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Old 10-28-2016, 02:54 PM   #1
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Flame adjustment

The flame on my hot water heater smokes up the side of the trailer. I will try to adjust. Does smoke indicate too much or too little air? Do I open or close the shutter?
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Old 10-28-2016, 02:58 PM   #2
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Too little air. I would also check that the burner is properly located.
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Old 10-28-2016, 04:33 PM   #3
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Well I think I spotted the problem. The shutter to adjust the air intake is missing, meaning it is running wide open and taking in too much air. I will call Suburban next week and see if I can get a replacement part.

Thanks
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Old 10-28-2016, 04:43 PM   #4
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Well I think I spotted the problem. The shutter to adjust the air intake is missing, meaning it is running wide open and taking in too much air. I will call Suburban next week and see if I can get a replacement part.

Thanks
Non of them have an adjustment for the burner, check your pressure of the regulator should be between 11.5 and 12.0... PS: stop by a propane dealer they can set it using a water column.
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Old 10-28-2016, 06:11 PM   #5
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Non of them have an adjustment for the burner, check your pressure of the regulator should be between 11.5 and 12.0... PS: stop by a propane dealer they can set it using a water column.

I think they all have a sliding shutter to adjust air inlet for altitude change. The gas burner is fixed and gas pressure fixed at 11" of water column.
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Old 10-28-2016, 06:17 PM   #6
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It appears it had a shutter that you turned to open or close. There is a groove that looks like it held it. I will check with a propane place or call manf.
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Old 10-28-2016, 06:38 PM   #7
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It appears it had a shutter that you turned to open or close. There is a groove that looks like it held it. I will check with a propane place or call manf.
There is no shutter on mine and I did hvac so i do know what to look for. Propane has to to be set at 11.5 to 12" in a a water column . Go out and
look at your unit, you will not see one,,, PS: if the pressure is not correct it causes a yellow flame tip which causes black smoke from non combustion. Also you change the flame by the orifice for different altitudes
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Old 10-29-2016, 05:51 AM   #8
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There is no shutter. I thought they all had them. I will get it checked.
Thanks.
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Old 10-29-2016, 07:43 AM   #9
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There is no shutter. I thought they all had them. I will get it checked.
Thanks.
You are more then welcome, but get your pressure checked, all propane burners should be set at 11.5 inches in a water column the propane Company have a water gage to do it with...
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Old 10-29-2016, 07:46 AM   #10
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I think they all have a sliding shutter to adjust air inlet for altitude change. The gas burner is fixed and gas pressure fixed at 11" of water column.
They do not, and propane needs to be adjusted to 11.5 inches, if your going into a high altitude you will need a different orifice...
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Old 10-29-2016, 03:20 PM   #11
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Atwood units have the shutter. Suburban does not have a shutter. To make it worse suburban has a whole replacement burner for high elevation but it is not adjustable either. Normally I see pressures in the 13" to 14" lock off. The 11.5" to 12.5" should be about where you are if you set the primary to 13" to 14". 14" is the top, it should never be set to lock off above that.
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Old 10-30-2016, 09:20 PM   #12
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Found multiple suppliers on line carrying retrofit burner tubes with integral shutter, probably far eastern supply. Still for the flexibility probably a good investment. Looks like original equipment and easy to install for Suburban WH
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:48 AM   #13
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Found multiple suppliers on line carrying retrofit burner tubes with integral shutter, probably far eastern supply. Still for the flexibility probably a good investment. Looks like original equipment and easy to install for Suburban WH
Never did understand why suburban did not use burner tubes with shutters, you think it would be a no brainer..
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Old 10-31-2016, 03:57 AM   #14
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We have this problem pop up a lot. It can be caused by spiders making nests in the burner tube and/or dirt dobbers.

The fix may be as simple as cleaning the burner tube.



Camco builds (or used to build) a tool just for this problem.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-09103-B.../dp/B000EDQQ9C
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:06 PM   #15
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Problem resolved!

At the suggestion of my propane man I removed the tube and cleaned it. It was 3/4 plugged with a dirt dobber nest! WMTire noted above this is a recurring issue. Hopefully others will see it.

I have a screen oner the air intake for the space heater. I suppose I need to see there is some type of screen for the water heater as well.
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:11 PM   #16
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Glad you found it and reported back.

*HERE* is one such screen for the water heater.

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Old 10-31-2016, 12:33 PM   #17
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Problem resolved!

At the suggestion of my propane man I removed the tube and cleaned it. It was 3/4 plugged with a dirt dobber nest! WMTire noted above this is a recurring issue. Hopefully others will see it.

I have a screen oner the air intake for the space heater. I suppose I need to see there is some type of screen for the water heater as well.
Put screen wire on the inside across the vent and also on the ac cover on top as well as the inside of the refrigerator cover vent. Instead of putting screen wire on the inside of the ac cover, I covered the entire area from the compressor to the condenser.
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:40 PM   #18
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Problem resolved!

At the suggestion of my propane man I removed the tube and cleaned it. It was 3/4 plugged with a dirt dobber nest! WMTire noted above this is a recurring issue. Hopefully others will see it.

I have a screen oner the air intake for the space heater. I suppose I need to see there is some type of screen for the water heater as well.
Excellent, glad you got it resolved and thanks for reporting the solution. Yes, as noted in my post, this is a common problem that can happen.
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Old 11-02-2016, 11:22 AM   #19
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I decided to make my own screens as OldCoot did above. I used aluminium screen and metallic foil duck tape to withstand the heat.
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Old 11-02-2016, 02:01 PM   #20
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I decided to make my own screens as OldCoot did above. I used aluminium screen and metallic foil duck tape to withstand the heat.
I can understand what you did and why, but if that's a picture of the screen you used to me it will not really keep anything out. you need alot smaller mesh. Just My opinion. You would need screen door screening. And if someone says that the same size I used they just haven't had any bugs crawl in yet.
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