CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland
 ·RoadRunner Cable
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2 edits | Gas Water Heater Question About 3 days ago I went to turn on the hot water and it was only warm. The pilot was out. I relit the pilot and turned on the burner.
It was good up until tonight, again no hot water. I relit it again and fired the main burner. The tank is heating now.
Does this sound like the thermo coupling is going bad?
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Sometimes My Mind Wanders.....Other Times It Leaves Completely! | |
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Ken
Premium,MVM
join:2003-06-16
Brownsburg, IN
| Re: Gas Water Heater Question How old is the heater? Let me give you another theory as to what could be wrong. Newer heaters have metal mesh screen that air has to pass through to get into the sealed combustion chamber. This screen can clog up easy with lint or other stuff. Once that happens, the flame can't get enough air to stay lit. So if it's a newer heater check how dirty things are. | |
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Waterbug
join:2008-03-30 | A bad thermocouple will not cause the pilot to go out. There should be a small screw to adjust the pilot flame. If you can find nothing else wrong, try increasing it just a little. | |
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| | bemis
join:2008-07-18
Stoneham, MA
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
·RCN CABLE
2 edits | Re: Gas Water Heater Question said by tp0d  :If the tank is less than 2yrs old, you could have a defective control. There is a production run of controls that have exactly the problem you describe. It is made by robert shaw, with a red pilot button on the top left, and black or red larger control knobs. if this is the case, call the manufacturer -j tp0d's picture looks exactly like my water heater--except that I also have a control on the gas line to activate a power vent.
If you have a power outage--even just 10-20 seconds--it can cause the gas supply to be cut and the pilot to go out.
We have a clock radio that we intentionally leave w/ no 9V battery so that it will flash 12:00 for even the smallest power interruption, that way I'll know I have to go manually re-light the pilot.
Do you have a similar power vented setup? If so, is it possible that don't typically have power failures, but in the last few days you've had two small ones?
Also--I should check to see if my control is one of the ones affected! We've had 1-2 occasions where the pilot was out w/o an apparent power failure  | |
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| | | Langning
Premium
join:2003-04-28
Marlborough, MA
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Gas Water Heater Question said by bemis :tp0d's picture looks exactly like my water heater--except that I also have a control on the gas line to activate a power vent. Does your setup look like mines? | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland
1 edit | Re: Gas Water Heater Question No...There is no electrical run to the WH. It works strictly off the thermo couple and the temp sensor.
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Sometimes My Mind Wanders.....Other Times It Leaves Completely! | |
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3SGTE
ST215W
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-23
there
clubs:
| said by Waterbug :A bad thermocouple will not cause the pilot to go out. Sure it will. The purpose of a thermocouple is to shut the gas off if the pilot goes out.
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Striving for Parfection. | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland
·RoadRunner Cable
·WOW Internet and C..
| Re: Gas Water Heater Question @EG, Nothing dripping on the pilot.
@ jack b, I agree...One more observation. I can light the pilot and fire the burner. Once the tank gets hot and the main burner turns off so does the pilot.
I did find the same WH at Lowes. Dimensions are all the same too.
This may be a straight swap without having to redo the piping (or very little).
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Sometimes My Mind Wanders.....Other Times It Leaves Completely! | |
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Zen6
@rr.com
| Borrowed time is not a good place to be. My 13yr old tank went 2 weeks ago while I was out shopping, came home to ruined Christmas ornaments, and 1" of water covering the floor. It is best to change these things before they ruin everything on the basement floor. I also will get a sizable tax credit for my new tank, so now is a good time to replace, and do not go with a cheap one as they are not eligible for tax credit. | |
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| | | scooper
join:2000-07-11
Youngsville, NC | Re: Gas Water Heater Question If mine DOES start leaking - no biggie - it's sitting outside in a gas water heater enclosure - I'll just be watering the yard... | |
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Bobcat
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
 ·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | said by Zen6 :
I also will get a sizable tax credit for my new tank, so now is a good time to replace, and do not go with a cheap one as they are not eligible for tax credit.
I looked at the Energy Star site, and they say that only the tankless models qualify for the tax credit.
quote:
Gas, Oil, and Propane Water Heaters with an Energy Factor of at least .82 - OR - a thermal efficiency of at least 90%. There are several types of gas, oil, and propane water heaters (storage tank, tankless, gas condensing), but only tankless can currently meet the criteria...
There is no tax credit for electric storage tank or electric tankless water heaters.
»energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/···qid=5703 | |
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| | scooper
join:2000-07-11
Youngsville, NC | Re: Gas Water Heater Question I've got a '92 / '93 40 gallon electric heater that's been in continuous service...
Yes, I'm holding my breath on when I have to replace it... | |
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nunya
SEE ROCK CITY 475 MILES
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
clubs: | See 3SGTE post above. If the pilot TC is out, it may be a cheap fix.
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Looks like Reverend Wright got his wish - God Damn America. | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland
·RoadRunner Cable
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| Re: Gas Water Heater Question @ nunya @ 3SGTE Thats the way Im going to go and see what happens.
@ mattmag...Totally agree.
Thanks all for the input, much appreciated.
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Sometimes My Mind Wanders.....Other Times It Leaves Completely! | |
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8744675
join:2000-10-10
Decatur, GA
| It sounds like the thermocouple. If the tip is very black and coated with carbon, scraping off the carbon with razor blade or lightly sanding it may give it a little more life. The carbon can prevent the pilot flame from heating up the metal tip hot enough to keep the gas valve open. Cleaning it off helps....for a while, long enough so you can get a new one and replace it on your own schedule. | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland | Re: Gas Water Heater Question Good tip...Thanks | |
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Lyserjic
join:2002-07-02
Deer Park, TX
| Years ago I had a gas water heater with a severe mineral deposit buildup in the bottom of the tank. The tank made awful banging and thumping sounds while it heated up, and then the burners and pilot would shut down due to overheating.
I was young and financially challenged at the time, so it took a few months before I could replace it.
said by CCat :About 3 days ago I went to turn on the hot water and it was only warm. The pilot was out. I relit the pilot and turned on the burner. It was good up until tonight, again no hot water. I relit it again and fired the main burner. The tank is heating now. Does this sound like the thermo coupling is going bad? | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland | Re: Gas Water Heater Question Thanks...That is a distinct possibility.
I'll clean the thermo couple and blow out the tank.
See if I can buy some more time.
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Sometimes My Mind Wanders.....Other Times It Leaves Completely! | |
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i1me2ao
Premium
join:2001-03-03
TEXAS
·Comcast
| Re: Gas Water Heater Question i did the above and managed to get two more months before i finally had to replace control unit. after draining and removing the build up was so bad i could not remove it with sander.
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calling a illegal alien undocumented is like calling a drug dealer a undocumented pharmacist | |
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Bobcat
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ | Could be a loose connection, too. | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland | Re: Gas Water Heater Question Checked all connections nothing loose.
Im sure its just dying from old age. | |
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EG
The wings of love
Premium
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ
| I once had such a tiny water leak at the bottom of the tank of an only 3 year old unit. The droplets were enough to quench the pilot.
I observed and confirmed this leak by watching the lowest measuring amount/fastest moving gauge on my water meter. If I turned off the feeder valve to the heater, the movement of the gauge would stop. | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland | Re: Gas Water Heater Question Best explaination Ive heard. But...time for a new one. | |
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Juan2
@swbell.net
| There were many Whirlpool heaters that were a pain in the nether regions since the thermocouple had left hand threads so that a standard (cheap) thermocouple would not work. Other than that, the normal thermocouple is VERY economical ( $5) and usually easy to replace.
Many of the other answers were good, but I must say that on my own water heater that the valve assembly had a severe buildup of calcium deposits on the in-tank sensor. I replaced this valve assembly (after trying all else) and results are good.
I must say this job is quite difficult (Requires very large wrench to remove valve body). I removed thermocouple, pilot feed & main feed with 3/8, 7/16 & 3/4 End wrenches. Be very careful (or hire someone) this can be dangerous for neophytes! | |
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CCat
Purrplexity
Premium
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland | Re: Gas Water Heater Question That explains a lot...Thanks | |
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jinjimbob
Troy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13 | Our propane one is on its 16th year now, but we do have a water filter and softener which really helps. | |
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