Refrigerator and Water Heater not working on Propane

firsthere · 03-20-2016, 12:04 PM

We took our new Grey Wolf 21RB out for the first time and found problems with these appliances. The furnace and oven work fine and there is propane to the fridge and WH. The red heater switch in working and trying to fire the WH although there is not a definitive clicking. I moved the switch in back of the unit to both on and off with no luck. Also tried to push in the reset grommets but they were not popped out.

The fridge seem to light as it clicks and the flame tube is warm but will not cooling down the box (the TT was level also).

I have made several attempts with each and no luck, they both work in electric mode though.

It is going in for warranty service anyways as the slide is malfunctioning. I'm glad we planned this first run to find the other problems and save additional service appointments. Just wanting to understand the probable causes of these malfunctions, maybe its just me doing something wrong.

**wmtire** · 03-20-2016, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firsthere

We took our new Grey Wolf 21RB out for the first time and found problems with these appliances. The furnace and oven work fine and there is propane to the fridge and WH. The red heater switch in working and trying to fire the WH although there is not a definitive clicking. I moved the switch in back of the unit to both on and off with no luck. Also tried to push in the reset grommets but they were not popped out.

The fridge seem to light as it clicks and the flame tube is warm but will not cooling down the box (the TT was level also).

I have made several attempts with each and no luck, they both work in electric mode though.

It is going in for warranty service anyways as the slide is malfunctioning. I'm glad we planned this first run to find the other problems and save additional service appointments. Just wanting to understand the probable causes of these malfunctions, maybe its just me doing something wrong.

It sounds like you have perhaps a Suburban water heater. This FAQ may help. Are you absolutely positive there is water in the heater, as you may have the bypass valves incorrect? It's also explained in the link below.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html

EDIT: I see where you said both items are working on electric. If the water is already hot from the electric heating element, then the thermostat is not going to allow the propane to come on, as there is no need......since the water is already heated. Don't know if this is occurring or not, but the temp of the water will have to cool to a certain point if you want the propane to try and heat it.

Hope it's just something that simple for you.

firsthere · 03-20-2016, 12:55 PM

The bypasses a partially open, the dealer said to do this because the temperature on the Suburban is 140 degrees and this helps prevent scalding and make the HW last longer??? I had closed the bypasses when trying the 120v electric mode, that's when I had decided to call the dealer to see why he left the valves in partial bypass.

I know it has at least some water as it took several minutes of filling just the WH tank and the anode drain plug was leaking at first.

Another question ,is it normal for the water heater junction box down by the tank to make a constant whining sound when the switch is turned on inside the coach? And again there is not a definitive clicking noise when attempting ignition, just the whining sound varies.

Rich5117 · 03-20-2016, 05:30 PM

You may not be getting enough propane to the appliances, another poster had a similar problem and found a kink in the gas line that was all but closing off the supply.

firsthere · 03-21-2016, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich5117

You may not be getting enough propane to the appliances, another poster had a similar problem and found a kink in the gas line that was all but closing off the supply.

That was me

. I replaced the entire water heater line in soft copper and purged the air several times. That was my first thought, air in the line since the fridge was having problems also but the heater and stove work fine.

**Bama Rambler** · 03-21-2016, 12:25 PM

I think your fridge is probably working. The flame on the fridge is only the size of a pilot. If it's lighting and the flame tube is warm it should work. How long did you leave it on before checking the temp in the freezer?

It sounds like you may have a loose connection, bad control board or bad gas valve in the water heater. There should be very little to no buzzing or whining from the electrical box near the heater.

firsthere · 03-21-2016, 12:44 PM

We tried the fridge overnight and again the next day while we were out x2. I may try it now that we are back home.

We have an appointment in two weeks at a dealer, I will post back when they do the repairs.

billy2458 · 03-23-2016, 08:20 PM

My mechanic found that the cone above the flame was off set and was not capturing the heat to function properly. It was under warranty and he replaced it that portion. it now works

firsthere · 04-08-2016, 09:04 AM

As followup we had the TT in for service, they said the igniter wire was not connected to the board. I'm not sure were this attachment is but wish i could have checked it out on our trip. As for the refrigerator they said it would Not malfunction (it works fine) I'll have to double check both before the next trip.

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