Rheem Hot Water Heater Problem ([e-mail])

[thomas]

I've got a one year old Rheem water heater. Apparently, there is a problem involving the amount of air that is entering the sealed combustion chamber. There is sufficient natural gas pressure. No problems with the thermostat, that has been replaced TWICE. The entire burner assembly has been replaced and the system is venting properly. Yet the flame, an orange one, never gets as hot as it should. Since it is a sealed combustion chamber, there is no way to adjust the intake of air. The inlets are not blocked, clogged, or otherwise. The heater is in an open basement, with two feet of open space surrounding it. Two customer service reps at Rheem say that the combustion shutoff device is likely tripped, and if that's the case, the only way to remedy the problem is to replace the unit because the tripped device can not be replaced or repaired. The manager of the technical department says that if the device were tripped, there would be no flame at all. What else could be wrong?

[Speedy Jim]

Just one thought:

Quote: "There is sufficient natural gas pressure"

But has the output pressure of the regulator in the control been measured?

Jim

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Burners are altitude specific. Wonder wrong one is installed?

[Big Al]

I had a water heater with flame problems. Found the center flue through the tank crushed. Not much, but enough that the flame was screwed up. Problem was caused by my water pressure regulator not allowing water to back up into the main. Pressure was excessive. After trying to figure out what was wrong I noticed water dripping from the pipe on the pressure relief outside right after a shower. Figured the pressure had to be very high. Then I removed the flue pipe and tried to pull the twisted metal heat spreader out. It was loose but I could not pull it out. Looked down the center of the tank and saw the problem. Tank was about five years old. I added an expansion tank and that solved the problem.

Al

[sym]

is your intake properly sized?