Water Heaters - Gas Venting - Flame Blows Out

The gas water heater in our new manufactured home is having the pilot light blown out on windy days. Also when lighting it, I saw the whole burner flame almost go out from the draft coming down the flue pipe. There were no other appliances running at the time. The intake air comes from the crawlspace under the house. The flue is sealed to the top of the heater. The flue pipe extends about 1 or 2 feet above the roof and has a cheap looking wind and rain cap. A technician said the pilot flame was OK and the burner flame was good also. How can I prevent the pilot from blowing out? Thanks. Al.

You may be able to purchase a vent end with a draft damper. I know they definitely exist for horizontally vented heaters and I installed one when I installed a horizontally vented tankless at my home. A small door opens to let the fumes out but closes if wind blows the other way. Not sure if they exist for vertical venting/non power vented systems but may well do.

Must be a pretty strong wind if it almost puts out the main burner. The pilot of course can blow out if the wind is strong. Much better to have spark ignition - less energy wasted and no risk of blowing out. I don't like systems with standing pilots myself. Of course you will need an electrical outlet to power the ignitor which if this was a new home they could have installed an outlet and a heater without a pilot. Some tankless heaters use hydronic ignition but this is not suitable for tanks.