Atwood hot water heater

[jbottomley24]

I have a 1996 National Dolphin class A. The hot water heater lighting is very sporadic...usually lights on initial turn on..but wont relight unless I turn it on and off 3 to 4 times. Has new computer circuit board...new igniter and solenoid...could it be the LP regulator? Help

[bobk3d]

Could be the regulator and/or oil in the line. I thought I had a problem with my furnace, then noticed the oven wouldn't stay lit... it would surge off and on. Turned out the regulator was bad and the line had filled with oil, so the propane would get through sporadically.

I had somebody else change the regulator and blow the oil out with a compressor, next time I'll know how to do it myself.

In my case, we could tell the regulator was bad because it was very cold to the touch when running appliances. Additionally, a previous owner had installed a vertical mount type in horizontal position, so that likely contributed to the failure.

[jbottomley24]

Originally Posted by bobk3d

Could be the regulator and/or oil in the line. I thought I had a problem with my furnace, then noticed the oven wouldn't stay lit... it would surge off and on. Turned out the regulator was bad and the line had filled with oil, so the propane would get through sporadically.

I had somebody else change the regulator and blow the oil out with a compressor, next time I'll know how to do it myself.

In my case, we could tell the regulator was bad because it was very cold to the touch when running appliances. Additionally, a previous owner had installed a vertical mount type in horizontal position, so that likely contributed to the failure.

So where did they blow the line out?

[Gary RVRoamer]

If the other LP appliances work, I seriously doubt if the regulator is the problem. erratic ignition is usually a problem with the air/fuel mix in the vicinity of the igniter. A common cause is rust flakes or insect nests in the burner tube leading to the igniter location. A clean-out might solve the problem.