Another Carver 3600STC ignition problem

[Frankus]

Hi All,

I k ow there has been lots of discussions in the past regarding issues with the carver 3600 gas heater not igniting but I can find any of thread with a potential answer to my question.

I have a project caravan I’ve been working on for the last 7months and have got most things working myself. It has a carver fanmaster and gas heater and with Gary ‘s (arcsystems) guidance, I managed to get the fanmaster electric heater to work. I however can’t get the gas heater in the carver 3600 to ignite… the same issue most people have raised before ie I turn the control knob to the ignition point, red light comes on the control knob and the clicking noise comes on, I press the control rod down and hold it there for a min or so but it doesn’t ignite. I know it hasn’t had a service yet but before I get it serviced, wanted to do some basic checks & maintenance myself first like cleaning it out. When the ignition is clicking, I don’t see any sparks. Should I be seeing a spark? I have attached a picture of where I think I should be at least seeing a spark. Does anyone see anything glaring wrong like the rod is in the wrong place or something? Thanks for reading

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Frankus, and welcome to the forum

I don't know how you have include the picture, but it doesn't appear to work like most pictures in the forum, so I'm not sure if it is showing everything you meant it to.

Initial points
It's not dangerous but the galvanised metal bracket in the middle and at the front with the copper sealed tube in it, should have the bottom right hand tab pushed through the slot in the floor plate to secure it correctly. The fact its not installed correctly suggests this heater has been dismantled at some time in its past, and not correctly reassembled.

This raises the possibility that other things may not be exactly as they should be.

The corrosion I can see on the heat exchanger suggests its not been used for some time. this could mean insects have got into the air intake of the heater and may be corrupting the air or gas flows. this indicates a service will be necessary . For your safety the removal dismantling, repair and replacement of a gas a appliance in should only be carried out by a competent fitter.

However as you can hear ticking, then that at least means the sparke generator is working.

Just on the left hand edge of the picture you can see half of the mica window. Do not remove the mica window unless you have a replacement and fibre gasket. This is a viewing port in which you should see the flame when it's burning, but you have to be at just the right angle with your tongue between your teeth and you may be lucky enough to see the ignition spark. It's not always possible to see it.

Do you have gas available? It's convention for there to be a gas isolation valve for each appliance. These are may be single inline valves or a strip with feeds to each appliance, in a nearby cupboard or bed locker, is the one for the heater turned on?

 

[Frankus]

Hello Frankus, and welcome to the forum

I don't know how you have include the picture, but it doesn't appear to work like most pictures in the forum, so I'm not sure if it is showing everything you meant it to.

Initial points
It's not dangerous but the galvanised metal bracket in the middle and at the front with the copper sealed tube in it, should have the bottom right hand tab pushed through the slot in the floor plate to secure it correctly. The fact its not installed correctly suggests this heater has been dismantled at some time in its past, and not correctly reassembled.

This raises the possibility that other things may not be exactly as they should be.

The corrosion I can see on the heat exchanger suggests its not been used for some time. this could mean insects have got into the air intake of the heater and may be corrupting the air or gas flows. this indicates a service will be necessary . For your safety the removal dismantling, repair and replacement of a gas a appliance in should only be carried out by a competent fitter.

However as you can hear ticking, then that at least means the sparke generator is working.

Just on the left hand edge of the picture you can see half of the mica window. Do not remove the mica window unless you have a replacement and fibre gasket. This is a viewing port in which you should see the flame when it's burning, but you have to be at just the right angle with your tongue between your teeth and you may be lucky enough to see the ignition spark. It's not always possible to see it.

Do you have gas available? It's convention for there to be a gas isolation valve for each appliance. These are may be single inline valves or a strip with feeds to each appliance, in a nearby cupboard or bed locker, is the one for the heater turned on?

Hi. Thanks very much for this info.
1. It goes to show how much of a novice I am, I was looking at the copper end tube for the spark! Now that you’ve guided me and after cleaning the mica window (I thought it was just a random plate before) I can make out the sparks through the window
2. Checked the cut-off valve and it’s definitely in the open position and as I am getting gas through to the stove and can also fire up the fridge using gas, I know there is still gas in the bottle
3. I can only now assume it needs a service to give it a good clean and you are right, I don’t think it’s been used for years. Now to find someone local to service it. Should any gas approved person be able to service it or does it need a gas engineer who knows about this type of gas heater?

Thanks again