Gas Hot Water

[Dan_Frisbie]

I have the dual (gas/electric) water heater on my 2017 Georgetown.
Last year, the propane side of the heater was inop. No spark, no gas (I presume). The electric works, but it is not as hot.
When we returned home, it began working. I touched everything that I could and found no problems.
This spring, we went to Texas, no propane hot water. Back home, I again went searching...cleaned the igniters, made sure that the propane path was clear, found no issues and BAM, it began to work.
Here we are in Tennessee and we have electrically heated water only.

I'm out of ideas.

 

[forty_caliber]

Sounds like a wonky regulator. Do other gas appliances work?

.40

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

Sounds like a wonky regulator. Do other gas appliances work?

.40

Yes. The stove, outdoor port, and furnace are fine

 

[forty_caliber]

Yes. The stove, outdoor port, and furnace are fine

Sounds like we've narrowed it to the water heater. It's either not getting gas or not enough gas. Does it have a pilot or electronic ignition?

Maybe trace the feed line back to the tank to see if it's pinched/kinked anywhere.

.40

 

[Kevin D Pem]

So! Stand out by the heater while someone else starts the heater, and tell us what you hear! And oh yes, did you check battery voltage?

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

So! Stand out by the heater while someone else starts the heater, and tell us what you hear! And oh yes, did you check battery voltage?

Nothing and 13.4
Since it has worked intermittently, a faulty igniter has been suggested.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Nothing and 13.4
Since it has worked intermittently, a faulty igniter has been suggested.

Standing next to it you can hear the solenoid click in. No click, no gas!!!

You will next hear the snapping of the spark, no snapping,no spark!!!

First, because it is intermittent, I would be cleaning All contacts. Due to your messing with things,then finding it works for a little, contacts on the low voltage side are my diagnosis.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

The igniter fixed it!

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

Update: The igniter did NOT fix it.

Out again and the water is not hot enough and the propane won’t ignite.
Damn, this is driving me crazy!

On day 2, my wife asks, “Why is the bathroom hot water hotter than the kitchen”?
I have no idea why but for some reason, this spurred a thought to look at the winterization valves near the water heater.
The valve in between the hot and cold lines was open. Our water heater works fine in both electric and propane. The water in the tank is blisteringly hot, but every time it’s used, it is being mixed with cold water.
Now, we can run on the electric or propane and have plenty of hot water.

(When I was working on it at home and got the propane to light, the electric was shut off because we stay plugged in , but there is usually not water hooked up)

Since we live in Florida, we never winterize. I have never touched the valves around the water heater.