I ordered a potted circuit board for my Gas Water heater tonight. It should arrive before I leave Thursday. If not, I can use the electric part with the Generator for hot showers.
You may recall I had a problem last time I went camping where the Thermostat failed and the hot water high pressure valve let go. I shut all the gas down after that and just used the electric element I had installed.
Last week, I bought some new thermostats but noticed when installing them last night that the potted circuit board looked like it had flames on it and was bubbled a bit.
Long story short, the flame comes on.... the igniter keeps clicking and then it shuts down and has to be reset to try again. I cleaned the igniter/sensor and cleaned all contacts with no improvement. I think all my gas pressures are good as I can energize the gas solenoid with a 12V jumper and it flames as expected. The igniter /sensor is also clearly in the flame. The circuit card should fix it given the igniter is sparking well and I cleaned the surface with steel wool until it shined.
In the process, I discovered why I had the meltdown in the first place ..... Bees apparently built a hive in the flame tube. That obstruction apparently causes some flames to reverse as I can see black marks on the inside of the cover where the igniter area is.
Also, when I blew out the burn chamber with an air hose, you would not believe the ashes that came out. I then pushed a rag through and out comes a bunch of sand and etc.. Bottom line... gotta watch for the bees in the water heater... they will cause a meltdown. I saw a few bees drop out when I turned on the gas, but I had no idea it was full of them and that it would cause all those problems. I guess I torched them!