We have a Whirlpool hot water heater (in stand alone closet). We started having problems with the pilot staying lit, so I called the company (it is under warranty for 1 more month). The told me there was a defect in our model, so they sent me to Lowe's to get a free part (thermocouple). I relaced it, then when I lit the water heater I smelled gas (only when the a/c runs at the same time).
We called the company again (pilot is still going out everyday) and they sent us a flame lock thermostat. We have put it on (seems to work so far), but we still have the gas smell when the water heater and a/c are running at the same time.

We have done the soap-water test and can't find a leak. Please HELP, it makes me sick when I smell it!

Is your water tank and the furnace in the same closet?

Yes, but I have turned the gas off to the furnace at the shut off valve... just to see if that helped, but it didn't

Does you water tank have a sealed burner box, or does it just have the little door that slides off? You furnace fan could be pulling the flame out how is you filter?

I guess sealed? Here :o



By the way... those black marks are from where I took the panel off... there was a lot of soot

Yes that is sealed, soot is not good, is the return on the furnace there in the same room?

Yes.. it is a closet in the hallway

Not sure. I see you have copper line is this propane gas? Maybe the leak is inside where the t-couple connects.

Natural gas

The left hand fitting at the base of the t-stat is cross-threaded and the line has way too many kinks in it.

The copper supply line is way too twisted. This will impact the proper gas flow.

Soapy water is a poor choice for gas detection. Get the prepared soap solution at the big box store or hardware store.

I'm wondering if it's a flue problem. I don't think this is a direct-vent but there should be a flue cap installed correctly.

In the first post there are two pics, the lft is WRONG and the right is correct.

https://www.nachi.org/forum/f22/flue-vent-connection-water-heater-4153/

If this is missing or installed incorrectly, it could be a cause for a problem.

My opinion says have your install looked over professionally. It's a disaster.

That copper gas supply is wrong. At least with the Code I work under. Suggestion: Remove it. Replace it with gas flex. Also, it appears to be kinked. Get rid of it, install gas flex, test it and get back to us...

Copper flare can be used for gas lines. Depending on the gas itself, copper can get brittle. If you use copper, it should be tin lined, but sometimes it doesn't have to be.

In any event, it has to be replaced. Gas flex is an option, but the water heater needs a good ground in that case. Lightning hits have taken out gas flex.

I guess sealed?? Here :o



By the way...those black marks are from where I took the panel off....there was alot of soot

Given the presence of soot, I'd say your issue is improper combustion.

How is the tank vented?

Is the vent run out by itself, or does it tie into the furnaces vent?

Is it run into a brick chimney, or is it hard piped to the outside?

If it's piped to a brick chimney, is the chimney lined?

Yes, the copper lines will be replace next week... it is very kinked in spots... but has been tested by the gas department and there was no leak there.

The venting... ok so girly here... the silver aluminum pipe thing that goes from the top of the tank to through the attic and to a roof venting thing, lol... sorry guys... is this what you are tallking about? This could make sense... we had our roof replace and that thing fell down(the aluminum piping thing), my hubby crawed in the attic and put it back in place. Could we have done something wrong there?

.

Gas flex is an option, but the water heater needs a good ground in that case. Lightning hits have taken out gas flex.[/QUOTE]

Actually the corrogated stainless steel gas line itself has to be grounded properly.

[QUOTE=iamgrowler;1720807]Given the presence of soot, I'd say your issue is improper combustion.

Good call growler. I would lean toward plugged combustion air intake. This has been an ongoing problem with all new sealed combustion water heaters. Make sure intake screen and honeycomb are clean. This can be a little trick to get the honeycomb clean. I suggest an air compressor with a angles air chuck to reach in the bottom of water heater and blow the comb out. If screen or comb are plugged, you will see that the flame on the burner is very lazy and will burn itself out due to lack of oxygen. Please let us know what you find.

Sorry I took so long to respond... just got a new HW Heater. The old one was not up to code (install wise) like you suggested. The "gas smell" was exactly that. It was pouring into my house for over a year... baaaad! The cause: We didn't hook the vent tube all the way out the top of the roof... it was there but leaning a little in the attic, so fumes were seeping into the attic and through the house.

I so appreciate all of your help with this. Without some of your responses, I probably would have let it go longer.

Glad you got the problem resolved. Take care. Lee.

We just had this same problem yesterday. We called the gas company. He said that we had to leave the house immediately because of the high levels of CO2... He had a meter and he found exactly where the leak is coming from(the knob on top that has polit). He said we have a fualty control. He disconnected the gas. They about $60. At Lowe's.