SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20210729-D386B-2147361516. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: GE SmartWater Heater GP40T6A (40 gallon propane tall upright hot water heater assembled in Mexico). Incident: A GE SmartWater Heater propane hot water heater caught on fire. I smelled a gas leak and checked all the fittings with soapy water but none of them showed a leak. Later in the day I returned to find the adjusting dial on the Robert Shaw gas valve on fire. It had melted onto the floor. This unit was providing hot water to our rental house. The problem with the internal leak at the Robert Shaw gas valve of the hot water heater is that it cannot be detected using soapy water. Last year we called in the gas company because of a leak in our supply line. They found the main leak and it was repaired. Unfortunately we still smelled gas on occasion. The gas company tech said it might be coming from upstairs (where the hot water heater is located) but he never did check it with a snifter. We checked all the fittings with soapy water, including spraying it on the outside of the gas valve, but since the leak was internal it did not show up.