Water Heater doesn't start occasionally

[Joesjunk]

I run my water heater on gas. I purge the air from the system when I set up. On several occasions I've noticed that the water heater doesn't start. Sometimes the red light comes on when I flip the switch and stays on for a long time (10-15 minutes) then it ignites the water heater. Sometimes it starts in a few seconds. On a rare occasion, I've noticed that the red light is on after the water heater has cycled several times during the day. When it work, it works great.

Any ideas on what is happening???

I have a cross country trip planned next year and don't want to have problems with the water heater.

I suspect air in the propane lines.

I always light the stove first. This takes about 30 seconds to purge the air out.

Next I light the water heater. As you have observed, this may be nearly instantaneous or in may take 30 seconds. I have never seen it take a minute.

Next I light the fridge. This lights pretty quickly, seeing as the water heater is down stream from the fridge there is not much air to purge.

[Joesjunk]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

I suspect air in the propane lines.

I always light the stove first. This takes about 30 seconds to purge the air out.

Next I light the water heater. As you have observed, this may be nearly instantaneous or in may take 30 seconds. I have never seen it take a minute.

Next I light the fridge. This lights pretty quickly, seeing as the water heater is down stream from the fridge there is not much air to purge.

PopBeavers,
I don't think that purging the gas is the problem. Sometimes it fails when it has been running earlier. I believe that the gas valve might be sticking or something strange like that.

Originally Posted by Joesjunk

PopBeavers,
I don't think that purging the gas is the problem. Sometimes it fails when it has been running earlier. I believe that the gas valve might be sticking or something strange like that.

I reread your post, a little more slowly. I agree it is not likely air in the lines.

Sticky solenoid comes to mind, assuming there is a solenoid somewhere.

Perhaps a bad thermocouple. The thermocouple should be sensing the heat and generating enough power to hold to solenoid open.

I'm guessing and thinking out loud.

[commodor47]

Joe,

Does your refrigerator operate normally on propane? How about your furnace? Does the furnace operate with a nice blue flame? Your problem may be with the propane regulator. One way to double check that possibility is to make sure the other appliances are working properly. We had our furnace checked (emitted intermittent yellow flame) and the culprit was the propane regulator. A simple adjustment by the tech solved our problem.

Dick

[Joesjunk]

Originally Posted by commodor47

Joe,

Does your refrigerator operate normally on propane? How about your furnace? Does the furnace operate with a nice blue flame? Your problem may be with the propane regulator. One way to double check that possibility is to make sure the other appliances are working properly. We had our furnace checked (emitted intermittent yellow flame) and the culprit was the propane regulator. A simple adjustment by the tech solved our problem.

Dick

Everything works great on propane. Just that the water heater is slow to start.