Water heater gas is sputtering, water not getting hot enough

[Timmer]

Hi all,

We took our first trip of the season this weekend. We tried to use our water heater on propane but it didn't heat anywhere near as hot as normal. The sound of the gas burning is much louder than we recollect, and is sort of flaring or sputtering ever few seconds. We ran the stove on the inside to see if that was also sputtering but it ran fine. Anyone have an idea what we should do to fix this? I'll attempt to attach a video if I can figure out how.

[Najataagihe]

Is there water near the gas line, where the heaty part is?

Have you checked the adjustment on the air/fuel mix at the burner?

[Timmer]

Is there water near the gas line, where the heaty part is?

Have you checked the adjustment on the air/fuel mix at the burner?

Thanks for the reply. There is no visible moisture anywhere near the flame, all is dry. I don't know about the air/fuel mix, I've never played with one of these units before. Any pointers on how to adjust it? What am I looking for?

Also, read on another forum that cleaning it might be recommended. Not sure how to go about that either.

[Najataagihe]

Cleaning would be a good start.

Use a toothbrush, NOT a piece of wire!


Brush off any soot and poke some of the soft bristles in the gas jet to loosen any debris.

Folks get cute and try to use a wire to clean the gas jet and end up ruining it.


What you want is a nice blue flame with no signs of yellow and no "whooshing" of air, blowing the flame off the jet.


If you have never worked on the air/gas settings on a gas device, DON'T.

Get a trained RV mechanic to look at it.

[Timmer]

Thanks all. It was adjusted to about 90% open (too much air). I reduced it and the flame is much quieter and steady now, and solid blue.