suburban water heater challenge

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M

Matt the cat

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Dec 4, 2017
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I have a 6 gallon propane only, electric ignition Suburban water heater from about 2005.  It acts like it needs to be adjusted, as the flame is not blue enough, and is kind lazy, not blowing.  I am familiar with the Atwoods, and their oxygen intake can be adjusted.  This suburban IS NOT adjustable.  I have cleaned the orofice, the burner tube, the tube between the orofice and the burner, all the electrical connections.  I have tested the stove and it works fine with all three burners, so that is not the issue.  I pushed the reset button.  I cleaned the igniter/sensor.  I washed out the tank especially the heat exchanger.  Nothing really looked dirty or old.  But it just does not heat the water very hot and it takes forever, so showers run out of water very quickly.  The bypass valve is closed.  What am I missing?!?!
 
But it just does not heat the water very hot and it takes forever,
Click to expand...

Does the burner ever shut off?  If it does, have you checked the water temperature at the tank outlet of PT Relief valve? It could be the thermostat is shutting down at a lower than spec'ed temperature.  For a rough check, you can use an IR thermometer at the PT Relief, or ven a candy thermometer pressed tight against it for  couple minutes.

Also, is this a new problem or always been that way (since you owned it, anyway). In some rigs the water cools a lot on the way to the faucets, especially the shower, so it always seems inadequate. And if the incoming water is really cold, the water temperature in the heater tank drops quickly once the shower is turned on. No solution for that except a bigger heater.

Get a free service manual for your heater at: http://bryantrv.com/docs.html#water_heater
 
Thanks for the help.  I removed some debris from the propane tube prior to the orofice.  That seemed to fix the problem!
-M
 
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