Cooper
New Member
Hi Gurus:
I have a Flamelock water heater that is almost 3 years old ....no, don't hang up !!
I came to this forum to try to solve the problem myself (thanks very much everyone - a great site!). I thought I had a good brand with Whirlpool after my previous A.O. Smith dip-tube fiasco, but now know its the same Mexican-made junk. However, I think it is a different problem than is described on the other posts.
The Flamelock puts out very hot water, sometimes. For example, yesterdays experience:
9am Took cool shower, went to water heater and it wasn't heating. Attempted to adjust thermostat in case it was sticking - no response even when turning it all the way up. Put it back at 75% and walked away. Heater ignited and ran for 3 mins, then shut off. Water still cool.
noon Returned home - water very hot, ran dishwasher.
2PMChecked water, expecting it to be cold after dishwasher ran, but it was hot within 45 mins.
Last night I read all the posts then vacuumed the screen underneath; it didn't seem to be very dirty at all (in garage). I used air compressor to lightly blow into the screen to make sure the inside wasn't obstructed.
This morning, 7 am, wife took nice hot shower (Thankfully). I checked heater and it wasn't heating. I took a cold one 3 hours later and it still isn't coming on.
My questions:
1) In the other posts, I get the idea that the thermocouple problem mentioned is the 180 degree permanent fuse function and the water heater is dead until it is replaced. Is that correct?
2) What is the deal with my heater? Am I on the right track with suspecting the thermostat?
3) Could a lime build-up cause this, even though the heater is less than 3, and I have a softener? Is it possible that the lime could be so hot as to tell the thermostat its plenty hot - when the thermostat is set at max and the water coming out is cold? I thought that would explain why it is hot 6 hours later (water temp equalizes with lime), but it doesn't explain the normal recovery yesterday. I haven't drained it because I am afraid of the cheap plastic drain valve breaking.
4) I have the settlement form and don't think I need any of the thermocouple options. Should I get the "free manifold door"?
5) What do you recommend to fix this problem?
Thank you very much for bearing with me on the length of this post- I just wanted to give enough detail to solve the problem.
David
I have a Flamelock water heater that is almost 3 years old ....no, don't hang up !!
I came to this forum to try to solve the problem myself (thanks very much everyone - a great site!). I thought I had a good brand with Whirlpool after my previous A.O. Smith dip-tube fiasco, but now know its the same Mexican-made junk. However, I think it is a different problem than is described on the other posts.
The Flamelock puts out very hot water, sometimes. For example, yesterdays experience:
9am Took cool shower, went to water heater and it wasn't heating. Attempted to adjust thermostat in case it was sticking - no response even when turning it all the way up. Put it back at 75% and walked away. Heater ignited and ran for 3 mins, then shut off. Water still cool.
noon Returned home - water very hot, ran dishwasher.
2PMChecked water, expecting it to be cold after dishwasher ran, but it was hot within 45 mins.
Last night I read all the posts then vacuumed the screen underneath; it didn't seem to be very dirty at all (in garage). I used air compressor to lightly blow into the screen to make sure the inside wasn't obstructed.
This morning, 7 am, wife took nice hot shower (Thankfully). I checked heater and it wasn't heating. I took a cold one 3 hours later and it still isn't coming on.
My questions:
1) In the other posts, I get the idea that the thermocouple problem mentioned is the 180 degree permanent fuse function and the water heater is dead until it is replaced. Is that correct?
2) What is the deal with my heater? Am I on the right track with suspecting the thermostat?
3) Could a lime build-up cause this, even though the heater is less than 3, and I have a softener? Is it possible that the lime could be so hot as to tell the thermostat its plenty hot - when the thermostat is set at max and the water coming out is cold? I thought that would explain why it is hot 6 hours later (water temp equalizes with lime), but it doesn't explain the normal recovery yesterday. I haven't drained it because I am afraid of the cheap plastic drain valve breaking.
4) I have the settlement form and don't think I need any of the thermocouple options. Should I get the "free manifold door"?
5) What do you recommend to fix this problem?
Thank you very much for bearing with me on the length of this post- I just wanted to give enough detail to solve the problem.
David