Mine does exactly as yours. When the weather is humid AND cool I often have to hit the ignition switch for the water heater 3 times before it stay on. The flame will ignite and go out 2 times but almost guaranteed it will light the third time. I live with it because I'm usually camping in the western US where there's lower humidity.
Mr. Ed (fulltiming since 1987)
2007 Hitchhiker II LS Model 29.5 LKTG
2007 Dodge Ram 3500/6.7 CTD/QC/4X4/SB/SRW/6-speed man/Big Horn edition
mr. ed wrote: Mine does exactly as yours. When the weather is humid AND cool I often have to hit the ignition switch for the water heater 3 times before it stay on. The flame will ignite and go out 2 times but almost guaranteed it will light the third time. I live with it because I'm usually camping in the western US where there's lower humidity.
You're right! cool is the other half of the equation. For me, I have to attempt 5-10 times before I can keep a flame going. Makes a person think that maybe that 2-5 second burn time is drying out the porcelain on the sensor until it's good to go. I do like the idea of using WD40 to achieve the same effect.
First attempt - no go. Second attempt WD40 it. If it takes off then you've proved your point.
In all of this, I'm assuming a cracked porcelain is letting the minimal voltage out that tells the control board a flame is present.
Also I never thought about hairspray on the back of the board. Don't know why that wouldn't work. Sounds like others do it.
This thread has been of much interest to me, but my problem is actually a little different from what's been reported.
It's not outdoor temp dependent. It's happened in very hot weather and cool weather. The thing in common all times is that the trailer was towed in the rain to the destination, and is still wet from that rain. If I open the cover, there's water droplets visible on the left half (gas valve and exhaust) but not on the control panel.
The symptom is that the burner doesn't light. Unlike what others here have reported, it doesn't even try to light. If I listen really closely, I can hear a very faint high-pitched whine coming from the electronics module. On the off change, and because it's cheap and easy to do, I replaced the temp sensors but that didn't help any.
After it has dried inside, it lights without an issue. Also, rain while parked does not have this affect (my guess is it doesn't get blown onto whatever part is at fault when parked).
Because of where I've seen the moisture collect and because the control board is already embedded in resin, I was going to replace the gas valve next, but that's a fairly expensive part. Should I instead look at sealing the control board?
atreis wrote: This thread has been of much interest to me, but my problem is actually a little different from what's been reported.
It's not outdoor temp dependent. It's happened in very hot weather and cool weather. The thing in common all times is that the trailer was towed in the rain to the destination, and is still wet from that rain. If I open the cover, there's water droplets visible on the left half (gas valve and exhaust) but not on the control panel.
The symptom is that the burner doesn't light. Unlike what others here have reported, it doesn't even try to light. If I listen really closely, I can hear a very faint high-pitched whine coming from the electronics module. On the off change, and because it's cheap and easy to do, I replaced the temp sensors but that didn't help any.
After it has dried inside, it lights without an issue. Also, rain while parked does not have this affect (my guess is it doesn't get blown onto whatever part is at fault when parked).
Because of where I've seen the moisture collect and because the control board is already embedded in resin, I was going to replace the gas valve next, but that's a fairly expensive part. Should I instead look at sealing the control board?
I'm glad you explained your heater problem more completely. You're right, it's quite a bit different from what some of us thought. Since it's definitely moisture related it looks like the advice some others gave about sealing (waterproofing) the electronics is the way to go.
From what I understand, are you saying that the ignitor is not even firing or is it firing but not igniting the propane?
The high pitched whine is no doubt the noise from the circuitry that provides the high voltage for the ignitor. If the ignitor isn't firing then perhaps the problem lies in that section of the electronics.
atreis wrote: This thread has been of much interest to me, but my problem is actually a little different from what's been reported.
It's not outdoor temp dependent. It's happened in very hot weather and cool weather. The thing in common all times is that the trailer was towed in the rain to the destination, and is still wet from that rain. If I open the cover, there's water droplets visible on the left half (gas valve and exhaust) but not on the control panel.
The symptom is that the burner doesn't light. Unlike what others here have reported, it doesn't even try to light. If I listen really closely, I can hear a very faint high-pitched whine coming from the electronics module. On the off change, and because it's cheap and easy to do, I replaced the temp sensors but that didn't help any.
After it has dried inside, it lights without an issue. Also, rain while parked does not have this affect (my guess is it doesn't get blown onto whatever part is at fault when parked).
Because of where I've seen the moisture collect and because the control board is already embedded in resin, I was going to replace the gas valve next, but that's a fairly expensive part. Should I instead look at sealing the control board?
I'm glad you explained your heater problem more completely. You're right, it's quite a bit different from what some of us thought. Since it's definitely moisture related it looks like the advice some others gave about sealing (waterproofing) the electronics is the way to go.
From what I understand, are you saying that the ignitor is not even firing or is it firing but not igniting the propane?
This actually is not the OP further explaining the original post. It's another member hijacking the thread.
"Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill, but since we're on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride". ("The Secret Of Life", James Taylor).
I'm glad you explained your heater problem more completely. You're right, it's quite a bit different from what some of us thought. Since it's definitely moisture related it looks like the advice some others gave about sealing (waterproofing) the electronics is the way to go.
From what I understand, are you saying that the ignitor is not even firing or is it firing but not igniting the propane?
The high pitched whine is no doubt the noise from the circuitry that provides the high voltage for the ignitor. If the ignitor isn't firing then perhaps the problem lies in that section of the electronics.
Yes, I'm not the original poster. Sorry for the hijack (although it seems like a variation of the same problem, really.) I wonder how common this problem is with these water heaters.
Yes, the ignitor is not even firing. I'll try waterproofing the electronics next. If that doesn't do it, I'll try replacing them. Thanks.
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