs them. That doesn't happen with Mr.Heater brand hoses, nor with the small 1 lb. propane bottles that are connected directly without a hose, so I wouldn't expect it to happen with copper RV propane lines, the only weak spot being the few inches of pigtail hose at the regulator where the tank is hooked up.
Once I learned of this I stopped having problems with them clogging after a few seasons of regular use, but maybe I've just been lucky and that's actually wrong information?
Yeah that I'm not sure for sure to be honest, maybe I was just lucky lol.
Thanks for this video. It may be the solution to my problem. I cannot hear nor smell any gas coming from the tanks.
Yeah sounds like there is a clog somewhere
Thanks for this!! Gonna try that
You're very welcome 🤗
THANKS, I'll have to try this!
You're welcome!
I think that contamination from debris related to refilling propane tanks, is more common than the industry would be willing to admit.
I'm thinking I may have a simple problem as pressure also. 2 year old camper and no problems till I put a inline pressure gauge in. It's not accurate for the for full tanks either. I suspected bad tank (low pressure) but never thought about line trouble. Thanks! Will work with this weekend.
Good informative video zach hopefully will help some folk out 👍👍
I hope so too, I spent way more than I needed to fix it lol
@@SouthernGinger hey you got it in the end and buying new parts means they should hopefully give you a few years trouble free motoring
Yup and it's shiney now haha
Same issues...thank you brother!
Glad to help
LOL,,,,I have the newer type water heater ie, “DSI” these use gas or 110v power to heat. I was having the same issue with gas , it would attempt to light but would not . I checked the circuit board, both sensors, both over temp shutoff safety devices, power supply, refilled the propane tanks, cleaned the pilot/burner tube and combustion chamber. Still no go!
So I gave up and took it to a gas tech. I told him everything I had done and showed him how as soon as the auto igniter stoped the flame when out. He checked the incoming gas pressure and said it was good. Then removed the pilot/burner tube, sprayed down the gas orifice and then wiped it down with alcohol soaked rag, used a small nylon brush on it and resembled it.
Damn,,,,, it worked immediately. He said the tiny needle orifice tip opening where the gas emits from often gets plugged especially from no use.
Lesson learned and it only cost me $88.
Wow sorry you had to go through all that!!
Just to make sure I get the correct Atwood Water Heater Gas valve. I have a 94 Bounder 6 gal gas only. Did you get the 93844 or the 92078? Thanks. Great video.
helped me a
ton
A great job on the video..
Thank you so much!
Great info. I'll have to try blowing out mine, it burns but yellow flame and a lot of soot.
Yeah I'd try that too
Yellow flame and soot is generally due to not having your air-adjustment on the burner-tube open far enough, or you may have some crap in the tube.
After changing out every component on my water heater with no fix to my issue. I tried blowing out my gas line as you did. I put everything back together and Light the pilot, turned on the valve and the water heater fired up and ran perfectly. I still don't get why this worked, but it did. Who'd of thought.
Hehe glad you got it working buddy!
Thank you that save more time and money..
Thanks forn the video . Im going through this issue . Did you have propane through your stove??
good to do every few years anyways.... propane naturally has oils in it due to storage and transfer and the oil can condense in the low points in your propane line. just make sure you soap and water test all your fittings after reassembly.
Yes sir! Thanks for the tip
Thanks for Video . How do you get the hot water tank to fire up when running on Propane only ? We couldn't get it to ignite the flame .
If you're getting proper flow then it might be your igniter
Merci beaucoup, j'ai apprécié beaucoup votre vidéo et votre aide. Félicitations 😃
Well. I'm in the same fix. I'm gonna try blowing thru the tubing. Hope that works!! I can get fire but won't stay on. Doesn't even keep at pilot when water is hot. I think one part could be my thermostat. I can wiggle the wire and clicks. But have to manual light it.guess I 'll see what happens. Thanks. Helped with my troubleshooting!!!
Awesome! Glad to help!
Did you fix it? Same issue here. New pilot assembly. Will light big flame and then you hear a click in the valve and it shuts off. No gas to pilot? Going to disconnect from left of valve to elbow orifice and see if air will do it.
Very helpful! Also made the video easy to watch. Thanks. How much pressure did you blow through? Not sure if there's a maximum (90 psi is usually on the tank if not spraying hvlp). I don't want to blow any seals, etc
Thank you, you don't need a lot of pressure, try like 40psi to start with :) cheers!
Good job !!!!
Thank you!!
Thnk u for the video it helped us a lot
You're welcome! Happy to help!
I wish I had your foratued. I would have torched my rig by now
Hehe and I'm not the best at patience either lol
Great video! How did you continue using your audio from a video over another shot? I can't find video editors I like on my phone. I think I can do it on my computer but looking for a good mobile solution.
Haha thank you! I use Final Cut pro, it's an old trick to lead the viewer into the next scene :). Appreciate it!
hello the valve you change can be use for a propane stove ?
Yeah apparently that's not right but it works so far haha
Great video I think I’m having the identical problem just out of curiosity how much psi did you blow through the line?
no more than 20psi is all was needed for me.
I received a Atwood tstat eco yesterday. My question is which thermostat is on the right and left. I see that they had different temps. One showed 60 degree C and the other one is 82 degree C.
Hmm I didn't think it mattered to be honest :)
This is the exact problem I’m having. Which thermocoupler is it?
Ok thanks for your help
You bet! Hope it helped!
good video. great to know just in case.
Thanks Don :)
if you are using park tanks and you leave the tank unhooked for days or weeks water can condense in the gas line.
when you connect a new bottle of gas, the water can freeze because propane in a cryogenic fluid.
this leaves ice in the line.
Good tip.
Thank you hope this will help sounds like what I may have
You bet! Happy to help
Mine was the electical board thank you for your video
How do you replace the thermal couple
I have a suburban hot water tank it lights for about 10 minutes and then goes out any ideas
Hmm my best guess would be the thermal cuppler but 10min is a long time of that was bad. Maybe the board itself?
Guessing only its hard, but thanks we appreciated
You're welcome!
Okay so i have a version a little older than yours, its a G6A-7E, my currently problem now is it will light, and it will stay lit from anywhere to 2 minutes, up to 12 minutes. Then it shuts down and will not reignite. Learned the hard way with a warm to start shower that soon turned ICE COLD! Not sure if thermo coupler, or circuit board? Any ideas?
Hmm I'm not sure on that one but i think the circuit board is what would reignite it..
Did you find out what the Pop was? Maybe the LP tank valves were failing and oil got into the line? I heard of oil from LP tanks clogging ofice's etc from improper filters etc.
You're correct the oil residue was clogging the line, after clearing the line it's been working perfect ever since :)
Is it ok for tips of sparker to fall in the center of the gas tube? A repairman put mine in the center and the flame hits the tips of the sparker and they get really red worried it may cause an issue
No that should be fine to be towards the center if I'm understanding you correctly
Thank you!
You could have used a 12 volt battery and put power to the gas valve to test it as well...good job.
Ah interesting, thanks for the tip
Thank you tons
You bet!! Happy to help!
Amor incomparable
Poor starting flame suggests clogged line. First thing I thought of.
Question when my pilot ignites, I still get a little bit of flame coming up towards my wiring and circuit board. Why is this happening ???
Maybe you're not getting good flow of gas?
Do you have to light the pilot light on this? Every one I’ve seen has a nozzle to turn for pilot light. I have this model in the video. My tank is hot and warm water comes out. Idk if I burned something by leaving it running without propane. (Newbie and didn’t realize it ran with propane.) I have propane. Left it on all night and the tank is hot but now the outside isn’t lit or have any heat coming out like I did before.
This model should auto start when the temperature is too low. Leaving it on won't hurt anything, it cuts off after it gets to temp!
@@SouthernGinger yeah I’m a dummy. I got it figured out. My bypass valve was open lol
I'm having the same issue, I want to try what you did however I'm unsure on how you used compressed air on the lines. do you mean you disconnected the gas line from the propane tank and the water heater valve and blew air threw that?
Exactly! I just disconnected it on both sides and ran it through :)
@@SouthernGinger oh! Ok! I'm gonna try that before i buy a new valve! Thanks!!
Awesome!! Just make sure you turn off the gas first hehe
great stuff thanks
Thank you! Hope it helps :)
@@SouthernGinger It did. Made me realize that I have to get it in for service. :)
Thanks for the video, I had an orange flame and little black smoke coming out of the top tube vent, was about to replace the thermostat valve control module. I blew out the line and now I have perfect blue flame. Thanks
Ahhh yeah!! Awesome! Nothing like.saving money haha
He better hope Negan doesn't stop him in his RV for a little meet and greet with Lucille.
Hahah yeah that wouldn't be fun
Great Video! You put a lot of effort into making this and it is appreciated. My Atwood has always worked and is not firing up. Just a click, click and spark but not an ignition. Im curious which direction you forced the compressed air through? Im assuming from the hot water heater side towards the propane tank. If you don't mind Id love some more clarification. Thanks again!
I shot it the other way, from the tank side but both ends were removed when I shot it through
Thanks! I went back and watched again and picked up on that! I’m also thinking about just getting a new mother board! I appreciate you responding!!
It's possible the board is bad but i would check everything else first.
Will do! Raining hard in SoCal today. Later today I will take those lines off and clear any possible blockages and then see if she fires. If not I guess thermocouple next. Can you bypass the thermocouple just to test?
Oh I didn't listen to the whole video. I should mention older units that have been in service awhile will accumulate oils in the main LP lines. Think of a P-trap the thick oils in the lines sort of peculate when an appliance is running. A good indicator of this is, turn on a range burner. If you see the flame sort of pulsate that's the low pressure gas pushing through the oil in a line. most of that oil is whats called ethelmercaptian or the smelly stuff added to propane. over time it and other components accumulate in the system, a manometer can see it as well. I always recommend a yearly check on the LP system and not with just anyone! ask for a Certified Technician to look at you camper! most Dealer Technician really have no idea of what they are doing so be cautious. Hope this helps.
Very interesting, I will try it NOW!
Nope, the line was clear, gotta be something else...
Well at least you can eliminate that as the cause :)
@@SouthernGinger its the ONE SHOT E.C.O.
As a Certified RV Technician I noticed the regulator you installed is wrong. The vent needs to be down or 45 degrees from down in other words you need a different style. Not to mention a Manometer to set the operating pressure say 10.5 to 11.0 inches of water column, all the appliances need at least 11.0 inches to function properly. This is the very short version of it but hey if you got it working, great.
Oh interesting, so would you recommend a different regulator?
Thanks