Honeywell gas controller error (flash 5 times instead of 1 time every 3 seconds)

[bjch512]

My 50 gal propane water heater recently started a problem. Everything worked fine last week. Please see attached two labels from the water heater and gas controller. Below is what I did and observed. Any suggestions how to make it work properly or what could be wrong? Your help is highly appreciated!

- When burner burns, the flash light is normal (flash 1 time every 3 second)

- When burner stops, the flash light flashes 5 times, stops for a couple of seconds, and flashes another 5 times ... ...

- When I set temp to B (between Hot and Very Hot), burner only burns for about 10 min and stops so water feels only warm not hot. When it works normally, burner should burn about 30 min.

- I reset or re-start it by turn the dial to OFF, wait 10 min, turn it to PILOT, start the pilot, turn dial back to B again. It repeat the last step

Thanks and regards.

 

[breplum]

At 12ish years of age, it is a good time to replace the WH unless you bought the extended warranty.

 

[Twowaxhack]

I believe 5 flashes indicate the gas control has failed and must be replaced.

I advise replacing the heater as Breplumb pointed out it’s 12 yrs old. Those controls can be expensive.

 

[GReynolds929]

Looks like 5 flashes is for temperature sensor failure. Which essentially means replacing the control valve. Based on age I also would recommend replacing the heater.

 

[bjch512]

Thanks for your input, everyone. Much appreciated!

I got a quote to replace this 50gl propane water heater. It's $3200 that is higher than I expected. The Honeywell gas controller in Amazon is only ~$200. Maybe I can try to replace the gas control for now and keep using the water heater for another year or two. One question is that the existing gas control model is WV8840B5001, but the models I found in Amazon are WV8840B1118, WV8840B1109, WV8840B1059. They look the same but are they compatible with WV8840B5001? What the last 4 digits mean? Thanks.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Thanks for your input, everyone. Much appreciated!

I got a quote to replace this 50gl propane water heater. It's $3200 that is higher than I expected. The Honeywell gas controller in Amazon is only ~$200. Maybe I can try to replace the gas control for now and keep using the water heater for another year or two. One question is that the existing gas control model is WV8840B5001, but the models I found in Amazon are WV8840B1118, WV8840B1109, WV8840B1059. They look the same but are they compatible with WV8840B5001? What the last 4 digits mean? Thanks.

Call the manufacturer and get the model number of the control that fits the heater. I had the same problem trying to match a control and that’s how I solved it.

Once they give you the model number you can shop for the best price on the control.

 

[bjch512]

Call the manufacturer and get the model number of the control that fits the heater. I had the same problem trying to match a control and that’s how I solved it.

Once they give you the model number you can shop for the best price on the control.

Thanks for your suggestions!