April 29, 2008
Posted by bgkentucky

( 1 rating )

I think the "fuse" you are talking about that blows is actually the Thermal Cut-Off. The Thermal Cut-Off is a one shot heat sensing fuse that’s normally closed and sends power to the thermostat. It is tripped by excessive heat (190°F), (i.e. blocked burner or flue tube) and cuts power to the circuit board and shuts down ignition. CHECK THE CLEANLINESS OF THE FLUE TUBE. The flue tube is the 2-1/2 inch diameter tube that starts at the bottom right corner of the water heater (where the main burner flame enters) and comes out the top left. This tube can become blocked by debris like insect nests or soot. To clean remove the metal flue box in the top left corner of the water heater. To facilitate cleaning unfold a wire hanger, wrap a rag around the end and use this to swab out the tube. I hope this helps ~ Giovanni

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May 09, 2008
Posted by coloradopete

( 0 ratings )

bgkentucky is right on. My experience with Atwood WH several years ago: the burner tube became blocked with a very thick spider web or nest which caused the gas/flame to shoot upward rather than flowing through the flue tube. The insulation on some of the wires was scorched pretty bad but the wires still functioned OK. It seems that some spiders are attracted to the smell of propane, or so I've been told. I removed the nest from the burner tube and the heater worked fine. BTW, this was before Atwood began installing the fuse component on the probe conductor. This feature is a definate safety improvement.

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