WATER HEATER NOT WORKING ON GAS

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Gringo

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1998autotrail Cheyen
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MY WATER HEATER WILL NOT LIGHT ON GAS I TRY TO LIGHT THE GREEN LIGHT COMES ON FOR A FEW SECONDS THEN THERE IS A POP AND THE RED LIGHT COMES ON I DONT USE IT ON GAS VERY OFTEN BUT LAST TIME IT WAS OK ITS A CARVER (IT WORKS PERFECT ON ELECTRIC) ANY IDEAS
 
Is the 240 volt electric on at the same time..
my thinking is one will cancel out the other.
the other being 12 volts and gas.
 
NO YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE THEM TOGETHER
 
Gringo said:
NO YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE THEM TOGETHER
Click to expand...
In that case I have the very same problem but as I am awaiting some replacement water connection fittings due to the old ones leaking
I can not test both of my systems yet. Again when I say both that’s the 240 volt heating. Then the 12 volt and gas.both for the Truma water heater .
 
Last edited:
Gringo said:
MY WATER HEATER WILL NOT LIGHT ON GAS I TRY TO LIGHT THE GREEN LIGHT COMES ON FOR A FEW SECONDS THEN THERE IS A POP AND THE RED LIGHT COMES ON I DONT USE IT ON GAS VERY OFTEN BUT LAST TIME IT WAS OK ITS A CARVER (IT WORKS PERFECT ON ELECTRIC) ANY IDEAS
Click to expand...
Are you sure you have gas in the bottle?

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Is there a cover on the outside air inlet? My Truma won't light if it's covered.

.... also the gas can take ages to get through the pipe especially if the bottles have been off for any length of time.
 
No cover I am waiting for a break in the weather to remove the outer cover to see what's going on or not. it is an old van 1998 cheyenne but usually reliable
 
When was the burner last cleaned as they accumulate soot and debris.
 
Thanks for that will give it a try at the weekend
 
How old is the gas regulator? Regulators should be changed quite regularly due to the way LPG affects them. We had one partially fail on a holiday. Fridge and gas cooker worked ok but when the boiler was turned on, the lot failed. Took it to a local chap who fitted a new one and all fine again.
 
Do you have a reed switch attached to the window above the exhaust. This is so you don't have the window open when the hot water is running on gas so that you don't have carbon monoxide coming into the van. If you have one then check that it working properly they play up quite often. The symptom you are describing is the gas is not igniting so all of the above comments are relevant also. You can have this problem at high altitude (above 2000m) as there is not enough oxygen in the air to start it. I used to blow with my mouth into the intake vent and then it would start and stay going, so lack of air i.e. grit etc can block the air intake.
 
The three steps did not work for me so it’s going to come out today.
and it seems I have yet another water leak under the heater.
may have caused that myself when changing the fittings to the tank.
they were leaking to start with.
 
I'm not sure what is going on here. The Truma system is totally different to the Carver system on older units.
There aren't any window open sensors on Carver units.
I suggest you take the outside cover off then you will see two screws holding a plate covering the burner. Remove this and brush the burner with a tooth brush. Blow out the dust. Be careful of the thermo couple and check /clean off any coating of carbon.
If it's not too windy you can light
the burner before you replace the cover but if you are unsure about doing that refit the covers first.
By the way, sometimes spiders manage to build a nest in there which may affect the thermo-couple.

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I'm not sure what is going on here. The Truma system is totally different to the Carver system on older units.

yep that’s me I am afraid. Was looking at a lot of past threads and ended up following this one .
 
Bump
 
I have had the covers of and the wife pressed the button while I watched it the burner lit ok then after a few seconds went out I noticed the ceramic on the igniter is broken could this be causing the problem
 
Gringo said:
I have had the covers of and the wife pressed the button while I watched it the burner lit ok then after a few seconds went out I noticed the ceramic on the igniter is broken could this be causing the problem
Click to expand...
Is the thermocouple in the flame correctly? If it's not getting hot the gas supply to the burner will not stay on.
 
It should be I haven't touched anything and it worked OK in November the last time we used it the gas heater

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It is possible that the flame on the burner nearest the thermocouple is distorted by dirt.
 
I will have a go at moving it slightly you never know
 
I can't remember if you are able to get a small bottle brush in under the burner from the thermocouple end. If you can't, try blowing in there with a bicycle or car pump before you try to move the thermocouple. It will probably break then you will have difficulty getting a replacement.
 
As Nico suggested, it may be the gas regulator. How old is it?

What gas are you using? I temperatures are a bit low for butane.
 
Don't forget, these units are obsolete. It may take a while to locate any parts. Try cleaning first.
I wouldn't try bending the thermocouple.

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Lots on eBay some are not worth looking at while some are or seem in very good condition

new replacements that’s the updated version are about £600. Second user good condition about £270 upwards.
 
Those old carver units were excellent, but if not cleaned out regularly the burner unit failed. Next problem is that they are no longer made. For a few years somebody made a compatible one called a Henry or similar. You might be lucky to source a new old stock burner, but they are rare. Not sure anyone refurbishes them any more as this used to be a busy business
 
Available on eBay, I had mine done about 3 years ago, it came back like new 👍. Just search carver cascade repair on eBay. Screenshot_20220225-184105.png
 
Eddystone said:
Don't forget, these units are obsolete. It may take a while to locate any parts. Try cleaning first.
I wouldn't try bending the thermocouple.
Click to expand...
There's a firm in Cannock that refurbish them, fully recommend them.
 

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