Tanklets: Power-vent water heater issues

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Q: I found this when I googled my model number. It is the same problem i'm having. I could not see if anyone replied to him. "I have a Bradford White power direct vent water heater, mo. # MITW50L6LN10. There is a green led light which comes on and off intermitently,it seems to be tied in with the EOC sensor? Anyway, the burner will ingnite and run for a few seconds, then shut off. The exaust blower is constantly running. Could it be the EOC or the (mother board). Any ideas?"

A: The flashing light is a code for diagnosis of a problem. One flash means one thing, two flashes mean another, etc. The manufacturer should be able to forward you information on this diagnosis if you have misplaced your owner's manual. Be sure your water heater is not supplied by a GFCI receptacle; a GFCI could be a problem in itself. -- David

Q: I have a power-vent water heater by the American Water Heater Co. Cold air pours in through the vent pipe and comes out the air intake of the fan. I had a 45 degree pvc fitting at end of pipe , I then changed it to a tee but I still see little difference in the amount of cold air entering. If I had known what a ineffiecnt heater this was I would have purchased a electric. Is there any remedy to this. Is there an add on kit that will fix this and yet not confuse my water heater into shutting down.

A: Our knowledge of power-vent heaters is somewhat limited. I think you ought to call American and ask them for a solution. -- Randy

A1: This may not be a heater problem at all. If cold air is coming in the vent all the time, than air must be leaking (or being blown) out of the house somewhere else. Are upstairs windows always open? Is an exhaust fan running? If you can isolate the heater from the rest of the house, do so and see if that changes things,: Another possibility is that it's wind driven. If so, the vent termination may need to be moved to above roof line. Lastly, perhaps American knows of a damper that can be safely put in the line to prevent back draft. -- Larry

Q1: I called American they suggested the tee but it isn't much better. (12/9/07)

Q: I have installed a new Rheem heater in place of my old Ruud heater. It fit perfectly with no mods, gas pressure the same, plastic vent pipe lined right up, worked great for six months,now won't light up.The fan blows for two minutes and shuts off. The LED flashes three times, then three seconds pass, then flashes two times. Code chart indicates lockout condition, fvd interface failure/miswired. I checked wiring on flammable vapor detector. OK, this thing has got me baffled! Any help?

A: Actually, we don't have much to offer, since we see very few power-vent heaters here. Best talk to Rheem tech support tomorrow. -- Randy

A1: If the WH is supplied by a GFCI receptacle, run a drop cord and connect the WH to a non-GFCI receptacle. I have seen error codes flash on a WH before. When the WH was connected to a non-CFCI receptacle the problem went away. So the problem was the receptacle, not the WH. -- David (9/16/07)

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