12
6. Faulty thermocouple (part #8747202083) or
electromagnet ) Unless these 2 parts are at least 8
to10yearsold,itisveryunlikely that they are faulty.
Before testing, reconfirm that #2 is absolutely
correct, and that all connections are clean and
tight.
Totestthe thermocouple,disconnectthethermocouplelead
totheECO.Insertamulti-meterprobeintothethermocouple
lead and attach or hold the other lead to the metal gas
valve(DC common). Lightthe pilot flameand hold button,
meterreading should be24 mVDC or more. Ifthe reading
is24 mVDC or morethe thermocouple isgood.Totest the
electromagnet, re-connect the thermocouple lead to the
ECO, light pilot and hold button while taking a reading
between the ECO leads and the metal gas valve (DC
common).The reading shoulddrop to 19 mVDCor less. If
it does not, replace the electromagnet.
BURNERS DO NOT IGNITE WHEN HOT WATER IS
TURNEDON
1. Pilot is not on.
Light the pilot. See lighting instructions.
2. Gas valve buttonnotpositionedonBurnerPosition
Be sure pilot flame is on. Slide gas valve control to burner
position ( ).
3. Cold incoming water connection made to wrong
side of heater
Make sure cold water inlet connection is on the right side
ofheaterwhen you are facingheater.
4. Water flow rate at hot water tap is too low.
Note:Whentheflowcontrolisturnedall thewayclockwise,
the AquaStar models 125B require 1/2 gallon per minute
flowtoactivatethe burners. This is aflowwhichwould fill a
quart jar in 30 seconds. If the flow control knob is turned
fullycounterclockwise,aflow rate of 1.1gpmisrequired to
activatetheburners.
5. Cold water inlet filter on heater is dirty.
Removefilter and clean. Thisscreen filter islocated at the
inletsideofthe brass water valve (fig.12,#28).Checkand
cleanfaucet aerators too.
6. Crossover in household plumbing
TheAquaStarburneractivateswhen thereissufficientwater
pressuredropintheAquaStarwatervalveassembly—i.e.
whenahotwaterfaucetisopened.Ifthereisacrossoverin
theplumbing,thenecessarypressuredropintheAquaStar
will be insufficient, or totally eliminated. A plumbing
crossovercanbecausedby a bad washer at asinglelever
faucet or incorrect plumbing or a mixing valve in the line,
etc. which permits hot and cold water to mix in the
plumbing.Thecrossoverwill create a backpressureinthe
system preventing the pressure drop in the Aquastar —
i.e.cold water is enteringthe water heaterfrom both sides
and the burners will not come on. To confirm there is no
crossoverintheplumbing,shutoffthe cold water supply to
theAquaStar. Open yourhot water taps.There should not
be any water flowing. If there is water flowing, there is a
crossoverintheplumbing. This is a plumbingproblem,not
anAquastarproblem.Please contact your plumber.
Although the filters can lengthen the cleaning intervals,
they can never completely prevent such clogging. In
consequence the gas jet issuing from the pilot orifice is
reduced and or the air mixture is reduced. The pilot flame
is weak and thus can no longer heat the thermocouple
sufficiently. For cleaning purposes, the air filter screen is
pulled off, washed and blown out. The pilot orifice has
likewiseto becleaned orexchanged.
4. Air in the Gas Line
Note: Normally this is a problem only at the time of initial
installation, after the pipes have been worked on, or after
a propane tank has been allowed to empty, or after the
heater has been shut down for a long time.
Bleed all the air trapped in the gas line. Because of the
very small pilot orifice (especially on LP gas models),
bleeding out all the air could take several minutes. Slide
thegas valve button to pilotposition ( ) anddepress this
buttonuntilalltheairhasescaped,and the gashasarrived.
Duringthisprocess, press repeatedly onthepiezo ignition
button until the pilot flame has ignited.
PILOT LIGHTS BUT FLAME GOES OUT WHEN
BUTTON IS RELEASED
1. Pilot push button was not pushed in far enough or
was not held in long enough
Once pilot flame has been lighted. Hold button pushed in
for at least 15 seconds to give time for the pilot flame to
properly heat the tip of the thermocouple.
2. Pilot flame improperly aimed or is too weak so it is
not properly heating the tip of the thermocouple.
The Pilot flame should be a sharp blue flame and aimed
at the tip of the thermocouple so that it envelops 10 mm
(3/8“)ofthethermocoupletip.Pilotflamehastobe properly
aimed at the thermocouple. See Fig 9.
3. Poor thermocouple connection at the
electromagnet
Note: Electromagnet is part #8707201012 located on the
right side of the gas valve behind the piezo push-button
assembly. Check the tightness of the thermocouple
connectionnut at theelectromagnet: The Electro-magnet
connection is a large aluminum 17mm hex head nut. The
thermocouple end is a 5 mm brass nut which screws into
the 17 mm nut. Tighten the thermocouple nut snugly but
not too tight.
4. Poor circuit connections at the ECO. (Energy Cut-
Off overheat protection)
Oxidation or looseness of the ECO terminal connections
canresultinmillivoltcurrentlossthroughthethermocouple
safetycircuit. Clean terminals withvery fine sandpaperor
an eraser and reconnect ECO leads.
5. Faulty ECO (part #8707206040)
If cleaning the terminals attached to the ECO did not fix
the problem,connectajumperwirebetweenthetwowires
and try to relight the pilot. If the pilot flame now remains
on, replace the ECO. If the flame still goes out when the
button is released, the ECO is not defective. Go to next
step.