(Probably) Another water heater not working thread

[Andy Douglass]

I KNOW I have seen threads like this before but trying to find one on my phone is too frustrating. We are camping and our Donetic 6gal will not stay lit.

I just used it last week with no problem. We drove about 13 hours total and went to light it tonight, no luck. 2018 Hawk with Dometic 6gal.

Verified gas flow to stove. Water heater on it's own will not ignite, but the gas valve clicks open and I can smell gas at the tube. Lit manually with a lighter while it is trying to start, burner lights and burns for a few seconds then shuts off.

Sounds like a sensor issue or the board is bad. What are some things I can do in camp to identify the problem?

Thanks.

 

[Mthomas]

I think you asked this on FB and I posted, but in case you missed: ignitor board is shot, it happens. buy replacement from dinosaur electronics. Costs a few bucks, you will receive in days, 5 minute swap out. Pursuit of warranty will be a frustrating experience unless you get lackey and FWC or dealer has one on hand. I think the dinosaur ones are better built anyway. If you have questions, call them up. I ordered the wrong one first, then they straightened me out.

 

[Andy Douglass]

Thanks. That might have been my wife, who was posting to FB. We knew getting a part on the road during the weekend would be difficult. I bypassed the ECO and thermostat with a few inches of baling wire and dtermined that the board was the likely issue. We knew we wanted a Dinisaur replacement but were prepared to by another piece of Chinese junk just to have hot water for our trip. I called a Camping World on our route on Sunday (which made my skin crawl). They wanted around $270 for the same board from China that had failed. We couldn't do it and decided to hold off until today in the hopes that one of the RV places in the CDA area of Idaho would have a Dinosaur. Spent a night at Farragut SP so we could shower. My wife called Dinosaur this morning and they told us they did not have any distributors in Northern ID. My wife called All Seasons RV repair in Hayden, just 15 miles south of us. They had Dinosaurs in stock and were open for 45 minutes more. We zipped down their and got the right Dinosaur for 200 bucks. It sucks to have to spend that much on an appliance that is just over 2 years old, but I was glad to be getting a USA made quality product. Hats off to All Seasons RV in Hayden. The guy stayed late to make sure the board worked.

 

[Dirtroadsavant]

Glad this has a happy(ish) ending! We went through the exact same process one year in to our 2017 Hawk. It was even in Northern Idaho and we, too, were rescued by a local rv service shop that squeezed us in to the schedule. Same cost, too. Seems like FWC might want to reconsider the board supplier.

 

[Mthomas]

Just as a reference for anyone looking at this thread in the future, these boards can be purchased through Amazon, along with the correct enclosure as they are not potted. Cost for board and cover is 140. Of course you would have to wait for delivery. 200 from a retailer same day is a good deal.