water heater issues

[DJ18]

1985 Avion 25H
We are moving on to our water heater problems. the PO said "it works on electric but not gas". this puzzled me, but noticed it has a pretty vintage hott rod installed.

we plan to access the area under the bed today. it looks to me that the hott rod is "on" all the time. If that is the case, the rod is probably fried because we had no water in the tank and the trailer was plugged in.

I don't know if it was wired into the water heater switch on the control panel or has a separate switch. if so, it must be under the bed and not very accessible at all. I'm wondering if the hott rod not working could affect the electronics of the piezo that ignites the gas.

my husband has cleaned all the combustion areas well, and the flame looks good when it's on. It lights, and the ignition clicks continuously, which seems wrong. I've noticed that if I leave the outside door open, it will eventually stay lit. I've also noticed that when it does stay lit, it stops clicking.

I suppose we will take it somewhere to get some help or just replace it, but it would be nice if we could get it to work as well as the other appliances.

[silverloaf]

On a piezo-fired range, the user turns the burner knob at the same time he/she flicks the piezo spark button. One ignited, the user releases the button. This is a manual operation.

In a piezo-fired water heater, it is automatic. the temp sensor tells the piezo to fire up and to open the gas valve. Once the gas is ignited, another sensor tells the piezo to shut off. This operation might take a little time after the gas is ignited.

I can't speak to the "hot rod" on the electric side. But I would think there must be a a two-way switch somewhere to choose from gas to electric heating. If both elements are activated at the same time, I would start looking for a faulty selector switch.

We have a new on-demand gas water heater. It is not dual-fuel like yours. But, if I had your water heater, I would be searching like I described above.

[DJ18]

We both started searching and following wires, which we should have done in the first place, no doubt.
we had to remove the corner double bed mattress and get into the space to see everything. we did find a switch to turn on the hott rod, and it does work. not fast, and I don't want electric only, but it works. it does not help the gas furnace stay lit, but at least we know how to make sure the electric rod is off or on.

it does feel good to have finally gotten into that area to clean it up. it was dusty, but not really grimy. I'd dreaded really looking under there, and also muscling that mattress around....it's heavy!

the water heater is piezo fired, so thanks for the proper term! the temp sensor could stand some more cleaning off, we will try that. appreciate the help, thanks!

[DJ18]

very happy to report after a much more thorough cleaning, of the 3 sensors that sit within the flame and the orifice, the water heater is working! gas and electric. thanks!

[KYAvion]

If you find it starts better with the door open, then you might try adjusting the burner tube shutter to allow for more air. Sounds like you’ve got it working though.

[Salty]

very happy to report after a much more thorough cleaning, of the 3 sensors that sit within the flame and the orifice, the water heater is working! gas and electric. thanks!

Congrats!

[Razorback]

very happy to report after a much more thorough cleaning, of the 3 sensors that sit within the flame and the orifice, the water heater is working! gas and electric. thanks!

Don't you love it when your fiddle-farting around results in something working again?!?!?