Troubleshooting guide
Suburban water heater soot, gas smell, flame, or combustion service boundary
Use this when a Suburban tank or on-demand water heater has soot, gas odor, blocked venting, flame concern, delayed ignition, or suspected combustion trouble.
Use this atlas to identify likely meaning and prepare for service. Shut off power, LP gas, fuel, or water when a listed appliance condition involves flame, gas smell, exhaust, generator shutdown, high temperature, moving jacks/slides, refrigerant, 120 VAC, control boards, repeated ignition failure, or a persistent lockout. Call the appliance maker, RV dealer, or a qualified RV technician for repair.
Owner-safe checklist
- Evacuate people from the RV and avoid ignition sources if gas odor is present.
- Shut off LP at the source only if it is safe to do so.
- Turn the water heater off if soot, blocked venting, delayed ignition, abnormal flame evidence, or water intrusion is present.
- Do not operate the water heater again until a dealer, gas supplier, or qualified service person corrects the condition.