Mr.Heater 80K BTU troubleshoot?

[Cruiser787904]

Hi Guys,

I just bought this heater for my shop and got it all hooked up as per their directions. I followed the start up procedure and when I have everything powered up, gas on, and I call for heat everything works as it should except it doesn't fire. This is what it does:

1) Call for heat and inducer motor starts and pulls a draft
2) Igniter starts to click and spark as it should
3) Audible gas valve click, and I can feel it actuate but no gas flows and burners obviously do not fire.
4) It repeats cycle 3 times before going into lock out and circuit board flashes 2 times

I am hoping someone might have a tip or trick to get this up and running although I think I have a bad gas valve. I did convert this unit to propane and set the pressure by bottoming out the pressure adjustment screw and then backing it out 1.5 turns per directions.

I just registered it for warranty, called for service which I got cut off and just created an account with Mr.Heater and logged a ticket. So I am waiting their reply and I am assuming I just have a bad gas valve since everything else checks out.

Any thoughts, tips, tricks? Has anyone else had a bad gas valve out of the box?

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I'm going to guess you have not adequately purged your lines of air.

1. Is this propane or NG?
2. Can you smell gas when it tries to ignite?

If you are purging a a longer length of pipe through your pilot...it will take forever. I won't win any safety awards for this, but i typically loosen a fitting as close to the heater as possible until I can smell gas, then retighten, verify no leaks and proceed from there. If you are at all uncomfortable with this process, call a professional.

 

[D45]

Let it run and purge air for 5 min

Mine took a while to also purge - 80 foot run of 3/4" pipe

 

[Cruiser787904]

I followed the directions on first start up which was to turn the gas on with the gas valve off. Wait 5 minutes and turn gas valve on and call for heat. The length of pipe is about 10 feet but I will try to purge it as you suggested. I am on propane and was wondering if it had something to do with air in the line so I appreciate the heads up.

I don't smell gas at all after the 3 failed attempts but the inducer motor creates a pretty good draft so not sure if it's just getting swept away. Also it has electronic ignition with no pilot.

 

[Cruiser787904]

So I bled the system and it was just more of the same. In researching I saw where some folks needed a low pressure regulator. Apparently running too high of a pressure and the gas valve will not open and have the symptoms I am experiencing.

In looking at my propane tank that services my house and shop it has a red high pressure regulator and one line that goes in the ground making its way through a second low pressure regulator before going into the the house. That one line in the ground is apparently t'd with one off shoot going into my shop with no secondary regulator. I was running a LB White 400 contractor torpedo heater off that supply with no issue and assumed I would be good. I found a low pressure regulator that I will be putting in-line of the service to the heater itself which should remedy my issue.

Before I pick up the regulator at Menards does this sound right to you guys? I have seen where some people didn't need a regulator but I assume that because they had a 2 stage regulator on their tank or they were heating an attached garage that was alredy regulated down for appliances.

Thoughts?

 

[Showkey]

Do you own the tank ????
If it’s a leased tank.........your not suppose to f*** with it .........a least according to the ( most) contracts.

Absolutely you must to pressure check at the furnace.

 

[Cruiser787904]

I own the tank but that is a moot point in my situation. The regulator I am using goes in line with the service in my shop that was run when the house was built.

I just inspected the tank to make sure I knew what I had and quickly realized the feed into my shop was governed by the high pressure regulator on the tank and nothing else. IE I need a regulator for my heater to operate appropriately.

I updated the post above for clarity.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

The answer to your questions are in the manual to your appliance.

What is the required pressure?

How much pressure are you feeding it?

The answer to the first question is going to be inches of water column (like 8-14 or something like that).

If you have higher pressure than that, it will lock out. It can cause damage to the appliance. It's a safety issue.

Phil

 

[Cruiser787904]

Thanks Hoosier and I completely agree. I made an assumption that the service coming into my shop was down regulated since I was replacing an existing heater so it had me scratching my head.

I just added a regulator and swapped the gas valve as a precaution and it fired up first try!

Stuck my manometer on it and I am at 11" WC at the manifold which is in spec of where it needs to be... Lesson learned don't assume the service is down regulated just because it was powering an existing appliance/heater.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Thanks Hoosier and I completely agree. I made an assumption that the service coming into my shop was down regulated since I was replacing an existing heater so it had me scratching my head.

I just added a regulator and swapped the gas valve as a precaution and it fired up first try!

Stuck my manometer on it and I am at 11" WC at the manifold which is in spec of where it needs to be... Lesson learned don't assume the service is down regulated just because it was powering an existing appliance/heater.

Good deal. Glad you got it working. Sounds like you should be good-to-go.

 

[spudley]

I was going to suggest the manometer route vs the 1.5 turns out crapshoot. But you've cracked the caper. Carry on!