Gas Hot water heater

[Restll]

Me again. I just purchased this used mobile home, and I find that there is lots of air coming down the cylinder to the hot water heater and won't allow me to light it, and if the wind is not blowing, it lights but seems to go out daily. I don't know if something is broken on top of the roof, or if the swamp cooler is blowing down this cylinder. Can anyone advise what is wrong and how to repair.
thanks again
Rebecca

[HayZee518]

When you light the pilot you generate a little heat that by convection is supposed to go up the stack. At the top of the heater where the stack connects to the top is a series of openings that admit room air to excentuate this upward flow and cools the stack a bit. On the roof if there is no cap, with wind blowing, there could be air going back down the stack [called back-draft] which blows out the pilot. Does the stack just go straight up through the roof and is it open? Like I said put a roof cap on the stack or use a short piece of galvanized and two ninety degree elbows and make an upside down "U". Air going past this upside down "U" will not create a siphon to blast out your pilot but will allow heat to escape.