water heater

trouble lighting water heater on gas. suburban sw10de will not recycle to light after initial startup. i can light it the first time from the switch in trailer but as it cools the red light comes on and it will not light again. we are in the wet northwest and i dont know if this is a contributing factor

Rich, is your water still hot? My HWH will only fire up if it senses a need, not necessarily on demand. In other words, if my tank is full and already hot, it won't start again either.

Also, you have an electric switch beside your anode rod. If you truly have a mechanical problem with the ignitor, try switching the electric element on to supplement until you can get your HWH serviced.

TC

the water is cool enough for the red light to come on but not ignite. i did find the electric switch and it is now on but gas problem remains.

Since the light is on, it's in fault and won't lite for safety. Could be a bad thermo couple, issue with control board or just needs cleaned. The light only comes on when you first turn on the water heater before it lites. After that the red light never comes on unless there's a fault.


Earl

cant find the thermocouple. it has a blue flame but only ignites for a short period and then goes out.

Could be the presure regulator switch-over valve. We had a falulty one years ago and the water heater would work then go out. Replaced the valve and everything was good.

Hi Ken, what is, or where is this pressure regulator switch? I don't have a problem with my water heated. Saw your input and thought I would ask for future reference.
Thanks Duke!

I'm talking about the automatic switch-over valve that switches the propane supply from one tank to the other. It also has a pressure regulator in it.