Propane Heater Diagnosis?

[Gebo]

Propane water heater acting up but still heating water. It will come on and run a few seconds and then go off and come back on and run a full cycle.

I'm gonna do a little sanding on the probes but was wondering if you see anything in these pics to help diagnose the problem?

 

[mk378]

Check for blockage in the burner tube. That carbon suggests it is running rich. Are the flames blue and in the right place?

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by mk378
Check for blockage in the burner tube. That carbon suggests it is running rich. Are the flames blue and in the right place?


This is a 2 year old unit. I didn't look at flames before removal because normally I just sandpaper the tips of the metal rods and am good to go.

 

[Gebo]

Is this broken? What is it called?

 

[javacontour]

I would certainly clean them off. I tend to use a scotchbrite pad instead of sand paper.

But after that, I'd take a look at the flame to make sure it's burning blue and complete. Two years seems to be a short time to get that much carbon on the flame sensor.

I'm going by my NG furnace, but I'd expect if something is burning completely, you are not going end up with a bunch of soot regardless the fuel.

Originally Posted by Gebo
Originally Posted by mk378
Check for blockage in the burner tube. That carbon suggests it is running rich. Are the flames blue and in the right place?


This is a 2 year old unit. I didn't look at flames before removal because normally I just sandpaper the tips of the metal rods and am good to go.

 

[walterjay]

It is the burner plate. It is cracked. There should be a warranty on that part. What brand is it?

 

[Donald]

warranty?

 

[Gebo]

Oops. It was installed in April 2012 with a new igniter and valve control in nov 2017. A.O Smith Looks like a 6 year warranty.

 

[Snagglefoot]

No expert but you might change out that thermocouple. They do go bad.

 

[Gebo]

Flame is blue for the most part near the burner but as the flames go up I can see flickers of orange. Do I need to replace the burner plate? I can't just buy it. I got to buy the entire piece at approx $170.

 

[Wolf359]

Considering that a new one is in the $400-$500 range, you mind as well get a new one, no point spending $170 on a water heater that may only be good for one or two years more. At least for $400-$500, you will have one that's good for 6+ years. Or spend a hundred or two extra and get either a 9 year or 12 year water heater.

 

[Gebo]

This is a propane heater and it is around $1000. My last AO Smith just like this one lasted 18 years.

If I could get your pricing, I would definitely take your advice.

 

[javacontour]

Might be able to find the burner on line for about $40-50 less.

https://www.wallingfordsales.com/proddetail.asp?prod=56019#.XP-2ZIhKhPY as an example...

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by walterjay
It is the burner plate. It is cracked. There should be a warranty on that part. What brand is it?



Thank You! You helped me get the right part for a lot less than I expected. See next post.

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by javacontour
Might be able to find the burner on line for about $40-50 less.

https://www.wallingfordsales.com/proddetail.asp?prod=56019#.XP-2ZIhKhPY as an example...



And thanks to you as well. Your response got me to looking and I finally decided to call AO Smith directly.

Much to my surprise I could purchase just the burner plate for $41

directly from them.

As an aside, they said that we should automatically replace our water heaters at 10 years. They said that's the replacement
schedule many condo and apartment complexes follow. Interesting....

 

[Wolf359]

Well for $41 that's probably worth it. The propane one at Home Depot is $751 for the 12 year one, the regular 6 year one is $637. If you don't have that many people, you can go with the slightly cheaper 40 gallon one at $559 which has the same recovery rate per hour but the 50 gallon gives you 75 gallon in the first hour as opposed to the 69 for the 40.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-P...ank-Water-Heater-XP50T12DM36U0/204318412

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-P...ank-Water-Heater-XP40T06EC32U1/205810048

As for the 10 year replacement schedule, that's makes sense as some condo associations make you replace them on a fixed schedule as they don't want to wait til the tank leaks. When the tank leaks, it tends to leak down and damage someone else's unit below them. If you just have it in a basement, then it doesn't matter if they leak, the cement floor normally doesn't care if it gets a little wet.

 

[Gebo]

We are fine until our kids and their families come home and are all getting ready for church at the same time. LOL

Thanks for the tank pricing.