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Atwood water heater

March 06, 2013, 08:15:20 pm

My Atwood water (model GH6-4E) will not stay lit with it's door closed.

I tried for days to run it, but it would shut off after a minute or two. I've clean every connection, clean the burner tube, took out the spark/probe assy and clean it as well.

I discovered if I leave the water heater door open it will run until it reaches the correct temperature and shut off. It will start again after running the hot water, but not with the door closed.

So have any of you had a problem like this? Searching the net came up empty.

It just doesn't look right with the door in the open position.

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Re: Atwood water heater

Reply #1 – March 06, 2013, 08:28:38 pm

Sounds like the thermostat is cutting off the fuel flow thru the gas valve.
I have replaced this twice on mine.  Any camping supply should have them Do a Goole search for Atwood Trouble shooting.
Gary B
Try This
http://manuals.adventurerv.net/Atwood-Water-Heater-Service.pdf

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Re: Atwood water heater

Reply #2 – March 06, 2013, 08:41:46 pm

You might also check the air adjustment on the burner as sometimes when the door is closed the burner has a much louder roar and you might have to slide the adjuster so it gets less air, but do not want it to burn yellow.

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Reply #3 – March 06, 2013, 08:50:37 pm

Thanks Gary
I have read the Atwood manual the Barry has posted on his site and followed it during my attempt to fix the problem.

Ebay has the ECO & Thermostat Kit fo $14 and the Spark/Probe assy for $30, I might have to order them, but I would liked to know what the problem is before I start replacing parts.

Thanks Ron, I'll give it a try.

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Re: Atwood water heater

Reply #4 – March 06, 2013, 09:53:13 pm

I have that problem also.  Every thing is clean and I've tried the air adjustment.  I carry a sponge to stick in the door to hold it open a little bit, not while traveling of course.  The previous owner had it worked on at FOT, they replaced a bunch of parts but I don't if that solved the problem for awhile or if they too just learned to live with it.

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Reply #5 – March 06, 2013, 10:21:56 pm

Michael,

You can jump the thermostat, ( There are two of them)That will tell you if it's the problem.
Don't do that for a long time, you don't want to make steam!
Also you could check the ground connection with a jumper to another ground point. Temperature around the front of the water heater is probably higher with the door closed and may affect a poor ground.
Have you pulled and reinstalled the plug on the controll module ?
Temperature may cause a poor connection there to open.

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Re: Atwood water heater

Reply #6 – March 06, 2013, 10:50:32 pm

Sounds normal to me. We find our burner needs more air, which we supply by bending the bottom right corner of the water tank cover out a little. Whatever you can do to let very little more air may work for you, like removing the clear plastic round window, etc. These heaters need burner air and it only comes in from vent that exhausts hot gases. I would not make an major changes to try to fix the problem.

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Reply #7 – March 07, 2013, 12:03:04 am

I have the Atwood GH6-6E.  A few years ago it too began to shut off and was very sensitive to drafts. Couldn't keep it running consistently.  Barry Leavitt may not remember it, but he helped me figure out that it was the T-stat and Eco in Custer State Park in S. Dakota.  We replaced it as well as the spark ignitor.  That solved the problem for 3-4 years before the circuit board finally cratered.

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Reply #8 – March 07, 2013, 06:24:44 am

Michael J, Just finished repairing mine it had all kind of gremlins in it. Replaced all the controls (board (dinosaur) tstats, spark sense/ingnitor, pressure relief vlv) $175.00 from American RV parts life is good once again.

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Re: Atwood water heater

Reply #9 – March 07, 2013, 12:07:35 pm

I ordered the parts to rebuild it last night.
 
Got up this morning, hit the go switch for the water heater and press-do it worked and it's still working. All I did, after cleaning all the connections and it still did not work, was what Ron (Red Tractor) suggested. Thanks Ron.

Isn't life's amazing at times.

I'll still install the new parts when they arrive and keep the old for backup, at least for awhile.

I do know it's an air problem and there are all kind of way to fix that per the internet. If it's on the net it right, right?

Have a good day all and thanks for the all the help.

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Re: Atwood water heater

Reply #10 – March 07, 2013, 12:47:00 pm

Our Atwood has had it's share of small problems, intermittent failure, total failure, etc. I went to their site and followed the troubleshooting instructions and managed to cure most of the ills. I cleaned all the connectors including crimping the push on terminals so they made a better connection. Cleaned the board connector also. The one problem I missed for a while was the ground connection on the board. I pulled it off and cleaned the screw that holds it down and now it's like new. I do have a jumper wire inside the cover so I can jump from the hot terminal to the gas solenoid bypassing everything else. This should only be used momentarily to check the board, sensors, etc. as gas will come out the nozzle until disconnected and could cause an injury or fire.

Not surprising they need a bit of care as the outside location can get a lot of moisture inside the cover along with insects, etc.

Pierce

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Reply #11 – March 08, 2013, 05:45:36 am

My water heater gremlins started about 6 mos ago did all the cleaning, adjusting, checking every thing would work for 2 or 3 weeks then start again. After replacing the 14 year old electrical controls we now have dependable hot water. 

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