Troubleshooting Takagi Water Heater

[Rrm8711]

Greetings
Note: My LPG tank is full and my furnace is functioning properly with LPG

Takagi T-K3 LPG
The unit is I’m guessing 15 to 20 years old so it may be at its end ,but if there is a short quick fix - I am all ears

Trouble code: 111

Initially, while taking a shower ,the water temperature fluctuated from hot to cold & back to hot.
Looked in the owners manual under general troubleshooting and it recommended changing the inlet water filter, which I did; fired the unit up and had hot water & figured the problem was solved.
But Nooo…
2 days ago, took a shower and no hot water-not even fluctuation’s.

I then poked around on the Internet looking for information and then found the LED display after I took off the cover and it was showing “111”.

What I have done troubleshooting wise so far:
Pulled both the igniter and flame rods ,sandpapered rods and visually inspected: no cracks or chips in the ceramic bodies & the rods are tight in the bodies.
Checked for spark coming out of the ignition rod and am getting said spark.
The site glass window is grungy and am unable to clean,so I can’t see if there is an initial spark or flame.

When cycling, the fan turns on then the gas valve self tests-“clunkCLUNK-clunk-clunkCLUNK-clunk-clunkCLUNK-clunk”, then the fan RPMs will increase and the LED trouble code will be displayed.
Possibly a fuel supply issue as there’s air and spark but may be no fuel to complete the combustion.

Is that small then loud “clunk” with the gas valve normal?
I’m wondering if the gas valve is suspect(?)

Sooo…
That’s where I’m at;any recommendations and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[GReynolds929]

I would replace the flame rods and ignitor, those are in poor shape. I've also seen where the gasket is worn and the ignitor is loose enough to move away from the burner and not spark. New flame rod assembly comes with a new gasket.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Breplum]

Scraping the flame assembly with hard metal edge (like backside of knife or side edge of narrow chisel).
We use a manometer to measure pressure on the output side of the gas valve.

 

[Fitter30]

With the soot on the flame sensors need to take a inspection mirror see what the heat exchanger looks like. Burner might need to be cleaned and combustion fan.That clunk gas valve opening and closing from a bad flame signal

 

[Rrm8711]

I would replace the flame rods and ignitor, those are in poor shape. I've also seen where the gasket is worn and the ignitor is loose enough to move away from the burner and not spark. New flame rod assembly comes with a new gasket.

I did clean them up and they came out cleaner,
but…
Ordered new OEM gasket, flame & igniter rods today.
A few more days of spit baths won’t hurt

Thx

 

[Rrm8711]

Scraping the flame assembly with hard metal edge (like backside of knife or side edge of narrow chisel).
We use a manometer to measure pressure on the output side of the gas valve.

I cleaned the rods up with some fine grit sandpaper and wiped off but nothing changed.
I went ahead and ordered new rods and a gasket

A manometer I do not have, so I’m hoping the rods will fix the issue.

Thx

 

[Rrm8711]

I did clean them up and they came out cleaner,
but…
Ordered new OEM gasket, flame & igniter rods today.
A few more days of spit baths won’t hurt

Thx

With the soot on the flame sensors need to take a inspection mirror see what the heat exchanger looks like. Burner might need to be cleaned and combustion fan.That clunk gas valve opening and closing from a bad flame signal

I did clean up the rods with fine grit sandpaper and wiped clean but no change, so I went ahead and ordered new rods and a gasket.

I will have to research some about your suggestion of cleaning out the burner as I’m not familiar with this assembly.

Thank you

 

[Fitter30]

Page 34

TAKAGI T-K3 SERVICE MANUAL Pdf Download

View and Download Takagi T-K3 service manual online. Instantaneous Water Heater. T-K3 water heater pdf manual download.

www.google.com

 

[Rrm8711]

I cleaned the rods up with some fine grit sandpaper and wiped off but nothing changed.
I went ahead and ordered new rods and a gasket

A manometer I do not have, so I’m hoping the rods will fix the issue.

Thx

I did clean up the rods with fine grit sandpaper and wiped clean but no change, so I went ahead and ordered new rods and a gasket.

I will have to research some about your suggestion of cleaning out the burner as I’m not familiar with this assembly.

Thank you

I did clean up the rods with fine grit sandpaper and wiped clean but no change, so I went ahead and ordered new rods and a gasket.

I will have to research some about your suggestion of cleaning out the burner as I’m not familiar with this assembly.

Thank you

Page 34

TAKAGI T-K3 SERVICE MANUAL Pdf Download

View and Download Takagi T-K3 service manual online. Instantaneous Water Heater. T-K3 water heater pdf manual download.

www.google.com

Page 34

TAKAGI T-K3 SERVICE MANUAL Pdf Download

View and Download Takagi T-K3 service manual online. Instantaneous Water Heater. T-K3 water heater pdf manual download.

www.google.com

Thank you for the manual information. My original is not as detailed.

I did order OEM flame and igniter rods, along with a gasket of the cover that holds those items.

If those item’s don’t fix it, on the page you directed me towards (34) & reading about troubleshooting the other items, those are a little above my expertise.

I will also look into removing the cover and see if the burner is needs cleaning out.

Fingers crossed on the new parts which are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.

Thank you again.

 

[Rrm8711]

Greetings
Note: My LPG tank is full and my furnace is functioning properly with LPG

Takagi T-K3 LPG
The unit is I’m guessing 15 to 20 years old so it may be at its end ,but if there is a short quick fix - I am all ears

Trouble code: 111

Initially, while taking a shower ,the water temperature fluctuated from hot to cold & back to hot.
Looked in the owners manual under general troubleshooting and it recommended changing the inlet water filter, which I did; fired the unit up and had hot water & figured the problem was solved.
But Nooo…
2 days ago, took a shower and no hot water-not even fluctuation’s.

I then poked around on the Internet looking for information and then found the LED display after I took off the cover and it was showing “111”.

What I have done troubleshooting wise so far:
Pulled both the igniter and flame rods ,sandpapered rods and visually inspected: no cracks or chips in the ceramic bodies & the rods are tight in the bodies.
Checked for spark coming out of the ignition rod and am getting said spark.
The site glass window is grungy and am unable to clean,so I can’t see if there is an initial spark or flame.

When cycling, the fan turns on then the gas valve self tests-“clunkCLUNK-clunk-clunkCLUNK-clunk-clunkCLUNK-clunk”, then the fan RPMs will increase and the LED trouble code will be displayed.
Possibly a fuel supply issue as there’s air and spark but may be no fuel to complete the combustion.

Is that small then loud “clunk” with the gas valve normal?
I’m wondering if the gas valve is suspect(?)

Sooo…
That’s where I’m at;any recommendations and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you

With the soot on the flame sensors need to take a inspection mirror see what the heat exchanger looks like. Burner might need to be cleaned and combustion fan.That clunk gas valve opening and closing from a bad flame signal

I pulled the burner unit and it’s very dirty- some rust spots ,lotsa crap in the fins , corrosion.
I tried uploading a picture but it’s too big a file.

I am leaning towards buying a new burner unit- is that something you would recommend or are these pretty stout and just try cleaning it up?

 

[Fitter30]

Try cleaning the burner.

 

[Bannerman]

I tried uploading a picture but it’s too big a file.

Reduce the resolution to less than 800 pixels or less before attaching the photo.

 

[GReynolds929]

Most manufacturers recommend using compressed air at 120 psi to blow out the burner. It's already open I would definitely attempt to clean before a large expense like burner replacement.

 

[Hefty_Bike3290]

Since it's already open, I would try cleaning before resorting to major expenses like replacing the burner. Additionally, it might be worth considering checking and cleaning other components of the heating system, such as filters or fans, to ensure optimal system efficiency.