# Hot Water Heater Blowing Black Smoke



## battalionchief3

As you can see my HW heater was sending smoke signals. I noticed it on the last trip. I really saw all the black residue on the inside of the lid and up the camper. I suspected a problem







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So while camping this weekend I saw they had an on site RV repair man. I asked him a question about the black stuff and he told me to take a wire and clean out the tube, their may be a spider web in their. If that does not work loosen the small nut on the silver tube to allow more air in, its running too rich. Since I once worked on cars I understood that. So I ran a wire in and found no web. Fired up the heater to confirm this. Still blowing some smoke. Very orange flame and it smelled funny. So I shut it off, and slid the adj. collar over to let in some more air. Worked great, flame cleaned up and the smell went away. My wife and inside switch operator said it sounded normal again inside. Saved me a trip to the repair man.


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## CamperAndy

You can safely adjust this while it is running. You should have a clear blue flame. Many people complain when it is set correctly as they say it makes more noise. It also looks like the gas nozzle to the air meter tube is not aligned very well. You may want to adjust (bend) the bracket to line them up better.


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## battalionchief3

Your right they do appear misaglined. I can adjust ( bend ) them a bit. It sounds better then before. It was making a whoose/popping sound when running with a big orange flame. Now it sounds like it did last year and the unburned fuel smell is gone. It does fire right up though. I was unsure if I should adjust it while it was running, thanks for the input.


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## kmcfetters

I'm getting smarter by the day---thanks for the tip!


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## Thor

kmcfetters said:


> I'm getting smarter by the day---thanks for the tip!


x2

Thanks
Thor


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## Txcamper

Wow, glad you solved that one. Thanks for posting those photos.


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## Oregon_Camper

Having hot water makes Mom happy....happy Mom = happy family.

Good work!!


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