Rheem 21vp75E-1 water heater will not light

Brendan1989

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• May 3, 2013

• #1

Two weeks ago I got 3 feet of water in my basement due to flooding. I got my direct vent water heater working after about 3 days of drying out. The WH worked for about 10 days. This morning my daughter told me that there's no hot water. The fan motor is running but there is no flame. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Cacher_Chick

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• May 3, 2013

• #2

When the controls of a gas appliance have been submerged, they should no longer be considered safe for reuse. If you have any insurance, they will often pay a damage claim for your loss.

 

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Jadnashua

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• May 3, 2013

• #3

It may have taken awhile for that moisture to migrate into the working parts, and they're now rusted or corroded. As said, there are no gas-fired valves that are considered safe after they've been submerged - the valve, if not the tank, should be considered a flood loss.

 

Brendan1989

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• May 3, 2013

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It is not covered by insurance--I checked. FEMA has not made a final decision if they will provide some relief. I unplugged the unit for about 3 hours and plugged it back in and it fired up.

 

DonL

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• May 3, 2013

• #5

Brendan1989 said:

It is not covered by insurance--I checked. FEMA has not made a final decision if they will provide some relief. I unplugged the unit for about 3 hours and plugged it back in and it fired up.

Click to expand...

That does not mean that it is safe. If it stops again then it is hosed, for the long run.

Please do not blow yourself or your family up, just because FEMA will not pay for it.


Good Luck.

 

Gary Swart

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• May 3, 2013

• #6

Covered by insurance, FEMA, or anything else is moot. There is NO WAY it can be ever be made safe for use.

 

Jadnashua

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• May 3, 2013

• #7

FWIW, assuming you have a gas furnace, it may be toast as well...I'll say it again, NO residential gas fired appliance is considered safe if it has been submerged.

 

Brendan1989

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• May 7, 2013

• #8

I got it working. The control board and the air flow switch are now new. Honeywell does not make the identical control board so I brought their universal replacement control board. I then cleaned the igniter with a wire brush. Thanks to everyone who was so encouraging about the ability to reuse this water heater...stay green...