RE: Coleman/Suburban WH air ventilation

[Red neff Barchetta]

 
If you enjoy your water heater pilot light blowing out, then read no further.
 
 I was sanitizing the water system in the PU today and thought I d pass this on;
 
 I got this mod. from Primetime/David over at irv2.  He did this 2 season s ago and says he has never had a problem since.
 Here is his post regarding this mod.;
 

remove the WH door and remove the section between the wire hinge, creating a bottom vent opening of approx. 5/16" x 12" , no holes drilled, so door still looks stock, and best of all,the WH operates with the door shut, as it was designed to do! I made this mod over two years ago and have had zero WH problems since. It has stayed lit in winds as high as 35-40 MPH along the Gulf coast during a recent two week camping trip. Hope this helps

 Tools needed;
 Phillips screwdriver
 Plyers
 Rag
 
 Remove the water heater access door by unscrewing the 2 screws attached to the hinge.  The hinge will stay on the door.  Take a rag and wrap it around the bottom of the door and using the plyers, bend inward and flatten the piece of sheet metal/lip on the bottom of the door that is between the ends of the hinge.  The rag is so you don t scratch or remove any paint from the outside (visible side) of the door.  Just slowly work your way bending the lip with the plyers.  This will leave an approx. 5/16"  x 10"  ventilation gap on the bottom of your door so that your pilot light can get a little more fresh air to keep it alive.  This will not be visible when the water heater door is closed and the door still has the stock appearance.
 
 Before I did this mod. I ran the water heater and the pilot light went out as soon as the water heater turned off.  Which is what happens AT LEAST once a trip.  I then turned off the LP and WH and drained the WH using the petcocks to drain out the bleach/water in there as part of my sanitizing procedure.  After the mod. (which took a whopping 10 minutes), I lit the pilot light and let the WH heat the fresh 6 gallons.  The pilot light stayed lit for the next 1/2 hour.
 I then drained some of the WH and re-filled it and let the WH run.  When it turned off the pilot light stayed lit for the next 1 1/2 hrs.
 
 Now, this all could be coincidence, but I m hoping not.  We are camping this w/e, so I ll be checking this mod s. effectiveness then.
 
 Anyway, this was so simple that I thought other annoyed Coleman/Suburban WH owner s might want to know about it.

[SactoCampers]

 Red neff Barchetta

If you enjoy your water heater pilot light blowing out, then read no further.

 Got any advice for a refrigerator pilot light that won t stay lit? [&:]

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Red neff Barchetta
This worked like a charm this w/e!  The pilot light stayed lit all w/e.
 
 Brian -
 Maybe we can try something like this mod. on your fridge in just 11 days?  As payment I get to raid the other side of your fridge.

[champ521]

 Red neff Barchetta

If you enjoy your water heater pilot light blowing out, then read no further

 Is this a common problem? I ve never had a problem with my WH pilot, but then again I use the battery when in transit![8D]

[whitestar505]

 Red neff Barchetta
Red neff Barchetta,
 
    Thanks for the tip. I am always having problems keeping it lit. I was things about having the dealer make an adjustment , if any, on the  pilot light, I think I will give this mod a try first.

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Red neff Barchetta
Whitestar -
 Give it a try.  The WH door will still look stock.  It worked perfectly!
 
 Champ521 -
 Nice try at rabble rousing mister, but you WH doesn t have an electric option and I sure hope you don t run your WH when travelling, ha.

[raven339]

 Red neff Barchetta
I ve had a similar problem with the pilot light not staying lit. I talked to my dealer s service rep. today and was told to adjust the pilot light to ensure that the thermal coupler remained within the pilot light.
 
 Currently my thermal coupler barely touches the pilot light...I think I ll increase the pilot light s output to see if that fixes the problem...
 
 Skol...

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Red neff Barchetta
raven339 -
 I did just that with my thermal coupler last September.  It helped a bit, but I think this latest mod. has made it so I hopefully can light my WH upon arrival and forget about it the rest of the w/e.  Unless of course my LP runs out, lol.

[wynot]

 Red neff Barchetta
For what it s worth, I posted the official repair from Suburban on this problem a number of months ago.  Basically, it either removes or bends up the bottom of the exhaust flue to provide sufficient air.  Takes about 5 minutes, 4 of which will be getting the screws out or restarted.
 
 [link=][/link]
 
 OK, I give, how do I put a link in...??

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Red neff Barchetta
This mod. worked perfectly during our latest trip which ended yesterday.  I never had to re-light the WH once, which is all it was intended to to do.  Simple and effective!

[mike4947]

 Red neff Barchetta
What I don t really understand is this fix has been given out by the manufacturer since at least the middle 70 s when we got it the first time.
 How come they never incorporated it into the design?
 
 What we got then was; first bend/move the thermocouple so the bulb end is in the pilot flame. If that didn t work modify the door  using the procedure, just about word for word what others here have posted.

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Red neff Barchetta
Mike -
 Then there would be a flawless product on the market.  Can t have that here in America, lol!
 I know excatly what you mean.  I periodically will read someone s post about a recent reply from Suburban regarding the pilot light fiasco and they all say the same thing;
 " We know about the problem and are currently addressing it" .
 Well, quit addressing it on the chalkboard and start addressing it on the water heater s themselves!
 Jeez!  I have had the PU for 15 months now and it took me this long to tweak things this way and that to make my WH work perfectly.