Water Heater Flame

[MN Xplant]

Hi All,
We have a 2012 Keystone Passport 2650bh and have taken it out camping and to cabins about 6x now. The last time we took it out was to my in-laws cabin and had to run the fridge on gas all the time because my father-in-law is pretty much the cheapest man on earth.

Anyway, we're camping at a campground now and I'm noticing that the burner flame that turns on when the water heater goes off is yellow and produces black smoke. There is enough black smoke that the furnace cover is starting to turn black inside and outside.

My 3 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter are on the bunk beds just next to the burner and very worried about the flame. We had a pop up before this and I remember the flame to be blue and no smoke. It just seems to me that the burner is not operating right and there is an issue there. We grilled earlier and used the outdoor grill and it worked fine so I know the propane tank is fine.

Any help or advice any one of you can provide will be appreciated.

[golfpro]

there is an adjusting section to the main feeder tube, loosen the screw and adjust the flame. if you don't know how to do, find a dealer who can help you. propane is nothing to fool with.

[Terrydactile]

A yellow flame and sooting indicate an incorrect air to gas mix ratio. This can be caused by a number of things including...air/gas mix needs to be adjusted, something such as a spider/web is blocking the mixing chamber/tube, a malfunctioning gas valve, low gas pressure. First thing to do is to check for debris blocking the air mixer/tube. Blow this out with compressed air. Then check to be sure the air mixing tube is adjusted properly. If you do not know how to do the adjustment you may leave this to your dealer. Basically you loosen the screw and slide the thing over one way or another to adjust the amount or air.

[rjsurfer]

Had a similar problem, turned out to be a bug in the orifice

Had it not been that I don't know what I could have done, my burner tube has no air adjustment.

Ron W.

[therink]

Most rv supply stores sell a small wired brush (a mini pipe snake) to clean out the burner tube. All it takes is a tiny cobweb to mess up the air/gas mixture. If this is your problem, it is an easy fix.
Steve

[MN Xplant]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was able to talk to the dealer on Fri and they think that I need to blow off the line with air compressor and clean up that area. So most of your suggestions are probably correct. I'll try cleaning it up once we get back home after camping. Fortunately, the hot water heater works on electric as well. Maybe this should be part of our regular maintenance / spring cleaning.