Water Heater Winter Maintenance

[paof6]

Can anyone see a problem running my propane-only water heater monthly for 5-10 seconds while empty of water? We winter camp regularly so everything else gets a work out but we never use the water heater.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by paof6

Can anyone see a problem running my propane-only water heater monthly for 5-10 seconds while empty of water? We winter camp regularly so everything else gets a work out but we never use the water heater.

Yeah, no, don’t do that. Only heat it when it’s full of water…

[paof6]

I'm not talking about letting it run thru a cycle. I hit the water heater button, watch the pilot-light-out lite go off, listen to the burner light off, let it run a few seconds then shut it off. The entire evolution takes about 10 secs. I am looking to keep the burner orifice, thermocoupler and burner chamber clear & operating properly. It's part of my monthly PM--done at the same time as running the fridge (propane & electric), furnace, a/c (when above 50 degrees), inverter, generator for an hour and driving the rig for 30 minutes.

[Knightly]

I agree with Wyatt, don't do it! Any distraction at that moment could be very costly! Believe me, I have had my sewer tank overflow, water tank overfill and all because I thought I would just add a bit of water for a minute, etc. It is very easy to get distracted. It does not need to be tested as you described. I have an Atwood 10 gal. water heater in my 2007 Itasca 35A Sunrise, which I purchased new, and have always complied with the operation manual Page 3 which has a Caution Notice, Quote: Do not operate without water in the tank, unquote! I drain the tank in the winter, blow out the water lines and never touch the heater until spring. I then fill the tank with water before testing and here we are, 15 years later and it still works great!

[paof6]

Understand completely about the distraction issue and I also understand that if it has an electric option (mine does not) that the element is fried the moment it gets turned on if empty.

[DavidM]

I don't think letting the burner run for 5-10 seconds on an empty water heater will hurt anything. It will take much longer than that to heat up the burner coil and damage anything.

But I also don't think it is doing any good. What is going to plug an unused burner orifice? How is running it for 5-10 seconds going to clear it out? It will just confirm that it is not plugged. Also 5-10 seconds isn't enough to warm the system up enough to drive out condensate which is a problem on some Atwood furnaces.

David

[ftodaro]

I have never heard that this PM is necessary. I have owned my rig for 7 years and have had now issues that would suggest that i have to fire up the hot water tank when not in use.