how do i adjust the spring loaded control valve

[A~N~A]

My vintage hotwater heater..it a 1978 monaco. Andrea T

[radams]

Can you give us more information such as make and model of water heater? Unsure of what you mean by control valve. What does this valve do? Is it the relief valve with a lever and outlet?

[Seajay]

Is it the control valve that determines ''WATER PRESSURE''. The water pressure valve should have a ''screw'' in the bell shaped top and it should have a ''jam'' nut to lock this screw to keep it from turning accidently. It should have a pipe going in one side and out the other and whole mess is probably round with a bunch of screws holding the ''bottom'' to the ''bell'' shaped thingie with the screw in it. A good plummer would have put a cut off valve on the ''feed side of the ''water pressure control valve''.... One more thing... usually turning the screw ''clockwise'' increases the pressure coming out of your pipes. ........
this advise will cost you ten cents if you use it and if it dont work for you, YOU'R ON YOUR OWN.........

Have you thanked a vet for your freedoms lately???????

[A~N~A]

Quote:

Originally Posted by radams Can you give us more information such as make and model of water heater? Unsure of what you mean by control valve. What does this valve do? Is it the relief valve with a lever and outlet?

First I want to apologize for the vague question and the incorrect forum posting. I'm new, very new... I have an American Appliance direct vent W.H. model # ARV - 10 , ser # c672338, circa 1978. I am wondering about the spring loaded set screw under the green cap incorporated in the red ' on/off/pilot ' knob. I also ended up with an extra spring after taking apart and scrubbing my UNITROL valve/control (?), this will make it lighter and faster right? If you or somebody has a pix or schematic it would be very HELPFUL. She sat for along time so I am trying to disassemble and clean and scrub every part in every system. EXPLORE & LEARN. RIGHT. THANKYOU in advance.

[Seajay]

try this link American Appliance Mfg Corp Water Heater 6 ARV manuals, user manuals, owners manuals how-to instructions, help and tips

I just googled the info and came up with this .... good luck .....

this information will cost you ten cents and you must pay me the next time you see me and if it dont work for yoU .... i never knew you....... cj

thank a vet for your freedoms ...

[A~N~A]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seajay try this link American Appliance Mfg Corp Water Heater 6 ARV manuals, user manuals, owners manuals how-to instructions, help and tips I just googled the info and came up with this .... good luck ..... this information will cost you ten cents and you must pay me the next time you see me and if it dont work for yoU .... i never knew you....... cj thank a vet for your freedoms ...

Thanx, for the link. It was very helpful, sometimes when I go on line I seem to get lost, now with the kids gone I have to have my wife show me how to turn the laptop on. Im NOT very tech savy, I swung a hammer for over twenty years. I thank a vet every day, My GP was Navy, my father was Air Force, My F in law Retired a Major out of the Air Force, myself I was Air Force, Law Enforcement, spent several years at Ramstein Air Base. Again thankyou for your time Sir.

[A~N~A]

Quote:

Originally Posted by radams Can you give us more information such as make and model of water heater? Unsure of what you mean by control valve. What does this valve do? Is it the relief valve with a lever and outlet?

Sir, Thankyou for your reply. The animal in question is an American Appliance Mfg. Corp. Model # ARV-10, Ser. # C672338, circa 1978. The spring loaded set/adjustment screw in question is a under the green plastic cap incorporated in the red plastic on/off/pilot knob stamped ' main burner pressure '. The word Pressure makes me want to be a little cautious. Don't want to go BOOM...The old girl has set for a long time so I am going thru every system trying to learn as I go. But the ' Trial & Error ' method, which is my usual learning tool, I don't believe should be used when it pertains to a Propane system. Again, Thannkyou for your time.

[ralper]

DANGER !!!!!

When LP gas explodes it makes a very loud noise and tears things apart people included. If you are not trained to work on gas appliances leave them alone and hire someone trained to work on them for repairs that are necessary.

[radams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A~N~A Sir, Thankyou for your reply. The animal in question is an American Appliance Mfg. Corp. Model # ARV-10, Ser. # C672338, circa 1978. The spring loaded set/adjustment screw in question is a under the green plastic cap incorporated in the red plastic on/off/pilot knob stamped ' main burner pressure '. The word Pressure makes me want to be a little cautious. Don't want to go BOOM...The old girl has set for a long time so I am going thru every system trying to learn as I go. But the ' Trial & Error ' method, which is my usual learning tool, I don't believe should be used when it pertains to a Propane system. Again, Thannkyou for your time.

It's good to be cautious on gas appliances, that's for sure. I have more than one friend that had to run around awhile without any eyelashes or eyebrows. I don't have any information about your particular water heater so I'm just speaking in generalities here. Units I'm familiar with were lit by turning the knob to the pilot position and then pressing the knob in and holding it while lighting the pilot at the end of the pilot tube where the thermocouple sits. You would continue holding the knob in for about 30 seconds until the flame heated the thermocouple to the point where it generated enough current to hold open the pilot valve. At that point you would turn the gas valve to the on position and the main gas valve could then open for full flame. The only thing going through that valve is LP gas so I'm thinking the purpose of that screw is to adjust the flow. I wouldn't try adjusting anything until you get the burner lit and see what kind of flame you've got. If the flame is a steady blue then you are good to go. If it's yellow, smoky, wavering, then you might want to play with it a bit.

Remember that LP is heavier than air so make sure you're in a well ventilated area with no flames going or electrical equipment nearby. LP can puddle in an area and that's when you can have a problem. Check all the connections with soapy water to be sure you have no leaks.

Now regarding the "extra" spring you ended up with I don't know what to tell you about that as I have no idea where it goes or it's purpose. If it were me I wouldn't rest easy until I figured out where it belonged and put it back. I would do that first before I try lighting the burner. Perhaps a local HVAC shop has a geezer like me sitting around that could give you a hand with that.

As others have said, be careful and if you have any doubts about all this then bring in someone with the expertise. Good luck, pardon me if I've over simplified, and hope to see you on the road someday.

[TXiceman]

When dealing with a propane gas appliance, you do not need to be adjusting pressures, unless you know what you are doing. DO something wrong and it could be very expensive and/or very dangerous.

Ken

[A~N~A]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralper DANGER !!!!! When LP gas explodes it makes a very loud noise and tears things apart people included. If you are not trained to work on gas appliances leave them alone and hire someone trained to work on them for repairs that are necessary.

Sir, thank-you for your advice and concern, I am very experiencenced in residential gas appliances, I just wanted to know if there were any exotic RV animals in the system I should be aware of. Again THANKYOU for your time and your concern for my safety. AL

[A~N~A]

Quote:

Originally Posted by radams It's good to be cautious on gas appliances, that's for sure. I have more than one friend that had to run around awhile without any eyelashes or eyebrows. I don't have any information about your particular water heater so I'm just speaking in generalities here. Units I'm familiar with were lit by turning the knob to the pilot position and then pressing the knob in and holding it while lighting the pilot at the end of the pilot tube where the thermocouple sits. You would continue holding the knob in for about 30 seconds until the flame heated the thermocouple to the point where it generated enough current to hold open the pilot valve. At that point you would turn the gas valve to the on position and the main gas valve could then open for full flame. The only thing going through that valve is LP gas so I'm thinking the purpose of that screw is to adjust the flow. I wouldn't try adjusting anything until you get the burner lit and see what kind of flame you've got. If the flame is a steady blue then you are good to go. If it's yellow, smoky, wavering, then you might want to play with it a bit. Remember that LP is heavier than air so make sure you're in a well ventilated area with no flames going or electrical equipment nearby. LP can puddle in an area and that's when you can have a problem. Check all the connections with soapy water to be sure you have no leaks. Now regarding the "extra" spring you ended up with I don't know what to tell you about that as I have no idea where it goes or it's purpose. If it were me I wouldn't rest easy until I figured out where it belonged and put it back. I would do that first before I try lighting the burner. Perhaps a local HVAC shop has a geezer like me sitting around that could give you a hand with that. As others have said, be careful and if you have any doubts about all this then bring in someone with the expertise. Good luck, pardon me if I've over simplified, and hope to see you on the road someday.

Sir, you oversimplified nothing. I've always told my kids K.I.S.S. 'KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID '. I also try to practice that. Start from the basics then go on from there. Such as ' Is it plugged in? ', ' Is there any gas in it? ' etc... THANKYOU for your informative advice and your time. As for the EXTRA spring, it belonged to something else. Again THANKYOU,AL