Water heater panel light??

speedjester · 03-26-2015, 09:23 PM

Well took the MH out after 3 month in storage.. Have a question.. I hit the switch to fire up the propane water heater.. The red light illuminates for a few seconds then shuts off.. I know this is normal.. But today I noticed that it seams to illuminate every time it cycles on.. Is that normal or do I have an issue..

Thank you

tncruiser · 03-26-2015, 09:29 PM

normal I believe as mine does the same thing
brianj

WDK · 03-27-2015, 10:40 AM

Once mine fires up, I don't get the red light....the manual says its just an indicator to ensure that it fires and after that it's just like an over, the fire will burn as necessary to keep the temp up but the red light should not come back on....mine does not or at least I have never noticed it....I just hear roar of the furnace.

WDK

Trempert · 03-28-2015, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedjester

Well took the MH out after 3 month in storage.. Have a question.. I hit the switch to fire up the propane water heater.. The red light illuminates for a few seconds then shuts off.. I know this is normal.. But today I noticed that it seams to illuminate every time it cycles on.. Is that normal or do I have an issue..

Thank you

I had the same issue and eventually the board went bad. I think it was about half a season from the time it started acting up until the water heater would no longer light. I ended up replacing the gas solenoid (it had overheated - probably from the bad board) and the board. All is now well. The board is about $100 if you find it on sale. I was able to reach through the winterizing hole to change it so I didn't have to pull the water heater.

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speedjester · 03-28-2015, 11:10 PM

It doesn't seem to have an issue lighting..when I first put it on.. I hear it click once then fire up .. Light goes off... When it cycles back on when someone's taking a shower .. Light comes on.. I hear it click and light goes off within a few seconds.. Some say it's normal for the light to go on every time it tries to light.. And others say it's not supposed to go on except for when you first turn it on..,

leomosley · 03-29-2015, 11:05 AM

This is normal. The light comes on while the igniter is sparking to light the burner. Once a flame is sensed, the light goes out. If the ignition sequence times out (no flame), the light will stay on and the switch needs to be turned off/on to restart the cycle.

moondog2000 · 03-29-2015, 12:29 PM

My light comes on when I start it and I notice every great once and a while the light will come on and the burner will fire up. I was hoping this was normal. Sure hope this not a problem . Seems like once in a week of camping this might happen.

**Mr. Dan** · 03-29-2015, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WDK

....mine does not or at least I have never noticed it....I just hear roar of the furnace.

WDK

I'm confused. I thought they were talking about water heaters... not furnaces.

Sent (I think)

WDK · 03-29-2015, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

I'm confused. I thought they were talking about water heaters... not furnaces.

Sent (I think)

The furnace being the roar of the fire from lighting of the propane flame under the bowl which heats the water.....sorry if I had to explain that any fire in a boiler is basically a blast furnace that heats the water and you can certainly hear it roaring the only difference between that and an actual furnace is that the furnace uses ducts and a fan to push the heat where a furnace in water heater heats the bowl directly.

WDK

bigoil7 · 03-29-2015, 11:04 PM

(warning, serious newbie question) Can someone please help me understand the switches a little better? I hauled my FR 22RR home and it's still winterized and all, and the black switch on the outside by the water heater is in the off position, and propane off, and just 110 plugged in. Well, the first night when I went to lock it up, it seems someone (possibly one of my children) had switched on the inside WH switch and it was illuminated (red). It seems when we did the PDI, the fellow turned the switch on, waited a few seconds, and we heard some clicking from the water heater area. After turning it off, I waited awhile, then out of curiosity, turned it back on but heard nothing. Of course I panicked worrying the water heater may be broken now, but I called my dealer and they said I should be ok, but I really didn't understand the function of the two switch. Can someone explain why no sound now? I thought it would "try" to ignite the water heater or something, but maybe the PDI guy had something else still on or something.

Krazymace · 03-29-2015, 11:23 PM

Perhaps the water temp is high enough that the heater doesn't need to come on. Run some hot water for a few minutes and it should come on. Make sure the electrical switch is off.

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bigoil7 · 03-30-2015, 12:00 AM

The water heater isn't even on, empty and drain plug removed, like I said still winterized.

WDK · 03-30-2015, 01:20 AM

If the red light is on as for propane....it means that the propane is not lighting....it will attempt to light it three times before shutting down for safety and the red light will remain on. You can try again but after so many attempts you have to find out why it's not lighting...after the second or third attempt you can be sure the air is out of the system so start thinking the ingnighter making sure your propane tank valve is in full of course. If you are using the electric switch on the outside panel then make sure you have water through out the whole system by turning on all your faucets....shower too and make sure you have hot water flow(it won't be hot) and then turn the switch to the on position and within a few seconds you will hear the familiar sizzle....if you turn it on with the system void of water, that heater element will fry itself.

WDK

bubbles · 03-30-2015, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigoil7

The water heater isn't even on, empty and drain plug removed, like I said still winterized.

Sounds like your wh may be in lock out mode. After so many attempts to ignite and doesn't the system goes into lock out mode and the switch should be set to off for a few minutes before re-trying. Your propane valve is open, correct? Check the owners manual for this feature.

M&K Hoffman · 03-30-2015, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

I'm confused. I thought they were talking about water heaters... not furnaces.

Sent (I think)

It's just that most people, including the folks that build them, refer to it as the burner. Suburban 010843 Burner Assembly

OldCoot · 03-30-2015, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M&K Hoffman

It's just that most people, including the folks that build them, refer to it as the burner. Suburban 010843 Burner Assembly

Like most folks refer to a "Hot water heater", why do you want to heat hot water? It is a water heater, not a hot water heater.

speedjester · 03-30-2015, 07:18 AM

Hard to believe iv had this MH for over a year now and had never noticed the light go on ( except when it is first turned on) every time it cycled on...Ok.. From what I gather..its normal for the light to come on every time it tries to light... Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer this question...

bigoil7 · 03-30-2015, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbles

Sounds like your wh may be in lock out mode. After so many attempts to ignite and doesn't the system goes into lock out mode and the switch should be set to off for a few minutes before re-trying. Your propane valve is open, correct? Check the owners manual for this feature.

Thanks Bubbles, but no, the propane is turned off as well. I am not actually trying to start it, just wondering if it is normal, or in other words, was there any harm done when someone left that indoor switch on. I'll be de-winterizing in a few days, so I'm sure I'll find out anyways

Thanks all.

M&K Hoffman · 03-30-2015, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Like most folks refer to a "Hot water heater", why do you want to heat hot water? It is a water heater, not a hot water heater.

Yep, old George Carlin routine.

Sirwriter · 03-30-2015, 08:57 AM

Well I'm really confused. I have a 2014 Puma, which has the Puma light/button near the sink on the wall. My red hot water light stays on all the time. If I turn it off, the hot water goes off. If I run out of propane on a cold night, the light is still on but the water gets cold. I turn the light off for about 10 seconds and turn it back on, and the water starts heating again. Now, after reading all your posts I'm wondering why my red light stays on all the time. The Puma "Control Center" is cheaply made and the only thing that works on it is that red light for the hot water heater. The sensors on the tanks are a joke, and even though I use the water softener/Dawn trick, which does make it smell good, all 3 tanks show full all the time.

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