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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> RV Maintenance and Technical Tips -> Propane smell when water heater kicks on?
Post Info TOPIC: Propane smell when water heater kicks on?
TheDigitalHippies


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Propane smell when water heater kicks on?
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Our water heater is close to two slide outs. When it kicks on, we can smell propane in the trailer. Nothing TOO strong, but we can definitely smell it most of the time. Is this normal? I'm under the impression that it's fine, and we even bought a propane alarm for inside the trailer, but we wanted to get the advice of more experienced people.



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TRAILERKING


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Maybe the smell is your "overflowing" black tank.

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TheDigitalHippies


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Nah, it's not overflowing, and the smell is only when the propane kicks on for the ignition. I've thought about that before though, thanks for suggesting it.



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LandYachty


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Your water heater probably has a electronic igniter that kicks on once the propane flows - thus a little propane smell. You can lower the panel and watch it do this. If you have always had the smell no problem, if this just started happening the igniter may need adjusted or heaven forbid the circuit board replaced.

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TheDigitalHippies


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Thanks Jim / Peggy, you're right, it's an electric igniter. I think it's always been around. Thanks for the advice.

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EggerMar


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I would think that the smell of propane is NEVER good. If you smell it that means it's lingering in the air which IMO is a danger. Personally I would check it out


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TheDigitalHippies


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We are planning on replacing the unit soon. It's almost $450 though, so we need to save a little for it. For now we turn it off and just turn it on about an hour before we need it.

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bjoyce


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RV water heaters are simply made and rarely need to be replaced. They are replaced either when the tank corrodes and leaks or when someone decides to install an on-demand water heater. There are cheap on-demand water heaters, but the ones that work correctly are $800 to $1100. People hate the cheap ones, they do not provide consistent temperatures.

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TheDigitalHippies


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Thanks Bill. When I drained mine the other day, there was a ton of calcium type deposits on it. Also the built in electric water heater part doesn't work. This is the unit http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ALQC3U/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3JRBSFJPF8ZKX&tag=t-d-h-20&coliid=IY6GV4ZV3X3Y8&linkCode=ur2 that we have and want to replace ours with. There are some black burn marks on our propane fitting near the burner tube too, so we figure with all these issues, a new one would be the way to go.



-- Edited by TheDigitalHippies on Friday 15th of May 2015 08:49:32 PM

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bjoyce


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Calcium deposits are normal, just make sure you keep a good anode rod in that Suburban. A new electric element is under $15 - http://www.amazon.com/Suburban-520789-1440W-Electric-Element/dp/B003G9G4X4 and there are YouTube videos like, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6jjhJQq9EY, to show you how to change it yourself.  We have a 10cuft Suburban.



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TheDigitalHippies


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I've already put in a new electric element. I'll take a picture of the unit soon for you so that maybe you can advise what's next to replace. Possibly the circuit board part? I also want you to see the black marks caused by propane burning to see if you think it's an issue. I'll try to get some pics this weekend.

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bjoyce


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You are already way ahead of me on troubleshooting.

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Bill Joyce,
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