5 replies to this topic

[Dan Webster]

The Williams wall heater uses low voltage thermostat mounted on wall. If that thermostat has no continuity get another one. The heater uses a 120 to 24 volt ac transformer to power that  gas operator on the combination gas valve. It is called a combination gas valve because it combines a gas operator( to open the burner gas thermistatically) and a pressure regulator to bring down the meter pressure to specific pressure to allow for the rest of the gas appliances in the house to function properly. The transformer is located up near the top of heater where the power cord comes in. If it is bad then the heat will not come on. Remove the 2 wires on the gas valve operator and check them for 24 volts output. Never touch the 2 wires together to check for power as this will fry the heat anticipator on the wall thermostat and ruin it. Check the 2 terminals on the gas valve for continuity. If they are open the gas valve will not work(the pilot will, but not the main gas). The gas valve has a thermocouple whichs holds open the gas when the pilot is lit. The thermocouple has a ceramic fuse mounted in series which kills the thermocouple and shuts down the gas, when the heater gets too hot. The burner must be wire brushed cleaned well to prevent uneven combustion. The heat exchanger must be clean of cobwebs and rust. The chimney stack must be clear. If not, the heater fuse will shut down. The burner will fire off but the fan does not come on right away. The fan klixon mounted midways up the heat exchanger under the front cover will turn the fan on as soon as the heat exchanger is properly warmed. Another 3 wire klixon controls high and low speeds. A third one is a high limit which shuts down the heater if that fan won't come on. The heater is pretty easy to work on. The burner assembly is removable for bench testing and repairs. The gas valve will need replacing sooner or later and you can damage the burner if you are not careful. I put the valve in a vice and turn the burner near where it screws into the valve. The fan blade will tend to rattle and this can be fixed by peening the hub. I remove the fan blade and set it on a 1/2 inch shaft, using a ballpeen hammer and blount nose chisel.  I dimple the hub all around the shaft to tighten it up. Hey it saves 50 bucks. I also oil the motor with Hi temp oil. I use zoom spout turbine oil. The pilot on these heaters is mounted on the cast iron burner so that when heat is called for the flame will quickly ignite the burner.
To light this heater: Move the knob to the "PILOT" position. Press down on the gas knob and light the pilot. Hold down on the button until the pilot stays lit with the button released. Move the knob to the "ON" position. If the wall thermistat is in the on position then the burner should light off. After a minute or so the fan should kick in. When the wall thermostat is satisfied the burner will shut down but the fan will continue to blow until the heat in the exchanger drops.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

That's a handy little troubleshooting guide for this heater, applianceman. Domo for posting it!

[LtSiver]

I have one of these that heats my whole home. It is now getting very old (I think it is almost 30-35 years old), and the fan only ever turns on low, and cycles between low and off while the furnace is operating. About 10 years ago, the furnace would kick on, the fan would go to low, then to high, and stay high until a few minutes after the burner kicked off, then it would switch to low, then off. The only service that has been done on it is I replaced the fan motor (it had failed), and I have replaced the motor vibration dampener mounts. I have also cleaned the heat exchanger of dust (what I can get at of it). It's getting to the point now that the furnace no longer is sufficient to heat the home, and I am wondering if the heat exchanger is just wearing out. What is your opinion?

[Dan Webster]

It is a strong possibility but these heaters are tough. Unless you have a leak in the heat exchanger I would keep it for a back up anyway.

[LtSiver]

What's the best way to clean the exchanger? Previously I had used a vacuum with a dust brush attachment to clean it. Should I wipe it down with dry towels, or wet towels, or soap and water? I'm leery of using water due to rust, and even more leery of using soap as it can leave residue on the exchanger... I have used a furnace filter (14x25x1) held on with magnets to cut down on the amount of dust that is allowed into the heat exchanger area, but I know full well that some dust will still get in it.

[Dan Webster]

They make these long flue brushes for heat exchangers and for dryers too. Use one of those to clean out the flue.
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Edited by applianceman18007260692, 04 January 2011 - 01:51 PM.