I am wondering if any of the plumbers on here sell and service Rheem water heater, I have one that I am having trouble with, it goes out at least once a day, I am almost to the point of replacing it. This heater is a 22V40F1 40 gallon natural gas.

Hi letmetellu...

Rheem/RUUD water heaters are all I sell or install.

How old is this heater and does it have the older open combustion chamber or the newer closed combustion chamber? Have you already tried changing the thermocouple?

Let me know...

MARK

This heater is a couple of months over two years old, it is the new style that is suppose to be explosion proof. I have changed the thermocouple, I have taken the vent off and use a shop vac to blow down through the flue, I got a lot of dust and stuff come out of the side combustion air vents, this did not help. I have left the door open to the closet, to make sure it was getting plenty of fresh air, this did not help. The pilot is burning good, I have turned the burner off and on again as I was watching the pilot, the pilot remains strong and does not seem like it was going to be pulled out as the burner went off or back on again.

I have had this problem with State and A.O. Smith water heaters and I know how to clean them so that they can get plenty of combustion air. The Rheem looks similar to these below the burner but I can not get to the bottom of the small little holes in the bottom where the combustion air comes into the burner chamber.

If you have had this problem I would love to know what you did to remedy it.

Thanks for any advice.
James

Seems like you have oxygen delivery problem. Also, you may have some other, major, gas fixture running when the heater kicks in. That will kill the burner flame, too. That would mean: undersized pipes.

Investigate a bit. Make sure your vent is not blocked. If you can, get on the roof and check the vent cap of obstructions.

See if you can time it when the heater stops working and try to notice what else is on (pool heater ? Stove ? Central heater ? Etc ).

Hi all:

Not too many things to consider here James. Sounds like you have most of it covered.

It could be:

1) combustion/make up air
2) gas pressure/volume
3) faulty thermocouple
4) faulty gas valve, or
5) faulty combustion safety system tripped.

Sounds like you have #1 covered especially as I am betting that this is a new problem that just popped up and the water heater was fine for a long time before this.

#2 can be checked to see if you have normal pressure going to the system... somewhere between .375 and .500 P.S.I. is normal. Have you added any appliances to the gas service (sorry had to ask that).

#3... rare, but sometimes you can get a faulty thermocouple... although I also think this is quite unlikely. You did pull the new thermocouple and clean the tip and then reinstall it... yes? Can't hurt to try that.

#4 is a reasonable answer as you could have a problem between where the thermocouple joins to the gas valve and where it finally opens the gas valve. I am sure that you tightened the thermocouple nut enough.. right?

#5 is not very likely because if the vapor switch (combustion safety shutoff) activated you would not get the pilot or burner to stay lit for more than a minute or so. If the vapor switch trips... the heater needs to be replaced as we can't replace these. If you need to locate the vapor switch... let me know.

What color are the tips of the flame when the burner is fully ignited? If yellowish, as you probably know, then that is a clear indication that make up air is an issue.

If all these fail to resolve the issue you can always call rheem technical support at
18004328373 and see what they think.

Let us know if you want to discuss more... OK?

MARK

I thought maybe one of you have had to clean the anti-combustion screen, I am sure that is the problem, just haven't had any luck getting it cleaned.

Thanks to all.