[VAC] water heater problem... maybe

["Tim Shephard" <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

We went camping for three nights and used the water heater.  The first night
it worked great.

The next day we left for some outings so I turned the water off at the
spigot to be safe.  Of course I turned the water heater off first.

When we returned I turned the water on, then lit the water heater.  It
started as normal.  However, when the burner stopped there was no hot water.
Then the burner would cycle on again, and still no hot water.   The burner
kept cycling on and off every ten minutes or so, but no hot water.

So, I turned the thermostat all the way to HOT and let it run.  It ran for
about an hour, then we had water that was too hot!  So, I backed it back to
WARM and it worked fine from then on.  The next night it worked fine.

Any ideas what was happening?  Is it headed for failure?

I think it's a Bowen and it is in my '71 Safari.


-Tim
tim@telecom-pros.com
http://www.telecom-pros.com/tim/tim
eFax (508) 590-0302