Water Heater

[GallenH]

On my last trip I noticed an audible "fluttering" when the LP water heater was going. Suburban SW6D. Don't remember hearing it before. When I looked at it today with the heater door open I could notice that the sound was not a continual "whoosh" rather it fluctuated in sound. I also notice that the flame was blue but with an occasional orange burst around the edges.

Has anyone ever cleaned the burner on this? The manual says that it should be inspected and cleaned if necessary but gives no instructions.

thx.glenn

[jrobe]

I had trouble with my Suburban SW6D this summer and self taught myself how to work on it. I would first remove the 90 degree curved burner tube and make sure it isn’t plugged (insects, etc). As I recall there is a simple clip on the gas side and a couple screws on the lighting end. Also use a needle and clean out the small gas orifice at the gas end. Look up the service manual online with the parts diagram which is helpful to picture this.

My water heater wouldn’t light so my problem was different. I ended up having to replace the gas valve. It is possible your gas valve is starting to malfunction. I also learned that there are frequent problems with the computer module board at the switch. They now make an improved module board. All of these parts are available on amazon and easy to install.

[GallenH]

thanks.jrobe

[GallenH]

FYI: I blew out the gas tube with compressed air today. I was surprised by the amount of black flecks that came out back at me. Flame is now almost totally blue with a uniform flow sound. Right now I feel confident that the burner is operating ok. But after the Grand Canyon I'll probably do some disassembly and clean the tube. From what the manual says, there is a normal accumulation of soot which should be cleaned annually. I'm guessing that I blew a lot of it out but will feel more confident after doing a thorough cleaning.

[rowiebowie]

I cleaned my Suburban WH combustion chamber, checked the burner orifice, and my flame was still way too orange. The air flow is not adjustable and the orifice looked fine and had no visible or actual obstruction. I finally purchased and installed a new orifice and the flame is now a nice blue. In my case, something not obvious was wrong with it that I could not see by visual inspection.

[GallenH]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

I cleaned my Suburban WH combustion chamber, checked the burner orifice, and my flame was still way too orange. The air flow is not adjustable and the orifice looked fine and had no visible or actual obstruction. I finally purchased and installed a new orifice and the flame is now a nice blue. In my case, something not obvious was wrong with it that I could not see by visual inspection.

Good to know. On my Dometic 3way fridge they say to take the orifice off and soak it in denatured alcohol and then blow it out with compressed air. Given the soak, I'm guessing that something can build up. A new orifice sounds like a good fix.

[rowiebowie]

The new orifice was only $18.37 on ebay, so I just bought it to try it. I didn't think to soak it, since I saw no obstruction or build-up. But that may have worked and would have been worth a try.