Hi,
I've been having trouble with my 2004 State Select (now AO Smith) 50 gallon natural gas water heater: the burner works and heats up some water but it -- and the pilot -- shut off after 15 minutes. I have to relight it 3 or 4 times to take a shower.
I've tried all of the tests that AOS and you professionals suggest*, and none have fixed the burner & pilot shutting down. It seems like the combustion chamber is overheating and the TCO is shutting off the gas.
I think the problem is very little draft at the draft hood: if I light a piece of incense, the smoke hardly gets sucked in. (Fortunately, it doesn't blow outward and there are no signs of a back draft.) If the air intake was blocked on the bottom, I'd assume the smoke would still be sucked into the draft hood after the vent pipe heats up, right?
I'm willing to replace the draft hood vent pipe (see my other posts*), but first, I want to make sure there is enough air getting INTO the combustion chamber through the ceramic flame arrestor disk (which I've thoroughly cleaned & vacuumed on the bottom and the top, from inside the chamber).
I've seen people suggest that I allow more air into the chamber by removing the viewing glass, or by pushing an air tube past the gasket, along side the burner tube. I think a 12" piece of 3/4" copper pipe would work.
If there are NO flammables in my garage near the boiler, is it safe to test the air intake like this for a few minutes? I really only need to test it for 20 minutes.
I want to make sure that I'm not wasting my time with the vent pipes until I simply eliminate the air intake as the problem.
Thanks in advance for your advice,
RH
-----------------------
* My original postings:
http://www.plumbingforums.com/forum/f12/water-heater-insufficient-4158/index3.html#post44560
http://www.plumbingforums.com/forum/f12/need-vent-smoke-test-video-4519/
I've been having trouble with my 2004 State Select (now AO Smith) 50 gallon natural gas water heater: the burner works and heats up some water but it -- and the pilot -- shut off after 15 minutes. I have to relight it 3 or 4 times to take a shower.
I've tried all of the tests that AOS and you professionals suggest*, and none have fixed the burner & pilot shutting down. It seems like the combustion chamber is overheating and the TCO is shutting off the gas.
I think the problem is very little draft at the draft hood: if I light a piece of incense, the smoke hardly gets sucked in. (Fortunately, it doesn't blow outward and there are no signs of a back draft.) If the air intake was blocked on the bottom, I'd assume the smoke would still be sucked into the draft hood after the vent pipe heats up, right?
I'm willing to replace the draft hood vent pipe (see my other posts*), but first, I want to make sure there is enough air getting INTO the combustion chamber through the ceramic flame arrestor disk (which I've thoroughly cleaned & vacuumed on the bottom and the top, from inside the chamber).
I've seen people suggest that I allow more air into the chamber by removing the viewing glass, or by pushing an air tube past the gasket, along side the burner tube. I think a 12" piece of 3/4" copper pipe would work.
If there are NO flammables in my garage near the boiler, is it safe to test the air intake like this for a few minutes? I really only need to test it for 20 minutes.
I want to make sure that I'm not wasting my time with the vent pipes until I simply eliminate the air intake as the problem.
Thanks in advance for your advice,
RH
-----------------------
* My original postings:
http://www.plumbingforums.com/forum/f12/water-heater-insufficient-4158/index3.html#post44560
http://www.plumbingforums.com/forum/f12/need-vent-smoke-test-video-4519/
