Atwood hot water tank

[Yakherder]

I'm on the road travelling across the US and Canada heading to Nova Scotia. My Atwood Hot Water Tank is acting up on me.

I can run the tank on Electric without any problem when at a campground but when I have it on gas it will work properly for a few hours and then quit. The tanks are full or close to it so it is not a gas supply.

Does anyone know what this type of problem is.

[007matman]

My vote would be the Thermocouple. Those are inexpensive and usually readily available. I'd try that first.

Otherwise, the circuit board.

[Wingerdinger]

Check to make sure that you have a clean blue flame, and the flame goes across the flame sensor electrode. The sensor needs to be right in the flame to work properly.
Often just cleaning the air tube fixes this.
Otherwise, the 'spark and sensor electrode' assembly has gone through a few upgrades, and it might work more reliably if replaced.

[Yakherder]

Thanks everyone for the input. It appears to be working ok as and when I need it right now but like my water pump which just replaced the hot water tank sensor, etc. may need replacing. Right now I'm on the road and no real down time to take a good look at it for another week. I think replacing these parts will give peace of mind in the future as they are 10 years old and no doubt have come to the end of their life span.

[Yakherder]

I came across a video on YouTube on the issue of the Atwood Water Heater would not stay lit. The problem being that it was dirty and after cleaning and adjusting it appears to be working fine. I let it run for 24 hours and it stayed lit so it should be good for awhile yet. There are a number of videos on maintenance of the Atwood that are good reference material. The next job is to clean and flush out the inside of the tank. Appears that it gets caked with calcium and a flush with vinegar does the job.

[Lloyd]

I have one of these. Just stick it in the drain hole and turn on the water.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+hea..._ts-doa-p_3_18

[Yakherder]

Thanks Lloyd. That is another must have to clean out the tank. I saw a video where they start off with a 3 gal vinegar and 3 gal water mixture. Fire up the heater and let it cook for awhile to loosen the calcium build up. Then drain and flush. The video showed the build up after a few months and I'm wondering what mine will look like after 10 years. Yikes! But it has to get done sometime.