Water Heater repair

[GBS]

Thanks for the tips guys!

Going over them:
Got me as to who made it. Just a Sears model number to go on. White-Rogers control valve.

The new burner assembly came with filters to replace what was there on the bottom. When I replaced, I decided the original black plastic allowed more air, so completely cleaned them, vacuumed underneath, and put them back. Also vac'd the burner chamber. Because it ran for a few days, I doubt there was any air in the lines (after the wait-forever-with-the-finger-on-the-pilot-button-for-the-lines-to-flush-upon initial-startup, of course).

Burner flame (and pilot) is/was a perfect blue. Everything is new, so no cobwebs/corrosion

Warrenty is 12 year, but talking to Sears, only on the tank.

BUT - I didn't know about the inner screen. This evening, took it all apart. No sign of water/corrosion in the chamber, so probably no leak. I vac'd and blew compressed air through it as well as I could get at it from inside and underneath. Seemed logical that there might not be enough air over time for the pilot, but with the burners on, the draw increased enough to support them. Not a lot of dirt/dust blown around, but some. Also, after replacing burner assembly and testing the little "poof" that I saw before has gone away - shutdown is now as decisive as those on my gas stove.

Been an hour and a half now. Pilot is still lit.....crossing my fingers!

[REW]

GBS,
So, it is possible that your problem was a bit of "gunk" in the inner screen?

REW

[yarcraft91]

Want to know who made that water heater? Find the first 3 numbers of the model # on this list.

http://vintagemachinery.org/craftsma...rs.aspx?sort=2

[4JawChuck]

Not very common but in high humidity I've seen rare occurrences where the drip leg on the gas line is full, removing the cap and blowing it out to get all the water out of the line will resolve it for awhile until, it fills up again.

What happens is the drip leg is supposed to capture any large amount of water that gets into the system and acts as a reservoir to slowly evaporate into the flowing gas as it gets used, repairs upstream of you or a leak underground could allow large amounts of water into the system. If draining the drip leg solves the problem but fills up again requiring constant draining it usually means a leak somewhere...likely in the gas companies lines.

If I were you I would call a certified gas tech in to have a look and check the drip leg, not something you should do yourself although it's just a pipe fitting...dangerous to fooling around with natural gas lines inside the house!

[GBS]

Update:
It's looking like it was HVAC's solution - dirt in the air intake screen in the center, under the burner. Been two days, and all is good!

I celebrated by going fishing this early morning (gotta work that into the conversation somehow!) No walleye, just trash fish - bass and northern, but it was fishin'!

BTW, when I replaced the gas control valve, I took apart all of the gas pipes below the union, cleaned them out, and re-pipe doped. The drip leg had a little bit of debis in the bottom, but was otherwise clear. Good tip about it though! Soapy water confirmed no leaks.

Thanks yarcraft for the link - that is very cool. Apparently it was made by State Industries.