Technical > Home Improvement > Water heater pilot light won't light

Water heater pilot light won't light

Do you have anything else that uses gas to rule out Gas not coming into the house?

reply to ProtusMose
I don’t have a gas hot water heater but do have a gas “wood stove”. If I have to light the pilot, I have to switch it to pilot and then push the knob in and hold it while pressing the igniter. After a minute I can let go of the knob. I believe this lets the gas flow while the thermocouple heats up.

reply to ProtusMose

reply to ProtusMose
Our old oven used to act like that every once in awhile. The pilot was fed by a very narrow slot in the pilot tube. Every now and then, we'd have to take it out and, literally, use a razor blade to clean it out again. Then, it'd be good for a couple of years or so, and we'd have to do it all over again. Found that a razor blade was the only thing thin enough to get into the slot/slit to clean it out. It might be that simple... pilot is clogged up.
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I was born at night... but not last night!

reply to ProtusMose
As nibyak eluded to, did you push down on the button while trying to light the pilot? When the thermocouple is cold, no gas will flow. This is how the heater is able to turn off the gas flow if no flame is detected. You have to press the control knob down, in the pilot position, to temporarily bypass the thermocouple lockout. Then gas will flow and the pilot should light.

You'll need to keep holding the knob down for 30-60 seconds after the pilot lights, to give the thermocouple time to come up to temp. If the pilot light goes out after holding the knob for at least a minute and then releasing, then it's likely that the thermocouple has failed. They can be found at most hardware stores fairly cheaply and are easy to swap out (at least on older heaters. It looks a bit more complicated on newer, closed-chamber heaters).

reply to ProtusMose
Had my wife go home and hold the button to try and restart it. Didn't work so I let her have repair guy look at it. It is the thermocouple. Not sure if she's having him do it yet or listened tome and is going to let me take care of it.

The thermocouple has nothing to do with the pilot itself not lighting.
Turn the control knob to the pilot position and push down. The pilot should be able to light, if not, there is some other problem.
If the pilot lights and goes out when the control knob is released, THEN you can consider the thermocouple defective.
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Mr. Rooter came and looked at it. They said it is the thermal couple and are charging $215 to replace it. When my wife told me this, I flipped out and showed her the link for a new one for $9.96 at home depot. I got a hold of the manager at Mr. Rooter. He said the generic ones at retail will only work for the old, open air one. Mine's one of the newer ones with everything enclosed (ie no way to manual light) and that it requires replacing the whole assembly. (couple,pilot,burner,etc,etc)


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Blogsaus "The same crowd that cheers at your triumphant entry will be the ones that crucify you in the end. Consider this: the very thing that is worth dying for will be the very thing they hate you for - Andrew Schwab

Get quotes from other companies, around here Mr. Rooter are horribly overpriced..

reply to ProtusMose
You know, I'm seeing more and more crap like this these days. It's like for a lot of firms, it's $125 to roll a truck down the street. They don't even want to bother with you if you think that's too much. And then if it's a woman, or a senior citizen, or somebody else they're "servicing" that they think they can put one over on, they tack on another hundred bucks just for good measure.

I would be furious, too. This is a ripoff. You should consider your options.

reply to ProtusMose
Quote I got was $125+ for a thermocouple replacement last year. I went to a Plumbing supply store (not a big-box) and got one with some free advice for $25 or so.

reply to ProtusMose
Can you post your make, model number and serial #? If it was made after 2003, it is a sealed combustion unit that does require a special thermocouple. Some still use a regular thermocouple, but only in models produced post 2008.

PM me the info if you dont want to do it here, I can give you some advise. Hope rooter man didnt ream ya too good.

-j
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if it aint broke, tweak it!!
currently on FiOS (kick aZZ!)

reply to ProtusMose
Make them leave the "defective" parts, and upload a picture.

reply to tp0d
Oh, ream us he did. I gave the go ahead after I talked to the manager because we have to have showers tonight. I didn't feel like heating water on the stove for sponge baths. When I got home, he was finishing up and told me we saved money. Even though the chamber is enclosed, it was old enough that it used the old couple. I'm thinking, "Great, maybe it's $60, instead of $215". These awesome savings knocked it down to:

Replace Thermocouple - $174.95
Clean Burner Assembly - No charge
Clean Igniter Sensor - $17.95
- $20 coupon.
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$172.93

I questioned him about the $174 to replace a $10 part and got a spiel about how we're paying for the experience and education of the installer. Granted, I'm no plumber, but I guarantee the difference between his putting it in and my putting it in isn't $165. We've used them a couple times in the past. This is likely the last time, though.

I'm not sure I'll be able to walk straight for a few days. :\
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Blogsaus "The same crowd that cheers at your triumphant entry will be the ones that crucify you in the end. Consider this: the very thing that is worth dying for will be the very thing they hate you for - Andrew Schwab

reply to ProtusMose
I'm thinking you could replace the entire tank for less!

reply to ProtusMose
Oh yeah, he saved you a ton of money.

Motel room would of been cheaper

reply to ProtusMose
Go nuke them on Angie's List.

reply to ProtusMose
I had about 10 propane heaters [from 75,000 Btu to 250,000 Btu], in my greenhouses that had a standing pilot. Almost every year the orifice would need to be cleaned out. Spiders loved to make nests around them. In 25 years never had to replace a Thermocouple. Just had to field strip them at the top of 12 foot ladder to get to the nozzle and clean the orifice. Lit right up afterwards.

I got a very fine wire like device from my Propane supplier to do the cleaning.

Later have had several gas water heaters where the same thing happened [access to the heaters was from the outside].

Even had a gas furnace, with electronic start, that over the summer the gas orifice would plug.
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Darn, its gettin that time to go to Wallymart to gits me picture taken agin.