Water Heater will not stay lit

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Jimhefel7

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I have replaced the flame rod and the thermocouple. The pilot lights fine, and stays lit. After turning the gas on, the heater fires up and heats up the water. When it turns off it takes out the pilot with it (I assume). I get it going for the tenant, then leave and it is out about an hour later. Anyone know whats up with this thing? It's a 2008 so not terribly old, our city has great water, mine is 25 years old and works like a charm still.
 

Jimhefel7

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Does this sound like a symptom of a plugged vent? I'll have to check it when I get off work.
 

Jimhefel7

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Okay I sat over there for an hour observing this thing. The problem is that whether the burner is running or it is just the pilot that is lit, once you start using hot water, the flame goes out. Without using the water, it will stay lit, heat up, and turn off as it should and the pilot stays lit fine. Once you turn the hot water on whether it be the sink, shower or whatever, as soon as any hot water is used the flame goes out completely whether the burner is under full fire or the pilot is the only thing lit. Does anyone know what the problem could be caused by?
 

Master Plumber Mark

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You are not providing anyone with enough information to help you......
.
if you wanted advice on how to fix a car, would you not at least tell
everyone what brand of car it was you wanted advice on???o_O


Do you have any clue what brand of water heater you have been working on??
this might be helpful
 

Jimhefel7

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It is a Kenmore, 2008, 40 gallon, non-power vent, natural gas/lp water heater that is currently set up for natural gas and running on natural gas. That is all I can recall as of now. I can go back over there tomorrow to get more specifications if needed.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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it is probably going to be a problem with lint build-up underneath the water heater...
you will need to get a wet vac and suck out all the debris from under the heater and probably
open up the fire wall and clean out the lint and junk inside the unit tool....

most likely it is simply not getting enough air and it might be good to leave the firewall ajar and not
seal it up tightly to let some air through the front of the unit to see if it stays lit.......

if this does not fix the problem then there is a good chance the high limit in the gas valve has gone bad
and you will need a new gas valve on the unit...

If you have no experience with working on gas units I suggest you get a plumber...

The Sears Kenmore is a 100% peice of junk and will probably
nickle and dime you to death from this day forward... If it is a 2008 I would suggest just getting another
brand like Rheem or Bradford white and cut your losses
 

Jimhefel7

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Last night I went in with a brush, vacuum, and a small air compressor. I cleaned out the whole fire chamber, flame arrestor and meticulously cleaned the screen at the bottom. It did turn out to be quite dirty, but after I put the burner assembly back in, same problem, heats the water, then shuts down when water is used. I had a friend of mine that is a journeyman plumber come in and take a look at it and he said "I don't know whats wrong with it, I'd just get a new one." I think that is the advice I'm going to have to take on this one. Thanks for the help.
 

Jimhefel7

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I priced out a new gas valve and it is more than half the price a new water heater, so in my mind it's totaled.
 

Chefwong

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Mark -

You still like BW.
I actually went with a Rheem based in your postings of BW and soft water.
We have super soft water out here ...and BW was one of my top contenders, since so many say it's a~premium unit~.
I found your blurbs on BW and soft water and this was what cinched the decision to do with the Rheem
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Mark -

You still like BW.
I actually went with a Rheem based in your postings of BW and soft water.
We have super soft water out here ...and BW was one of my top contenders, since so many say it's a~premium unit~.
I found your blurbs on BW and soft water and this was what cinched the decision to do with the Rheem

you have not made a bad decision... the Bradford has a tendency to corrode away faster when a water softener is in
the system... we have seen tons of them do this versus the Rheem unit.....
 

Chefwong

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The only thing I needed to add was a metal drain valve....

I've yet to unbox it yet But there's nothing proprietary /special about the flush collar type drain valve they have on the unit ?
 

Jimhefel7

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This was a while back, but I ended up getting it working again. The problem was indeed dust and lint buildup. I blew the lower screen out initially and it didn't help. I removed the cover again and when I blew out the area behind the shield back by the pilot a ridiculous amount of shit, dust and lint blew all over the place. The buildup was definitely starving the flame. Doesn't really explain why the flame only went out when the hot water was used, but it worked fine all around after that cleanout. The room was a cloud of dust.
 
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