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We bought a house ,the the previous home owners ,had installed a new hot water heater. The house is on propane,with a keep full contract with the propane provider. Well some how they missed us and we ran out of propane. After firing everything fired back up ,but the pilot light on the water heater,kept going out. I went out to check on it after it failed to light ,when I saw that the viewing window,had turned white. I shut of the gas and when I removed the burner assembly,I noticed the safety feature had fired and the burner plate was covered in a very heavy soot. Now it had run fine up to the point of running out of propane. Any ideas of the problem? Causes, The burner assembly appears to have over heated,as the gasket was dry and crumbly. Trust this water heater for a rebuild or just get a new one. This was installed,6 months before we bought the place

Last edited by 1Longbow; 02/13/20.
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hanco


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My mistake. I thought you said plumpers.

Carry on.

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Check the Thermocoupler

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and the solenoid rectifier bearings

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Sounds like you need a new water heater.

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What brand of heater,and is there an 800 # on the side?
You may be able to call the manufacturer for a new burner assembly.
Low pressure can soot it up,also is/was there any dirt or debris near it ?
newer models draws combustion air thru a screen on the bottom,if that gets dirty/plugged it can choke it off also.

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Usually it’s the thermocouple, the small copper wire that connects to control valve and runs down to pilot flame. The small bulb that is in the flame is made of two dissimilar metals. When the pilot flame heats the thermocouple it makes millivolts of electricity. That tells control valve pilot flame is there before it turns gas on main burner.

Last edited by hanco; 02/13/20.
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All the soot probably came from it running out.

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Thanks for the answers so far. Its a Rheem ( guess the name saids it all) . I did call the 800 number and they are sending out the new safety switch, I told them about the burner assembly and was told that a plumber would have to look at it. No hot water now for a week,still waiting on the switch. Would the thermo couple cause it to soot up like it did? There was some debris in the burner area .I vacuumed out what I saw. All intake areas are free and clear. Do i have to worry about anymore soot up around the tank where I can't see?Thanks to all of you for your help

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Thermocouple wouldn’t make it soot up. I’m thinking soot built up when it ran out of propane.

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Thermocouple is a likely explanation for the pilot not staying lit but doesn’t do much for the burner over heating and the soot.

Is it a sealed combustion chamber? Check your inlet screens and make sure they aren’t clogged, causing an oxygen starved flame (Soot)

Since your tank ran dry you’ll have a good amount of air in your line before getting gas. With plenty of ventilation I’d bleed your line till you knew it was clear of air.


She never made it past the bedroom door, what was she aiming for...?
She's gone shootin..
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no doubt you will make sure the propane delivery guy has you back on the route. In winter they should be filling monthly, unless it is a large tank.

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Thanks guys ,yes it was a sealed combustion chamber. It looks to me like the unit kinda over heated if that makes sense. There was a silicon ring that the wires and thermocouple went through and it crumbled when i went to look to see what happened. It was about the size of a half dollar.Gasket also fell to pieces also.

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Yeah they haven't missed a refill since. Clerical error we were told

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If that seal and gasket have crumbled away I’d let the tech come and service/replace them.
Don’t try to relight it if those are compromised


She never made it past the bedroom door, what was she aiming for...?
She's gone shootin..
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Soot is formed when it’s oxygen deficient? Lean means no soot.

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Propane pressure ran low when propane tank was empty and it burned like Schidt causing the soot. Clean the soot out of the bottom of the water heater as well as the tube going up through the middle of the water heater tank, you will need to remove the venting on top and remove the baffle in the tube.

After you get all the soot out you can take apart the pilot assembly to check the pilot orifice. Reinstall all parts and relight pilot and test. You can use RTV high temp silicone if you can’t find a gasket but it will be a bitch to get apart next time.

It might be easier to replace the water heater.

Last edited by bubbajay; 02/13/20.
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Originally Posted by bubbajay
Propane pressure ran low when propane tank was empty and it burned like Schidt causing the soot. Clean the soot out of the bottom of the water heater as well as the tube going up through the middle of the water heater tank, you will need to remove the venting on top and remove the baffle in the tube.

After you get all the soot out you can take apart the pilot assembly to check the pilot orifice. Reinstall all parts and relight pilot and test. You can use RTV high temp silicone if you can’t find a gasket but it will be a bitch to get apart next time.

It might be easier to replace the water heater.
Then send the bill to the propane company that failed to fill the tank.


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I bet the soot came from trying to burn all of the crap in the bottom of the tank.

It is some nasty smelly stuff.Sometimes has a yellow color before burning.

Drained the last few gallons out of the Aunts tank and let me tell you that stuff will ruin leather gloves.

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