The pilot on my water heater isn't staying lit.?
I have a whirlpool flame lock water heater that came with my house and can’t be more than a year old. It was working fine until i turned down the thermostat to go on vacation. I came home turned it up and it was working fine for about 30 mins. and now i have been having problems ever since. It will light but then when i release the gas button to turn it to on it goes out. then every once in a while i can get it to stay lit and light the burner but eventually it goes out. I called a plumber and he said he thought it might be the filter in the bottom of the water heater but i took out everything vaccuumed it out and no cigar any help would be appreciated
You need to replace your thermocouple.
Replaciing a thermocouple…. This is a common home repair. (A common repair for any gas appliance with a standing pilot light.) The thermocouple is a small metal device that makes sure that there is heat where the pilot light is supposed to be. If it doesn’t detect heat, it shuts off the gas valve as a safety precaution. When you are holding down the pilot knob during startup, you are essentially bypassing the thermocouple long enough to heat it up. Over time, the thermocouple degrades and dies – killing the pilot light and preventing it from staying on much beyond when you let go of the pilot knob.
You can call a plumber and for about $100+ or so, they will stop by and replace this part for you. (If you rent, get your landlord to repair it!)
Want to try this repair yourself? Take a look at the appliance and try to determine the length of the thermo-couple. Use the link below to get an idea of what it looks like and how it is connected. They come in different lengths. If you are in doubt you can error on the side of getting one a little too long. I think they are about $10-20 or so at Lowes. Truck yourself down to the hardware store and get one.
Turn off the gas to your house if you feel safer (good time to learn how to do this). Usually just need an adjustable wrench at the outside gas meter.
Remove the old thermocouple noting where the screws held it in place. Save the screws! You’ll likely need them to install the new one. You may not need some of the parts that come with the new one. This is okay. Install the new one by screwing or snapping it into place. Turn gas back on to house. Relight your pilot light following the procedure you did before. Hold down button for at least a minute. This time the pilot light should stay on! Smell for leaks.
Paranoid? Install a CO detector near your work. Keep the wrench handy for house shutoff… but if you have a leak, first get everyone out. Have never had leaks and I’ve replaced several themocouples, furnace igniters, a gas clother dryer, gas cooktop, and even several whole hot water tanks, so take the precautions you want to, but don’t be overly paranoid.
You may need to re-light pilot lights of other gas appliances having turned off the house gas.
This is a fairly common repair, so learning how to do this will save you a few hundred more bucks when it happens again.
This is something I would not play with. You have tried everything I would recommend to no avail. Call a pro in to get this serviced pronto.
This may be your problem.
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Most likely the thermocouple. Not a hard job to replace. Take out the old one, put in a new one. Replacing a water heater if you still keep on having problems is also not horribly expensive for the heater itself. (Usually less than $200) but instalation can be a bear for a first timer. Labor to hire it done may run to $400. Possible more in some areas.
You have a thermocouple that is going bad or it is just dirty.
gas heater are not two play with call a plumer
sorry nationwide recall on whirlpool w/h they end up sending you a new burner assembly