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My hot water heater pilot light keeps going out - what can I do?
I have to crawl under the house every time we need to take a hot shower or wash dishes. It seems to work for only one cycle - this morning, for example, I got up and relit the pilot light, waited 30 minutes, then got my son up to take a shower. By the time he was done, the hot water was all gone. I waited another 20 minutes, but the water never got hot again. This has been going on for over a week and I've already paid to have the thermocoupler replaced - what else could it be? I'm tired of crawling under the house twice a day!
More info: I think the water heater is about 15 years old - it's at least 5 years old, I know that for sure. I already had a repairman come who replaced the thermocoupler. Now he's kind of scratching his head. The water heater is in a closed crawl space with no draft. Interestingly, this problem started on the coldest (so far) day of the year.
The flexible gas line to the water heater was replaced today. Did not help. So I relit the pilot light, then sat there while it heated the water. When the burner turned off, so did the pilot light. At that point, I could hold down the button and relight the pilot light, but when I released the button, the pilot light would shut right off. I could not get it to stay on. I'm suspecting a bad gas valve, but don't know how to verify it or how much they cost.
And I keep forgetting to say, a torch was used to burn off any possible carbon build up on the pilot light or the thermocouple.
13 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Call a plumber to examine your A) Hot water heater and B) the gas flow to your hot water heater.
- 1 decade ago
I would try one more thermal couple, I have seen where you can can get a bad one. Make sure that the spot where it screws into the gas valve is clean. these work on milivolts so it doesn't take much to keep them from working. does the new thermal couple you just put in still look good? I ask to make sure the heater is burning ok and your not burning them out. And I would just make sure that your chimney pipe is drafting all the time even when the heater isn't running this could blow the pilot out.( hold match next to chimney if it pulls the flame in your good.)
- 1 decade ago
A guy I work with just had this exact same problem this week and did the same things to fix it you did. It was a Whirlpool water heater with a particular model # (I don't know what it is)
He went to Lowe's and discovered there was a recall on that water heater and gave him a free kit to fix it. Don't know yet if that did the trick.
Do some research on the make and model. You may have one.
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- 1 decade ago
Could you have a draft underneath there?....a few yrs ago me and my x boyfriend bought this house that was a little over a 100 yrs old...had the same probblem..we ended up buying a new one (65 gallon tank)..then of course the sub pump went out..went to Lowes and got that replaced also..
- ?Lv 45 years ago
Most of the time this is caused by a leaky water heater...do you see any water around the bottom of the tank?
- Rike biderLv 51 decade ago
that happens to me aswell... it's the gases, they arent being well ventilated, and the heater has a safety thing that when gases acumulate it shuts off... we tryed putting a pipe but it was enough it still does it, we just get out of the shower and turn it on... so maybe u'll hVE MORE LUCK WITH THE PIPE LOL
- 1 decade ago
What model and verify there hasn't been a recall on it several types and models have had recalls do to bad burner assembly design and faulty gas valves.
example linked below
- Anonymous1 decade ago
check for drafts while it is heating. test gas pressure with manometer. clean pilot orifice with torch tip cleaner. if pressure is ok, pilot clean, and no drafts, it has to be a bad gas valve
