Atwood g6a-7e

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Jhcowdude

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
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45
Location
Douglas, Wyoming
Looks like I need to replace this water heater.  Has a leak, and circuit board problems.  Could just replace parts, but it's over 20 years old, so it's probably time. Question is-do I need an exact replacement or is there another brand or type that will fit in the same hole?  Thanks!
 
The leak you?re talking about could be just a matter of replacing the cone shaped foam gasket in the fitting where it makes up to the heater or a cracked plastic fitting.

Now the circuit board, what is the heater doing or not doing  to make you think the board  is bad? We?ve found that many times its just a matter of cleaning all the wire connections which make up to that board. A little trouble shooting could save you a ton of money
 
There is a hole in the tank. Small, but leaks pretty good under pump pressure.  The circuit board won't allow it to relight without restarting. I've cleaned contacts, made sure connections were good.  I've got it out and on the tailgate. I'm afraid it's time.
 
I see Atwood G6A-7E available from PPL, so that would be the most straight-forward replacement.

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-appliances/rv-water-heaters/rv-water-heaters/water-heaters-atwood-6-gallon_80-1346


You asked about other brands.  Were you looking to upgrade to a combo gas/electric, DSI ignition, or maybe a bigger 10 gallon model? Or just wondering what the choices were?  The G6A designates the size & type, 6 gallon, LP gas-only in this case. The 7E indicates the design level (engineering change), in this case pilot ignition controls.  If Atwood made some improvement, e.g. a different circuit board, they would increment that part of the model number, e.g. 8E instead of 7E. The basic model portion wouldn't change.  The G6A-8E, for example, has the DSI circuit board controls instead of the pilot-ignition board.  The rest is the same. You could probably put the G6A-8E in the same hole with little or no additional effort.
https://pantherrvproducts.com/dometic-atwood-g6a-8e-rv-propane-hot-water-heater-6-gal/
If you used the g6A-8E, no more pilot light hassles!
 
Mr. Amazon is sending me a GC6AA-10E.  Dimensions are same,seemed to be the best price. Now just have to wait for it to show up!  Thanks!
 
And now it's in and works!  And right now I am never gonna do one again!  Install was pretty straight forward.  But getting hooked into the old plumbing was rough.  Very little room and connecting Pex to the old gray plastic pipe was hard to get connected without a leak. Only took 3 tries...  Is there a better way to connect that stuff other than the push in Shark bite type fitting?
 
Jhcowdude said:
And now it's in and works!  And right now I am never gonna do one again!  Install was pretty straight forward.  But getting hooked into the old plumbing was rough.  Very little room and connecting Pex to the old gray plastic pipe was hard to get connected without a leak. Only took 3 tries...  Is there a better way to connect that stuff other than the push in Shark bite type fitting?
Click to expand...

Well for pros yes  There are several ways One I can not really describe well (Will try)
Well I might not know how to describe it but I do recall the name
Flair it at Home Depot

and Shark Bite.. I had real good luck with Shark Bite on PEX. also Flair-it (my Repair tech uses those)  But I don't knwo how well they work on the Gray stuff.
 
John From Detroit said:
Well for pros yes  There are several ways One I can not really describe well (Will try)
Well I might not know how to describe it but I do recall the name
Flair it at Home Depot
Click to expand...

If you look inside the nut, chances ore you see a rubber cone shaped seal. It won?t look cone shaped now because it?s  been flattened out. You can buy replacement seals that was probably your issue making up the pipes so they didn?t leak.
 
Hi! I think Ima gonna piggy back on this thread, if you don’t mind. Our G6A-7E water heater stopped working. We’re on the road. I think the pilot light is out? Maybe? We’re in Olympic National Park and I’d rather not go back to Tacoma area as we’re driving down the coast. Any pointers? We just got a new thermostat for it last year and it was working prior to this adventure. TIA!
 
Atwood service manual, start reading it, it will walk you right thru the troubleshooting for a pilot light model.

Different manual, some stuff the same, some different

If the pilot light is out, do you have gas in the tank? (yes, silly question but it happens) Stove work? Fridge is cooling on gas?

Have you tried relighting it?

It could be as simple as cobwebs. If you have compressed air available or a "can of air" you might blow out the burner area, thoroughly.

Charles
 
You’re the best! Thank you! I’ll let you know if I got it to work! I told my husband (he’s at home) that we may have to get a hotel room just to take showers if we can’t fix it on our own.
 
Oh and to answer your questions, we do have gas, the stove works and so does the fridge. I just don’t know how to light it. These manuals will really help! Thank you!
 
They light the same way a older space heater lights, turn the knob and hold it pressed in, light the pilot and continue holding it for a minute or so, release the knob. If it does not stay lit the sensing probe has probably gone bad. They are fairly easily replaced.

Charles
 
dont think there is a pilot to be lit in that water heater. there is a circuit board that supplies an electronic ignition eliminating the need for a standing pilot. the electronic ignition uses electricity from the batteries. if you have healthy and charged batteries, plugging in shouldn't change the ignition process.
 
Kirk said:
Modern RV water heaters do not have a pilot light but use an ignition probe that is powered by 12V.
Click to expand...

Atwood & Suburban both still offers pilot-type heaters and the G6A-7e is a pilot type heater.

From the Atwwod service manual:
Aftermarket Gas Water Heaters
Includes Doors & Switches (when appropriate)
G6A-7 ----------------------------------6 gal. w/pilot
GC6AA-8 ------------------------------6 gal. combo w/pilot
GC6AA-10E ----------------------------6 gal. electronic gas combo
GCH6A-10E ----------------------------6 gal. electronic gas combo w/heat exchange
G6A-8E --------------------------------6 gal. electronic
GH6-7 ----------------------------------6 gal. w/pilot, heat exchange
GH6-8E --------------------------------6 gal. electronic w/heat exchange
G10-2 ----------------------------------10 gal. w/pilot
GC10A-2 ------------------------------10 gal. combo
G10-3E --------------------------------10 gal. electronic
GC10A-4E ----------------------------10 gal. electronic combo
GCH10A-4E --------------------------10 gal. electronic combo w/heat exchange
Click to expand...
 
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