Hi all. I have had trouble with this heater from day one. I finally got it fixed by replacing the gas regulator valve in the spring. Now, the heater shut off, and when I removed the lower manifold bolt, gallons of water came flowing out. I know that this means the heat exchanger is likely corroded and has failed, but my question to the experts here is - could it be the manifold gasket and one of the 12 o-rings? If it's not likely to be the gasket or o-rings then I will just dump the heater and replace it (good riddance). But before I give up one time, I'd like to know if anyone knows if the leaking can be caused by these faulty o-rings. From the looks of the parts diagrams, it definitely looks possible.
I did empty the water out of the can and fired it back up again and it worked and ran. After about 20-30 minutes, I went back and I removed the lower manifold bolt again, and no water came out, which I found odd. I would have figured if it was leaking then it would have continued to leak again. Maybe it's a very, very small pin-hole leak and it just took a while to fill up the can? When I was working on it in the spring, I removed the bottom bolt, and only a very small trickle of water came out.
What do you guys think? I know the stock answer is to replace the dang thing with a Jandy JXI or something like that, but I've spent about 20+ hours of my own time working on this thing and I don't want to give in just yet!
Thanks,
Wayne
I did empty the water out of the can and fired it back up again and it worked and ran. After about 20-30 minutes, I went back and I removed the lower manifold bolt again, and no water came out, which I found odd. I would have figured if it was leaking then it would have continued to leak again. Maybe it's a very, very small pin-hole leak and it just took a while to fill up the can? When I was working on it in the spring, I removed the bottom bolt, and only a very small trickle of water came out.
What do you guys think? I know the stock answer is to replace the dang thing with a Jandy JXI or something like that, but I've spent about 20+ hours of my own time working on this thing and I don't want to give in just yet!
Thanks,
Wayne