"Lazy" Yellow Flame Atwood Water Heater

[Lovedays]

I have an Atwood Gas/Electric water heater model number GC6AA-10E.
I was working on getting the trailer ready to go camping and tried lighting the water heater. The first time I tried lighting it, the DSI FLT indicator light came on.
I shut it off and tried again and it sounded like it only tried once to light but I didn't hear the normal sound of it running.
I went outside to check it and there was a "lazy" yellow flame and black smoke coming out of the vent.
I tried once more turning it on and off and it lit again but was a "lazy" yellow flame again.
The stove works fine on gas and so does the fridge, it appears to be a problem with the water heater and not the gas supply.

We're planning on going camping on Monday, is this fixable before then? If not can I use the water heater on electric? I didn't try it today to see if it would heat on electric.

Thanks for your help!

[robsouth]

Looks like a Black Widow Spider nest to me. Be careful around that.

[Caveman_Charlie]

I see it. It looks like a part of the tube, kind of a shadow, in the picture. Some sort of spider I suppose. Funny the places they decide to build a web.

[Lovedays]

I took it apart as instructed and found some kind of web or nest. It was white and very fine and delicate to touch, it was suspended at the bend blocking most of the tube. I don't know if you can really see it in the picture.

I cleaned everything and put it back together and it the heater is running perfectly now. Thanks for all the help!

[Caveman_Charlie]

mooky stinks wrote:
There are some nice You-Tube videos on this subject also. Nice to see it done before you try it.

I like to do this too. You-Tube can be a helpful resource.

I also have had some luck banging in the burner tube with a pair of pliers. Then blowing through it with a straw. Don't hit it too hard, and don't hit anything with electronics in it.

Remember I'm a Caveman and you might want to take this last advice with a grain of salt. What works for us Cavemen is not always a recommended procedure.

[Caveman_Charlie]

Red-Rover wrote:
I had the same thing, some time ago, and the cause was a collection of dead Asian beetles (lady bugs). We were in a remote location at the time so I used a soda straw to blow out the burner tube then compressed air when I got home.

Ya, this is a easy thing to try.

[mooky_stinks]

There are some nice You-Tube videos on this subject also. Nice to see it done before you try it.

[Lovedays]

Thanks to all of you for such quick, helpful responses! I can't work on it today due to DD birthday dinner but I should be able to do it tomorrow. Francesca Knowles, you are a better Googler than me, I couldn't find anything! Old-Biscuit and westend, thanks for your expert advice. I'll let you know if I get it to work.

[Red-Rover]

I had the same thing, some time ago, and the cause was a collection of dead Asian beetles (lady bugs). We were in a remote location at the time so I used a soda straw to blow out the burner tube then compressed air when I got home.

[westend]

Yellow flame usually indicates incorrect fuel-oxygen mixture. In most cases it is the burner tube clogged with insect debris like spider webs. You can try removing the tube and blowing it out or pull a rag through with a wire or coat hanger.

Edit: OB, the resident gas guru beat me to it. Nice play OB.:)

[Old-Biscuit]

You need to clean the gas orifice.
Remove burner tube.....clean it by running a bottle brush thru it.
Remove orifice (unscrews from gas valve) and clean it with alcohol.
Clean up the spark electrode with 400 grit sandpaper to remove carbon/soot

Reassemble.

Fire it up. Main flame should be blue with just tinge of yellow at tip.
Adjust air shuttle if needed.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Could just be low gas pressure/air in the line...first thing I'd try is to turn off propane at tank, then turn it back on very slowly until valve is all the way open. Then go inside and light a stovetop burner, letting it burn long enough to insure that there's a full flow of gas. Then try lighting W/H again.

If that doesn't do any good:

Scroll down the Atwood gas/electric W/H page at this link and you'll see a section marked "Erratic Burner Flame or sooting". It gives a number of other possible causes.