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Old 07-05-2008, 07:27 PM   #1
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Used propane to heat the water for the first time - smoke and a burning plastic smell came from the vent. Now, W/H will not work on either AC or propane. Have used it for 8 months on AC with no problem. I note on other posts there is a reset button on the back of some units. Is there one on mine? When I saw smoke, I turned off, opened cover, and all wiring was col and well away from flame. Any ideas? (Full timer and need a shower!)
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Old 07-05-2008, 07:27 PM   #2
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Used propane to heat the water for the first time - smoke and a burning plastic smell came from the vent. Now, W/H will not work on either AC or propane. Have used it for 8 months on AC with no problem. I note on other posts there is a reset button on the back of some units. Is there one on mine? When I saw smoke, I turned off, opened cover, and all wiring was col and well away from flame. Any ideas? (Full timer and need a shower!)
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Old 07-06-2008, 03:56 AM   #3
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Hi and welcome to the forum

Our water heater has a little fuseable link for protection - check yours with an ohmmeter. When you look at the wiring, the link is a small device with a plastic cover and two slip-on terminals.
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Old 07-06-2008, 06:56 AM   #4
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Thanks for the welcome and advice. Should I just see continuity at both ends of the fusible link? Should power be off first? I can't believe all of the info on this forum. Wish I'd joined it sooner!
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Old 07-06-2008, 01:00 PM   #5
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The thermal cut-off link is no doubt blown. And that is exactly what it is designed to do when whe WH has a flashback as it sounds like yours did. When the link blows due to excess heat, it shuts down the gas. Last time mine did a flashback I had to replace most of the wiring!! The thermal cut-offs are available from most RV dealers/RV parts stores in a package of two. You can see a picture of the normal packaging on my website at http://www.pjrider.com/WHFlashback.htm A good one will have continuity end to end, a bad one won't.

BUT BEFORE you put a new one in and try again, you need to determine why your WH had a flashback. If you don't, the same thing is likely to happen again.

The reason for the flashback is normally a spider web or other obstruction in the burner tube. The fact that you had not used it for a long time on LP before this incident makes that very likely. After my flashback, I had to totally remove the burner tube on mine to see a spiderweb blocking the tube. The web made the gas build up in the tube and the flames came back out the face of the WH rather than going into the burn chamber.
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Old 07-06-2008, 04:18 PM   #6
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Thanks for all of the advice, both to this post and on the posts in the many pages of this forum. It was a blown fusible link. I'll get a new one tomorrow, after cleaning the flue and the ignition tube. As it smelled like plastic burning before I shut it off, I suspect some genius left packing or something in the flue during the manufacturing process. As I won't use the propane for heat until I get it cleaned and fused, I ran a jumper wire where the fusible link was, plugged into 30 amps so I could use the meter on the central control panel, and turned on the AC heater. The meter jumped from 4 amps to 16 amps, and shortly afterwards I had hot water. I'm going to be in Elkhart tomorrow for the RV Hall Of Fame, so will see what Atwood has to say, too. I'm still under warranty.

Again, great info on thi forum!
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Old 07-07-2008, 07:23 AM   #7
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Ustamita..I have also had an issues the Atwood heater. Just quit working one day for no reason. No propane or electric would fire off the unit. Had the repair shop look into the problem and it turns out that an Orange colored wire had fallen off the back of the heater. This wire is out of sight and is hard to get to and I had no idea it was there. You can see an orange wire leaving the front and disappearing into the back, this is the one that fell off. All my fuses and boards were OK, just a wire and come off. Why? Coach was parked for days and doing fine. Then one morning no hot water. Strange gremlins.

Glad to see you found your problem. Good Luck.
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Old 07-07-2008, 11:27 AM   #8
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Here I sit, red faced and with a little lighter wallet. Seems spidey did in fact take up residence, burning plastic smell was burning soot. Lesson learned: Clean the ignition tube before using if unsed for some time. Seems spidey is attracted to the stuff they put in propane so we cam smell it (like in a leak). Or, as the computer geeks like to say: RTFM!
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Old 07-07-2008, 12:20 PM   #9
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there are a couple of "home grown" remedies for keeping spiders away from your hot water heater

1) Use an empty prescription pill bottle ... drill about a dozen or so small holes in the bottle ... and two holes in the lid ... thread a "twistie" through the lid ... fill the bottle with moth crystals (that clears out your sinuses) ... put the cap on the bottle and fasten the twistie to the pressure relief valve ... refill with moth crystals once a year

2) buy a dog / cat flea collar ... cut it in strips and tape those up in the hot water heater compartment ...

I have used method 1) for several years ... no spiders ... I read 2) on another bulletin board so I can't personally vouch for its effectiveness
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Old 07-07-2008, 12:32 PM   #10
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by skigramp:
... I read 2) on another bulletin board so I can't personally vouch for its effectiveness </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Every year I hang a new flea collar in the area of the gas tube. Works like a charm - I can report that my WH has no fleas (or spiders )
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Old 07-07-2008, 12:48 PM   #11
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">1) Use an empty prescription pill bottle ... fill the bottle with moth crystals ... refill with moth crystals once a year </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have used moth balls in a "holy" prescription bottle for a few years both in the WH compartment and in the refrigerator access area, and replenish the moth balls at least twice a year --- but still got a spider web and flashback last Fall!

Ustamita ... I would say the burning plastic smell was more than just soot -- likely paint/finish on the metal from the compartment area & wiring insulation even if it didn't visibly damage it.
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