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OT - Water heater noise

P

Patsdeere

Well-known Member
To keep it tractor related, having to do any major repairs cuts into tractor repair time and tractor repair budget.

My tenant's water heater is howling. They said it started after the propane was hooked up. It started doing it and then would go quiet for a few minutes. Then it would repeat. Now it will hardly shutup (maybe a second relief and then horrid noise again). Had the propane Co out and when the gas is turned off the noise goes away. Relight it and the noise comes back. Thing isn't more than a few years old. Water is city water. Doesn't matter if water is flowing or not. It is propane in a mobile home. I am open to any and all ideas.
 
have you looked at it, is the pilot flame making the noise ? better make sure you don't have a leak in between the thermostat and the pilot flame. spray soapy water from the thermostat where it screws in, to almost the flame. to be safer you can turn it off and push the button down like your trying to light it while you spray and look for bubbles. gas leak not good.
 
All I can think of would be the flame is burning at the jet instead of the burner.

Had a space heater that would do that. The gas valve would not close off completely and the leaking gas would ignite at the jet. When the valve would open, it would burn inside the burner horn and make an awful noise and smell!

Need to pull the cover and see exactly what's happening when it's making the noise.

Whatever it is is not normal! Better shut it off until it's fixed, especially in a mobile home!
 
Davis G hit it on the head. If it was just added or changed to propane the jet is still Natural Gas. Even if it is marked Propane check it. I have had that happen.
 
Put a sheet metal screw in the side of the burner where the orifice enters the burner to create a turbulence in the air entering the burner.
To test if it will work just stick a piece wire in the end of the burner. All you are doing is stirring up the air entering the burner.
 
Thanks for the thoughts. It worked quietly about 6 months ago when I was there and it was running quietly. I will check for a leak and then try disturbing the air.
 
Have your Propane Co. check the orifice size, irregardless of the size number stamped into the jet, have them physically check the orifice size using a wire gauge. I would almost bet that the orifice size is wrong.
 
Another possibility is a bad pressure regulator allowing too much gas pressure. How big is the pilot flame? If the pilot is big enough to be howling it must also be costing excess money to feed it. Could the problem have already existed with the previous tenant who just put up with it because they were leaving soon?

Worst case: replace the water heater if it's already a few years old.
 
If it is City water, the City Utilities Department should know how exactly hard the water is. Ask to see the Consumer Confidence Report, the CCR. If the City is big enough, they are required to furnish you with the CCR info.
If the water has a hardness of 8 or 9 or 10 or so, it is extremely hard, with lots of minerals. It might be, that as the lime forms on the heat element and expands and contracts and breaks away from the elements, it can howl and squeal and moan. I"ve got several that do that.
 
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