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53block · 04-22-2013, 06:20 AM

so a few days go i replaced my high tension wire because it was bad. while i was at it, i replaced the eco and thermostat and gasket. now my water heater is making a "whoop" sound. it happens about every 3 seconds and sometimes if followed by a screeching sound. i opened up the service door and saw the screeching was coming from a small flame that was in the main burner air adjustment mixer. im pretty sure this is what caused my high temp cutoff wire to blow from evevated temps in the service area. any thoughts on how to stop the "whoop" sound and screeching which is kinda like a blowback IMO

Thanks, Justin
Brenham TX

George Schweikle · 04-22-2013, 06:32 AM

Many years ago, RV furnaces would sometimes make a screeching sound and this was caused by the air/fuel mixture getting out of adjustment.

My water heater doesn't have the air adjustment, and was running rich, sooting the outside of the door, and smelling bad. I bought a new burner tube with integral gas orifice and the problem was solved. Since there was no screeching sound from my water heater running rich, maybe yours is too lean. Is the burner flame color correct?. Since you have the mixture adjustment, maybe adjusting this will make the noise go away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmoney7269

so a few days go i replaced my high tension wire because it was bad. while i was at it, i replaced the eco and thermostat and gasket. now my water heater is making a "whoop" sound. it happens about every 3 seconds and sometimes if followed by a screeching sound. i opened up the service door and saw the screeching was coming from a small flame that was in the main burner air adjustment mixer. im pretty sure this is what caused my high temp cutoff wire to blow from evevated temps in the service area. any thoughts on how to stop the "whoop" sound and screeching which is kinda like a blowback IMO

Thanks, Justin
Brenham TX

53block · 04-22-2013, 07:03 AM

I have a g6a-8e Atwood 6 gal in a 2000 fleetwood bounder 31m.
It's in phenomenal shape, 15k miles genset 1000 hrs.
I'm gonna mess with the adjustment today. When operating properly before all of this, it had no orange flame, completely blue and quiet, zero soot buildup, no blockage in the water heater. That "Ka-whoop Ka-whoop" sound concerns me.

BlauMax · 04-22-2013, 07:31 AM

If it were me, I'm pull the entire mixing chamber out of the heater and clean it out as a first step. Don't stick needles or drills thru the orifice.. but, I can visualize breaking crud loose and getting into the orifice.. heck, even spider webs from those itty bitty spiders that wreck havoc in burners once in awhile. Blow it out real good, and if you can find a fine hair from a foxtail brush.. push it thru the gas orifice.. just no wires, and blow out again. Reassemble. That might be the problem.

First thing I thought about with your noise description was the whistling that can take place with hard water buildup in the bottom as the steam tries to escape under it in the boiler. My home water heater makes those noises and is due for replacement.

53block · 04-22-2013, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatWhite

If it were me, I'm pull the entire mixing chamber out of the heater and clean it out as a first step. Don't stick needles or drills thru the orifice.. but, I can visualize breaking crud loose and getting into the orifice.. heck, even spider webs from those itty bitty spiders that wreck havoc in burners once in awhile. Blow it out real good, and if you can find a fine hair from a foxtail brush.. push it thru the gas orifice.. just no wires, and blow out again. Reassemble. That might be the problem.

First thing I thought about with your noise description was the whistling that can take place with hard water buildup in the bottom as the steam tries to escape under it in the boiler. My home water heater makes those noises and is due for replacement.

Thanks for the reply, there is no hard water crackling or hissing notice from build up. To me it strictly seems to be associated with the main burner, the air adjustment and some blowback.

Gary RVRoamer · 04-22-2013, 09:44 AM

Something is blocking the air/gas mixture from entering the burner properly. It doesn't take much, even a spider egg case or a bit of rust lying there, can disrupt the flow enough to cause a flashback like that. Clean that gas tube and burner tube & make sure the gas tube is square with the burner tube opening and it should be ok. Adjust the air mix for a mostly blue flame and quite operation (no "roar"). Start with the air shutter at 1/4 open and adjust as needed.

Tony Lee · 04-22-2013, 10:51 AM

Are you saying there is a flame burning from the jet (where the air mix control sleeve is) rather than from the end of the burner tube.

If so, that is a dangerous situation that will end up with a lot of heat where it shouldn't be.

53block · 04-22-2013, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Lee

Are you saying there is a flame burning from the jet (where the air mix control sleeve is) rather than from the end of the burner tube.

If so, that is a dangerous situation that will end up with a lot of heat where it shouldn't be.

Yes tony, every time it makes a little screeching sound, there is a little flame you can see inside the air mixture adjustment. I'm gonna take it all off and clean it good today and blow it all out. I was thinking its potentially dangerous myself.

ahicks · 04-22-2013, 06:59 PM

That flame you're seeing can't burn there unless there's enough air to support combustion? If you'll cut down on the amount of air at that adjustment, that gas won't get enough air to burn until it gets to the end of the burner tube. Thinking that's what you're after?

Yes, allowing it to burn there for any length of time is dangerous....