DIY RV Water Heater troubleshooting and fix // Atwood G6A-8E
Total time: 2hrs
Difficulty: Beginner
Cost: $60
Why cant I get fuel pressure?
Well this one had me running around everywhere! Going into this, I knew it hasn’t been running in a long time so I bought the rebuild kit from PDX in hopes that not only would I fix the “issue“ I would also replace some of the old things that needed some love in the first place.
Boy, was I wrong, but only half wrong. The original issue was that the pilot light wouldn’t stay lit. Typically that means the electrode is bad and the kit does come with it. This helped the issue but I just wasn’t getting fuel pressure?
Well this led me down a path of replacing the gas valve in hopes that it was the valve that was causing the low pressure. Unfortunately that didn’t fix the issue but it sure was shiny. I did keep the old one just in case. This is a good thing to do anyways when you replace things that may or may not be still in working order.
The last thing I replaced was the propane regulator. On RVs they’re two stage regulators, not the same as you would find on grills. Pretty inexpensive so I figured, why not? Well that wasn’t my issue either but I an glad I have a new one, the old rusted one didn’t look or feel solid.
In a final crazy attempt, I unhooked the propane lines and blew compressed air through them all. Takes only a few seconds to clear the lines. Lots of oil came out (by-product of propane) and POP, all was cleared out.
Hooked up the lines and again and it FIRED RIGHT UP for the very first time. Nice, clean and blue flame. This past weekend I got to use it for the first time taking a shower and it works beautifully!
So, in conclusion, always listen to your significant other when she says there is probably an animal stuck in the lines. I really hope this helps someone and saves them some money along the way. Learn from my silly mistakes and enjoy your RV!
Zach's pro tip
Before you go building all new parts, make sure you propane lines are not clogged! :D
