Bradford White Water Heater Not Heating. Unlike common household appliances like dishwashers and washing machines, a hot water heater in your home is used on a daily basis.
Making sure you have enough warm water readily available for all of your everyday tasks including dishes, showering, laundry, and bathing is key to the success of your family.
In fact, the most common problems with the water heater in your home arise due to the fact that it’s an essential fixture when it comes to everyday living.
If your hot water heater isn’t working properly, we’ve put together a checklist for tackling common issues along with how to fix them yourself.
Bradford White Water Heater Not Heating
This article discusses some problems with Bradford white water heaters when they don’t heat up.
Issue With Pressure Switch
The water heater comes complete with a pressure switch which operates when the appropriate level of heat has been reached to ignite the burner.
Once the switch has closed, power from the control board is activated and redirected to light the unit’s burners.
If this doesn’t occur, then there must be a problem with the water heater’s pressure switch.
Problem With Igniter
In order to light the pilot, an igniter is used. In order for the main burner to ignite, the gas valve will open when the pilot is sufficiently heated, and this process will continue while the main burner is igniting.
A faulty igniter or an absence of an ignition source such as a non-functioning spark plug will result in the flame not lighting, thus stalling the ignition process.
Error In Ignition Module
It is necessary for the burner to be powered by the ignition module. The ignition of the burners is made possible by the use of a sparker or igniter.
The ignition module should not be defective in order for the burners to be able to ignite.
This can be checked using a multi-meter to determine the continuity of the ignition module. Make sure that power is getting to the ignition module as opposed to just one side. Replace if found faulty.
Motors For Draft Inducers
It draws air into the burner and then exhausts that air through the flue when the draft inducer fan motor is running.
As the air flows through the draft inducer assembly, it helps make a vacuum switch close that signals proper airflow is in place.
If your heater’s fan stops working, you will know there’s an issue. Over time, corrosion builds up around the bearings of a fan motor.
When this happens, the motor won’t be able to close off a vacuum port properly – so if this is what’s keeping your water heater from producing heat, it may be time to replace its motor.
Defective Pilot
If the pilot of a gas water heater fails to ignite, the gas supply stays off.
The hot water unit can sometimes malfunction due to carbon deposits building up on the pilot. This prevents gas flow from entering the unit.
A stiff brush or compressed air can be used to remove and clean the pilot burner.
If it does not function well enough to ignite, replace it with a new one so you can be confident that your hot water system will heat to an operational temperature.
Thermostat And Gas Valve Assembly
The gas valve gives the power to turn on the burner, which makes it light. If the gas valve isn’t working correctly and give out any sort of signal, then the burner will not light and you won’t be able to heat up your water.
Checking first if the ignition source is faulty can prevent this from happening. It is easiest to fix this by checking whether there is pressure in the supply line.
Turn on all sources of water heaters so we can stop guessing whether or not this has caused damage in a place where we cannot see unless something happens and causes more trouble than it already is.
Related Guides
