LP Gas Connection on Atwood Water Heater

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adarcy

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Jul 11, 2010
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The water heater tank burst on our 91' Winnebago Superchief.  We have purchased and almost completely reinstalled the new one with one problem.

The LP Gas fitting does not want to screw on to the Atwood water heater fitting.  We initially thought there may be a size issue but discovered that they would fit exactly on there but for some reason the flange is just not catching the threads on the heater connection.  Thought, well it may be stripped but it fit perfectly on the other connection we bought and vice versa.

We didn't want to resort to cutting off the piping and redoing the whole thing because we aren't sure that's the issue and even if it is this isn't exactly our forte and we could screw it up or ignite ourselves. 

It's at a pretty tight angle and we can move it to adjust it but it still doesn't thread on.

Any advice?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
adarcy said:
It's at a pretty tight angle and we can move it to adjust it but it still doesn't thread on.

Any advice?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

That angle you are presented with is NOT the same angle as when the flare connector was set onto the valve at the factory.
I know that when I re-set my stove and furnace (remodeled the kitchen) it was a lot easier when I was able to flex and move more of the copper to align it all.. more than what is ordinarily immediately next to the appliance. Afterward I was able to go back and neatly pin it all down.

Start by taking off any of those clip things holding the copper pipe still and then (gently!) move the pipe to where it needs to be.

And I'll be doing the WH soon too. (the basement level panel needs to be replaced) but I'll have ALL SORTS OF ROOM around the whole area without any of the doors or panels in place.


Have fun!
 
I agree with Bryan - it's just a matter of getting the angle right. It can be very frustrating. Loosen the tubing as much as you can and persevere. It will go eventually.

I had a similar problem the other day with a screw on fuel filter on my coach. It's in an awkward spot to reach and I could not get the threads to line up right. After much wiggling and some colorful language, it slipped on and caught the threads.
 
I had the same problem a few months ago with my furnace. I just couldn't get a good enough grip on the tubing to position it correctly.

I was about to give up and call a mobile repair guy and ask if he had any secret way of doing it but decided to work on it some more.
On my rig there an outside entertainment center right above the water heater. I took one of the speakers out and then could get my hand in and get a grip on the tube and hold it at the right angle so it would thread properly.

It was pretty frustrating.
 
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