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Rheem gas storage HWS flame rollouts

983 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Tango 
#1 ·
Most flame rollouts are due to blocked flues but not this one. Standard request of "re-light my HWS please" It's 3 degrees this Melb morning and I light the pilot and wait 30 seconds turn SIT Controller to No 4, main burner lights no problem. I hang about for 10 mins and burner starts spluttering and running rough and then the access door at bottom explodes off followed by a metre long flame roll out. The gas fed fire is raging around heater door opening melting plastic surround of drain cock and SIT Control box...I kill the gas supply quickly. I pull burner and pilot assembly out and check the tinny pressed metal main burner,,it's full of water because there's a pinhole leak in inbuilt flue pipe up the centre of main burner. It doesn't leak when unit is cold..only when heating as hole expands. Once burner is full of water the gas can't burn as it should around burner;s edge but it fills every nook and cranny of heater cavity under cylinder and it's ignited by the pilot which is unaffected by the small leak. Rheem dismissed my concerns stating never heard of it b4. Gas Safety authorities referred me back to manufacturer, I emailed Master Plumbers and await response, The fault is in cheap burner design as it's dished and has 4 x10mm holes that feed water straight into main burner and 2 tiny and I mean tiny drain holes that block up with dust and can;t stop water filling entire main burner up. If the 4 holes in burner ring have to be there then they should be higher than outer edge of burner to prevent water entry. There are 1000s of these burners in use now but it only takes the stars to align the wrong way and you have a house fire. Just because these set of circumstances are rare it doesn't mean it won't happen again. If I had not hung about for 10 mins after lighting the hottie...the house would be gone now.:sad2::sad2:
 
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#2 ·
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#4 ·
Looks like you are mad scientist tinkerer. Typing something at 2 in the morning says a lot.

Since anything we type here you'll probably bring it to the UN as a global threat and ask a coalition force.

This one is going to be closed right now.
 
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