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My water heater has a blower attachment that kicks on when the water heater begins to heat water and shuts off when it is done. I'm no water heater expert, but I believe that these actions are related to the thermostat.

Recently, I've noticed the blower remains on well after the water heater turns off. Meaning, the blower motor is running, but the only flame burning is the pilot light. In order to shut off the blower, I have to unplug the water heater, turn the thermostat up until it clicks on, plug in the water heater (which causes everything to fire up) then finally turn the thermostat back down to normal (which causes everything to shut off as usually the water is at the desired temperature).

Can somebody help he understand what is going on here and how I can keep it from happening again?

EDIT

Unfortunately, my water heater is wrapped in an insulated cover...so I can't see what brand it is...and I'm reluctant to pull the cover off.

However, I did find a plate on it that says:

Manufactured by State Industries Inc Model PR650NOVT Serial Number 001200512

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    Could be a bad high limit switch. The blower is going to remove excess heat, the switch is likely not sensing that the temperature has lowered so it continues to blow until it's reset.
    – Tester101
    Sep 12, 2011 at 22:06
  • sounds like a good answer to me Tester. Why not use it in the answer category?
    – shirlock homes
    Sep 13, 2011 at 10:53
  • @Tester101: I'm afraid I don't know much about my gas water heater...but where can I locate the high limit switch and how can I test it? :)
    – Tim Reddy
    Sep 14, 2011 at 1:06
  • If you post the make and model of the heater, we may be able to help you locate documentation. If you are not familiar with working on water heaters, you may be better off calling in a professional. Depending on your area, and the problem, the fix may be as little as ~$200. One of the major annoyances of working on these things, is getting parts. It's not likely you'll be able to walk into your local hardware store and pick them up, you'll have to find a specialty store or order them online.
    – Tester101
    Sep 14, 2011 at 11:59

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It may be built into the design of the heater; kind of like most cars' cooling systems, the blower may be staying on to evacuate any remaining combustion gases and cool the heater element to preserve it. However, if it never shuts off, ever, there's probably a bad sensor or relay in the system that is keeping it running.

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