Hot water heater not working the way it’s supposed to?

[savoybrown]

So I forgot my 50 to 30 amp convertor at home last weekend so was without power. I assumed the hot water heater would still work on either the inventor or propane, but no cigar! I had to go for a drive and purchase a new convertor and hook it up to the 30 amp shore power supply before we had hot water.

Is this right, or is something screwy with my heater? Don’t know why there would be a propane switch for the heater then if it wasn't supposed to work on propane. Plus, everything else worked on the inverter. Wierd!

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by savoybrown

So I forgot my 50 to 30 amp convertor at home last weekend so was without power. I assumed the hot water heater would still work on either the inventor or propane, but no cigar! I had to go for a drive and purchase a new convertor and hook it up to the 30 amp shore power supply before we had hot water.

Is this right, or is something screwy with my heater? Don’t know why there would be a propane switch for the heater then if it wasn't supposed to work on propane. Plus, everything else worked on the inverter. Wierd!

I had a bad control board on my new ACE and the hot water heater wouldn't fire up on propane, but would work when hooked to shore power. It would open the gas valve, but the igniter would never fire up the propane.

I first tried swapping out the igniter and that didn't fix it, so I bought a new control board (I was heading out on a trip and didn't want to wait for service) and swapped control boards, and that fixed the problem.

Your problem sounds very similar to mine.

[Arch Hoagland]

Did the water heater ever work on propane from the day you bought the RV?

Was there propane in the tank?

Was your propane tank turned on?
When they fill propane tanks they will normally close the propane line to the RV and then they should turn it on again but sometimes they don't.

Do any other appliances in the RV use propane and, if so, do they work?

[MisterT]

Your Palazzo 33.3, like mine, 'should' have BOTH propane(gas) and shore power(elec) switches for the WATER HEATER, which can work on either, or both at the same time!...

BUT(!)... the water heater will NOT be powered by the inverter, since it requires too many amps and would quickly run down the batteries. Here are your options, if you are not on the 'Gas' setting, which should ALWAYS work since it is using the propane.

: Shore power - yes, the ELEC setting should work
: Generator power - yes, the ELEC setting should work
: Inverter only - NO, the water heater will not work when only on Inverter, or while driving and only on the alternator(Inverter)

: PROPANE - should ALWAYS work(if not, you may have an issue with the starter, or the propane is shut off at the tank)


our Typical usage is the ELEC setting, unless we are only Inverter only, in which case we use the Gas setting, or if we need to 'reheat' the water more quickly if multiple showers in the same timeframe, where the ELEC setting takes a little too long. The propane can heat the water much quicker. The propane will fire up(you'll hear it in the area of the outside water heater door), and will continue firing until it reaches a default temperature, then it will fire up again anytime the temp falls below a designed number. The ELEC can also stay on during this whole time(if on power or generator, of course), and will provide continuous heating, also, while the propane gives the bulk of the heating, at least the start with. Both work on a 'on/off' basis, as needed, to keep the temperature at the proper level, especially as water is being used and passed thru the water tank.


enjoy ! : )

[savoybrown]

To answer the most obvious questions first, yes the propane was full; it was turned on; and yes, the furnace was working. We don’t do much dry camping, but we have stayed in casino parking lots in a pinch and don’t ever remember having an issue with hot water.

I don’t think it’s the igniter as it worked fine on shore power. Failing any other ideas, I’m leaning towards the control board as well, although you’d think if it works on shore power it would also work on propane. But then again, I’m not sure what the control board does.

Thanks for the suggestions...

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by savoybrown

To answer the most obvious questions first, yes the propane was full; it was turned on; and yes, the furnace was working. We don’t do much dry camping, but we have stayed in casino parking lots in a pinch and don’t ever remember having an issue with hot water.

I don’t think it’s the igniter as it worked fine on shore power. Failing any other ideas, I’m leaning towards the control board as well, although you’d think if it works on shore power it would also work on propane. But then again, I’m not sure what the control board does.

Thanks for the suggestions...

Shore power would use electrodes in the tank, not the igniter. My electric (on shore power) was working, but not propane, so either the electric doesn't use the control board or it was only partially failed.

Assuming if you are by it when ur is switched to gas, or go out quickly and smell a faint propane smell, then likely cause is igniter ($15) or control board ($150 for mine).

The other thing to check is the thermal cutoff (a kit with two for $15 or so), which is the clear plastic piece with a wire inside of it. I believe if this is bad you won't get the propane smell when turned on.

[harleyjs]

My water heater acted same way. It was the white plastic clips on control board. Shut off all power and cleaned all the pins on board and installed new wire harness with new clips. The prongs on my clips were broken. I also put some electoral conductive grease on the pins to keep them from corrosion. I found the wire harness with clips already installed on Amazon. Exact factory fit!

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by savoybrown

To answer the most obvious questions first, yes the propane was full; it was turned on; and yes, the furnace was working. We don’t do much dry camping, but we have stayed in casino parking lots in a pinch and don’t ever remember having an issue with hot water.

I don’t think it’s the igniter as it worked fine on shore power. Failing any other ideas, I’m leaning towards the control board as well, although you’d think if it works on shore power it would also work on propane. But then again, I’m not sure what the control board does.

Thanks for the suggestions...

Are you saying the water heater worked on shore power? Or the ignitor and gas heating worked on shore power?

Two different systems.

[savoybrown]

The water heater worked on shore power only. It didn't work on propane last weekend. Not sure about the igniter and won't be able to check until I get the unit back from Freightliner for warranty work on the transmission.

[savoybrown]

Wellll, brought the unit home today and of course it fired up on propane without a hitch. The more I try to understand and research these things, the less I understand!

I had a similar experience with the bedroom lights and the slide out this year. We were on a 3 week trip and the last week every time I would bring the slide in or out, I would blow the ceiling light fuse. Brought it home and was going to diagnose the problem, but didn’t have to because it hasn’t happened since, and have been on numerous trips since then.

Go figure.

Thanks for all the suggestions anyway...

[harleyjs]

These motorhomes are sure a lot of fun! A Never Ending learning process!