Ukkram

My gas water heater does not start and as I am new to gas heaters, I have no idea what to do.
When I turn my tap onto hot and full blast, I can hear the clicking sound and the gas flow in the heater but it does not flame up at all.

I presume the clicking sound means the 2 batteries are ok so do not need replacing.

Also, does this unit belong to our utility company EDP or to me? When we moved in here, EDP came to set it up and check for leaks so should I call EDP to fix it or who?

captainflack

Do you have bottled gas or mains? If bottled, are you sure there is gas flowing? It sounds from the clicking sound like the ignitor is working.

Our gas water heater sometimes doesnt fire up because (a) the pilot light goes out, and we have to push a button on the front of the unit (b) the system pressure in our heating system is too low, so we have to fumble round the back for a knob to let a little more water into the system and pressure it up to maybe 2 bar or so again.

Ukkram

We are on mains. Also, we do not have a pilot light as it works with a spark from the batteries and our stove gas is fine. The bathroom and kitchen basin water pressure is strong.

macliam

I doubt that the unit "belongs" to EDP although it might have been bought from/through them - are you renting your accommodation? If so, I'd suggest you contact your landlord.

Other than that, how long ago did EDP come to "set it up"? If within a reasonable period, I'd say call them and see what they have to say. If gas is being released and not ignited, you should be able to smell it, if not then there may be an issue with the pressure sensor - and this may be a warranty issue.

macliam

I doubt that the unit "belongs" to EDP although it might have been bought from/through them - are you renting your accommodation? If so, I'd suggest you contact your landlord.

Other than that, how long ago did EDP come to "set it up"? If within a reasonable period, I'd say call them and see what they have to say. If gas is being released and not ignited, you should be able to smell it, if not then there may be an issue with the pressure sensor.

RichardHenshall

The batteries are probably OK but fresher batteries might still be worth a try. It's possible that the ignition spark is too small/weak or in slightly the wrong place and a stronger spark might overcome the problem. Also, if you can, check for the presence of unexpected foreign objects such as dead spiders etc that can deflect the gas flow away from the spark.

Loafing Along

Could be a water pressure problem, it takes a certain pressure and flow to get the heater to ignite ! Have the problem here, certain times of day when the world and his wife are washing/showering etc etc only get cold flow as boiler does not ignite. The heater probably belongs to you so you need a local technician/EDP technician to check flow.

Ukkram

Got it sorted. There are 2 knobs on the panel. One is for the heat intensity and the other is obscure.
I turned them both back and forth a few times then it worked. It now takes about a minute to start the flame but the temp is still too low to shower although I have the setting at it's highest.
I have no idea what that other knob does but no adjusting increases the temperature. Back to boiling kettles.

Ingles

This knob controls the water flow thru the system.
Problems with Gas Boilers have caused a lot off mortalities , if in doubt get in a professional & don't take a chance ,it's not worth it !

macliam

Yes, that's the normal setup, one knob fine controls the gas supply and therefore the flame height/heat, the other fine controls the amount of water passing through the heat exchanger. Adjusting these allows you to get the best balance and heat level. Getting the settings wrong gives you a low flame trying to heat a lot of water - which isn't likely to be much good in Winter!

Ukkram

Ahh. Now I get it. Thanks guys. That "obscure" knob is set at it's highest so I will turn it down and see if the water gets hotter.

liveaboard

We had a lot of trouble with ours when we first arrived.
When I stripped all the plumbing out of the house, I discovered that there were constrictions in all the unions.
The builder had used galvanized iron unions and they were nearly rusted shut.

I suspect that was the problem, but since I put in a new hot water system we'll never know.

Ukkram

This flat is a relatively new build and modern.
I throttled that strange knob lower but it had no effect on the water volume at all but the flame got smaller.

I then got clever and thought to throttle the water supply tap. This also made the flame smaller.

Seems I'm stuck with the kettle to up my bath temperature in winter. This is a schlep.

RichardHenshall

Might you have the knob functions back-to-front?

Red Eric