FREE Fix! Pilot Light That WON'T STAY LIT on Water Heater
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2024
- We show you how to fix a gas hot water heater that the pilot light is not staying lit or keeps going out due to the thermocouple. We diagnose the problem and explain how the thermocouple works.
Amazon Affiliate Links🔗: (Thanks for supporting the channel!! -Tim)
🔗 Honeywell Universal Thermocouple 18 inch: geni.us/g9SbFQ
🔗 Honeywell Universal Thermocouple 24 inch: geni.us/eLvh
🔗 Honeywell Universal Thermocouple 36 inch: geni.us/g9SbFQ
🔗 Pilot Light Assembly (Kenmore/AO Smith): amzn.to/48QY8Qv
🔗 TopTes Natural Gas Leak Detector: geni.us/OLF0V
🔗 Klein 7-in-1 Impact Flip Socket Set: geni.us/1QtAXd - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thank you so much! Very helpful. Just got off from a "repairman" who just took a quick look, without even showing any effort toward repair, and said you need a new heater, and started giving me numbers for a new heater. Immediately I realized his bullshit and asked him to leave. I started doing my own research and got here. I can't thank you enough. You saved me a whole lot of trouble and probably thousands of dollars.
You're welcome! In return I hope you pushed the like button on the video 😉 👍🏼
Polished the thermocouple and vacuumed up some rust and debris. It worked like a charm. YOU DESERVE A MEDAL!
Alright!! Cool, glad to hear it worked well for you, too. 👍🏼
You said it all! It worked like a charm 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you so much for your video!
Thank you for this! Worked like a charm. My roommate and I have had so many things break this week, it was really helpful to be able to handle this ourselves with just a bit of sandpaper we had on hand. Cheers bud.
Great, glad to hear it! Thanks for watching.
best damn plumbing repair video ever
Oh, wow, that's very nice of you to say. Glad you liked it!
I've got an old ass gas water heater.. I'll try but if you don't hear from me again.... It's been an honor!
Good luck! Hope that ole thing keeps ticking for many years.
@@HandymanHertz Not sure why this says I commented hours ago because I commented this last week lol. I been restarting it every morning ever since. I've got a plumber coming out to check and an electrician to check the house the next day because I also lost power in half the house 3 days before the water heater(which is gas lol). Everything is failing all at once. I inherited my older parent's house and it seems everything wants to just stop all at once. Because 3 weeks before the water heater(gas) was the gas oven pilot light.
Edit: I'm severely at a loss without the money to hire all these people to check everything.. is there anyway I can DM you or text or email to get information for the next hour to ask questions I'm concerned about?(this will be deleted in an hour)
Yes looks like I got your email
Wait, it's powered by "ass gas" ? Free energy, that's genius!
lmao 💀🙏
Didn’t have hot water at midnight. Came across your video about an hour of looking into it and thanks to your video we have hot water again! Very much appreciated! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Glad to help! I love comments like this!
Your video just saved our butts man! Thank you! Gf tried to take a shower and said there was no hot water… found the pilot out but gas to the furnace. Could not get the pilot to stay lit and your video got us going! We are in CO and it’s been in the 10s all day and have a baby on top of that. Thanks for making this and helping others.
You’re welcome! Glad it helped. I love comments like this.
19 years old! Let’s goooo!!! That’s maintenance at its finest
That’s great! What sort of maintenance do you do and how often?
I just paid my plumber to do this for $400 and it was still not working, he told me i needed to order a new heater. I watched this, and it took me 20 minutes and now it works fine 😕
Glad to help you, sorry you got bamboozled by your plumber. That's one reason why I love fixing as much stuff as I can, and learning how to do it myself. Even if I break something or do it wrong. 👍🏼 good job for fixing it.
Also, you may consider leaving them an unfavorable review on yelp/facebook or online somewhere. Sounds like they run a sloppy business at best and are lying thieves taking advantage of people at worse. People should be aware. $400 is thievery for what they did (or didn't do). Plus trying to sell you a new heater too.
Lucky you. I did this and the burner plate is not lighting... the gas works. You can smell it when you drain it. It ignites up. But the burner plate itself does not catch fire.... please why?
Brand spanking new thermocouple assembly and burner plate. Matches codes for water tank
So you have a pilot light but main burner not coming on?
Thanks for the video!!! Worked perfectly. Luckily our local ace hardware store had competent employees and I purchased a complete pilot assembly replacement kit. I tried the first option to clean the thermo coupling it didn't work. I'm very happy as I only spent $50 for the kit. Way way less then a service/repair visit from the repair man!
Great! Glad you got it fixed! Yeah, an honest plumber would have charged $200+/-, And a dishonest plumber would have told you to replace the whole hot water heater $1,000 +/-
Thank you very much sir. My wife and baby will have hot water in the morning now. Thanks to your informative video
Great!! Glad to help! 👍🏼
You’re filming and editing skills are stellar! You even filmed from INSIDE the water heater?! And even ignited it! Wow, excellent job. 🎉
Thanks! That means a lot! We worked hard on this one. My buddy is taking over the editing. we are amateurs, but hoping each video gets a little better in some way. 👍🏼
I was thinking the same thing
Excellent instructions, appreciate the straightforward & detailed directions...
Thanks for watching 👍🏼
Thank you! Just a quick cleaning based on your instructions. Back up and running!!
Great to hear that you’re up and running again. Thanks for watching.
Impressive video angles, well done and very helpful 👍👍
Thank Jerry! That one was a bear to edit but we thought it turned out good. a friend helped edit this one. 👍🏼
Worked like a charm, I sanded it to clean, it’s roaring right now. Liked and subscribed. Your the man
Hey, glad to hear it! So satisfying, hearing that roar after fixing it, isn't it?👍🏼 thanks for the like and sub!
This video is so helpful, im actually changing mine out tomorrow & had no idea how to do so until now. Definitely going to try clearing it first. Very informative, thanks.😌🤘🏻
You're welcome. Great! Hope it works for you!
Yeoooo….thank you so much, this video was so detailed and guided me in fixing the pilot light not staying on. Thank you again
Hey glad to help! I love reading comments like this. Glad to get you up and running again!
Great video straight to the point
Thanks, I try not to waste anyone's time.
Thank you for this, I just fixed my water heater with this video!
Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!!
Great video. Straight to the point. Hmmm 🤔 I'm so tempted to fix it myself.
Thank you! Yeah, I think you should give it a go.
Thank you. I cleaned the parts and reassembled. My pilot light needed to be purged for about a minute and then it light up.
Nice, glad it worked for you! If it gives you more troubles, maybe look into making sure the pilot light is hitting the thermal couple properly. This is common when reassembling that it gets bumped.
Fantastic Video, very nice information, easy to understand, great stuff here. I'm going to investigate some other videos.
Thanks for watching! Hope you enjoy the channel! 👍🏼
Amazing video! Thank you sir from Australia,
Got my hot water unit running again!
Alright! Love to hear it. You're welcome, mate!
thanks, awesome video. plain and simple...
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching
Great video! This worked after cleaning it twice, I decided to try cleaning it a second time before the hardware store opened and just needed an extra sand with sanding pad instead of paper.
Great! Glad to hear it. sometimes The flame doesn't hit the sensor when it's reinstalled, so if it gives you issues, that might be something to look at as well 👍🏼
Thanks for your video. It helped me to replace the thermocouple on my 28-year-old water heater.
Glad to hear that. Wow, 28 year water heater. That's impressive.
thank god for modern tech i was never taught any of this maintenance stuff thank god for people like you cuz otherwise owning and maintaining a house would be a thousand time more expensive
I 100% agree! TH-cam has saved me so much money on everything in life that needs fixed. Few things need an expert I find. 👍🏼
Thank you very much! I just fixed mine thanks to your video.
Alright! Glad to help!
Yea thank you so much now I’ve got hot water your the best
Glad to help! 👍🏼
Excellent video my friend.
Thanks! And thanks for watching 👍🏼
Big ups, this was the fix for my water heater and took me only 45 minutes!
Alright! 👍🏼 glad you got it up and running again
Thanks for this video worked like a charm
Great, glad it helped! I love success stories!
Wow you’re amazing. Thank you!!!
Thanks for watching!
Very helpful, thanks!
You’re welcome, thanks for watching!
Thanks to your video I was able to fix my water.
Albright, glad to hear it 👍🏼
Thank you! This worked for me
Great! Glad to hear it!
Thanks dude, this is rad!
You bet, thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for this video! I never would have messed around with my water heater before, thinking it's too complicated and dangerous, but you made it extremely simple and may have saved me from having to buy a new water heater or pay a lot of money for repairs. I keep checking the pilot light, expecting it to be out again, but it's been on for 2 days now (compared to going out every few hours before) so I'm feeling hopeful! If nothing else, now I know how to take it apart and try other repairs. I also loved being able to get in there and clean out all of the debris and polish up the little viewing window.
Yeah! Some stuff like that is so easy, but so intimidating. That's why I love TH-cam...someone showing us how to and empowering us to do it ourselves! Now, go check out my anode rod video and flushing the water heater video to keep that water heater humming for years (hopefully)
@@HandymanHertz update: the pilot light went out again after a few days, but now I was confident in working on my water heater. First, I bought a new thermocouple and replaced the old one, but that didn't make a difference. Next, I figured out that if I bypassed the high limit switch, the pilot light would stay on. So, I replaced the old limit switch with a new one (which cost $40) and the pilot light has remained lit for a week so far. I'm quite confident that the limit switch was the problem and I have avoided buying a new water heater! Thanks again for your helpful video!
Nice! I do not know anything about the high limit switch, I've not had to do with that yet. If that still gives you trouble, one of the main reasons why a new thermal couple doesn't work is the flame isn't hitting the thermal couple when it's put back in and is aligned wrong. Make sure the flames contacting the thermal couple good 👍🏼 Glad you got in there and fixed it though!
Had same problem. Followed the video. Cleaned up the thermocouple nicely as instructed. No change. Replaced thermocouple, still no change. Pilot dies out when I release the red button on top, no matter how long I allow the pilot light to heat the thermocouple. Looking for next part to check. Ideas?
make sure the flame is touching the thermocouple. If it is and you replaced it already, I wonder if it's a a bad gas valve. Not exactly sure how they work, but I would think the voltage isn't tripping the gas valve. Maybe check the voltage at the end of the thermocouple with the flame on it, and google what the millivolts is required for you type?
Mines doing same thing…brand new pilot assembly pilot won’t stay lit. Did you find the problem?
Make sure flame is touching thermocouple. That's an easy one that overlooks and can come across as intermittently working.
Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad to help 👍🏼
We don't have a gas water heater but I love learning about stuff. You just never know when you may run into one! Thanks for the information. Your video is well done. The opposing view of the burner from the inside is very helpful. You show what cannot usually be seen and I'm sure you are helping someone figure out what they need to do.
Thanks for watching. I’m like you, I love learning about new stuff. It was fun playing around with the different angles and footage.
Nicely done and well explained. I did also order the gas sensor and dampness meter off you site. Great ideas, thanks!!!
Keep up the good work!!! 😃
Thanks a lot for watching and for buying it off of the links! 👍🏼
Oh thank you you just save me money probably took me 15 minutes to pull that assembly out and clean off that sensor with some Thousand grid Brillo pad
You're welcome, Glad to hear it 👍🏼
Started having problems with my water heater this winter. Now I don't have an excuse to not get it fixed. Thank you!!
Thanks for watching, I hope this is the cause to your problems!
Thank you so very much❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
You're welcome! Hope it fixed it!
Dude! Nice Bear !
Thanks, the hide is actually an elk!
very nice!
Thank you for watching!
Very nice
Thanks for watching
Thank you. 🙏😊🎉
Yep, thanks for watching
Awesome video. Very detailed. My water heater is giving me problems with the pilot light and this seems like a logical answer as to why. My heater looks different from yours, mine does not include an igniter or the faceplate where the tubes travel through. Also mine has a blanket wrapped around and foil taped to it making it hard to see the make and model. Not entirely sure what to buy to replace the thermocouple. I believe this is the original water heater that was installed in the house by the previous owner back in 2003.
Thanks for watching! I would assume you would need a generic one like in the packages I showed in the video from Honeywell. I’d say of all of the hot water heaters I’ve worked on, my style is more rare. But I’d look to make sure. It should be an easy fix if you can get to it.
You can search for a thermal couple video that will show you how to replace that specific kind you have. Good luck to you.
So I have that exact HW heater and thermocouple/ pilot assembly. I replaced the assembly this time last year. After replacing everything still no joy. Solution : My intake and exhaust were clogged with lint and dirt. (Tank is in the garage next to the dryer.) Blew everything out with my compressor. And this is the longest it’s ran so far.
Cool, thanks for sharing this. Nice to know other people's experience and input 👍🏼
Im pretty handy but never touched a water heater. You saved me a bit of money, thanks.
Nice, Glad to hear it 👍🏼
Very well explained. Detailed and easy to understand as well. Is it ok to use compressor to blow carbon rust from the burner assembly. Many thanks for the video.
You’re welcome! Yeah sounds like a good idea to me…I don’t see why not.
Hey Tim , I’ve replaced the gas control valve and the thermocouple assembly. All works well for the first thirty minutes and then the pilot light and burner both turn off. I was able to get everything working one time to where it would get to temperature , burner would turn off, and the pilot light would stay on. It would cycle through again and then shut everything off.
Any ideas.?
Also awesome video , I wish I would of tried this first 😅.
Cheers buddy.
Howdy! Hmm...my first thought would be to double check that the flame is hitting the new thermocouple. You could test the voltage on the opposite end of the flame sensor if you wanted. I would then check to see if your little vent is plugged on the bottom (it needs to suck in air easily or it will be turbulent, causing the flame to go out. Another thing I would wonder is if you have a leak in your chimney or some sort of draft coming down and blowing out your pilot light. But if you can't even get it to stay lit, this isn't an issue probably. Maybe you could clean out the pilot light gas tube… Maybe some ants blocked it or a bug is in it and not allowing enough? You see All sorts of random things. I would look to your gas control valve… But you already replaced that, so no need. Let me know if any of that helps. They are pretty simple machines… At least most of them if they are like my model.
The gas water heater that I was trying to fix looks very similar to the one you were working on actually.! AO Smith , about 20 years old. I replaced the whole igniter , pilot tube , and thermocouple assembly. As well as the gas valve. I suppose I will need to double check that the thermocouple didn’t get bent or something whenever I was reinstalling it and then test the voltage. The vent on the bottom is nice and clean. I took a peak at that while I was cleaning around the pan to check for leaks. I can check for a backdraft through the chimney , that’s not a bad idea either. You’ve given me plenty of food for thought though. Thanks for the reply , I’ll keep you updated if I find anything out.
God bless.!
Hello there, just wanted to let you know that we resolved the issue buddy.! I took the assembly back out and double checked everything. It looked in order so I put it back in and tested it. Like magic it worked again. I believe you were onto the issue with the pilot light not being on the thermocouple properly. I think it was just crooked when I installed it the first time and the flame wasn’t covering majority of the thermocouple. Good looking out sir.! Thank you very much.
@sethlozano5450 hey, glad to hear it worked out for you! I hope that works for you for many many years!
I had a water heater that shared a 2 story vent with the furnace. If the air in the vent had cooled and was filled with cold air, the draft inducer on the furnace would blow back down the water heater vent and blow out the pilot light. Adding an electronic igniter to the water heater solved the problem by reigniting the pilot flame whenever it did not sense the flame.
Very interesting. I hadn’t heard of that before, Thanks for sharing!
Main burner tube but will not budge at all. I keep forcing it but it feels like it will break something if I try harder.
There's only been one of those that I came across. That's been like that in my experience. I ended up leaving it connected and was able to work around it. But if I were you, I would use a flare nut wrench. To get a good grip on it. What brand is it? I believe mine was an Bradford white. Not sure if they put licorice in it or what? I've also searched a lot of the Plumbing forums to see what they did, and didn't remember finding a solution at the time. Let me know what you find out, I'm curious to know.
hi great video I was thinking about the same solution before I found your video because I did the same procedure for years to my furnace and actually I have taken out the burner assembly right now and stop because I found a piece of twisted metal plate that fell down from the exhaust center of the heater do you know what that is and do I have to replace the whole heater?
appreciate any advice
Hi, I believe the spiral metal piece is your flu baffle/heat exchanger. I do not know if you need to replace it, but I do know you need a functioning flu. I’ve never heard of chunks of the baffle falling out. my concern would be if the top pieces are falling, it may clog the flu, and not sucking the fumes up the chimney correctly
Santa came early this year, thank you for the video. All we had to do is clean our thermocouple, saved us a service call!
Glad to help! It’s Way more fun to buy more gifts with that money than to pay plumber. 👌🏼
Should the peizo igniter spark even if the gas is not on? I am trying to verify that it is working first.
This really helped me. I cleaned the thermocouple, I was holding the button down for 5-6 minutes, and it was going out immediately, after cleaning it and reassembling it, I held it down for 5 seconds, and it stayed on long enough. Thank you. There was a burnt up rubber gasket around the compartment that I couldn't do anything with, will this be a problem?
Glad it helped! It it's the small one like in my video, I wouldn't worry at all about it unless you have gusts of wind, like in a garage or something that can blow the pilot light out.
Thank you.
Should have taken sandpaper/wire brush and reached in and knocked off any rust on bottom of tank. You should have thought "hey where did the rust come from that was on the burner assembly? " Maybe the next video you make will be servicing the anode rod .
Interesting suggestion. Personally, since water heaters die mostly from rusted out tanks (in our area, at least) I'm not going to mess with an already leaking tank with abrasives.
What do you mean servicing the anode rod? I have a video on replacing the anode rod...
@HandymanHertz I don't know what state you're in or water quality, I would bet you, check THAT tank, and that anode rod is desolved (gone) henceforth the reason you had THAT much rust. The sharp businessman would crack open the cap at the top and visually inspect the anode rod (with customer) and as needed, sell them an anode rod job and/or advise them that the W.heater is on its way out. The customer will then discover your compentcy and concern for their upcoming hot water issue. Tape your business card on the side of the heater , they will remember to call YOU back , when the time comes. "Building LOYAL customers , one customer at a time"
@@jamesborton9237 yup, sound advice, go over and above and build quality, loyal customers 👍🏼 one note: if the anode rod is dissolved and ineffective, it would rust the tank out from the inside, not the outside. And the outside is where rust was dropping into the burner.
I have the same exact water heater and I sanded the thermocouple but it's still going out. It will stay lit when I light it but then after a couple minutes and it's not calling for heat anymore the pilot goes out. Maybe I need a new burner assembly? Or you think just a new thermocouple will work?
I would first mess around with your current thermal couple and make sure the flame is hitting it directly. If it's only partially hitting it, it can be fickle. Then, I would change the thermal couple. I doubt it would be your burner assembly, especially since it works until it loses a pilot light.
What do you do if your hot water heater needs a 15" thermocouple but they have been discontinued?
You can go with a longer one. In the description, I have longer ones with an Amazon affiliate link.
Im doing this process exactly as you show in this amazing video i hope i dont land on the moon so if you hear a nuclear bomb go off and see a UFO thanks for everything you are the bomb ma
Haha I got a laugh out of this. You're welcome! You'll do great with it 👍🏼 hope it works for you. Let me know how it goes.
In my situation I can light the pilot and it stays on. Then I set the desired water temperature. It heats up water but when the water temperature drops( after some time) and it should turn on automatically, but it does not. It appears the pilot light is off. For some reason the pilot light goes off after the first cycle of heating. I am completely puzzled. Do you have any idea why that can be? Thanks!
I think I can help you. This is exactly what happened to me on when I made this video…the pilot would light and stay lit, but after if heated up the water, the main burner AND the pilot light would go off. So, for several days, anytime we wanted hot water for laundry or a shower, I would have to go start the water heater 30 minutes beforehand. I cleaned up the thermocouple real good, and it worked. You can replace it too easily and cheap. Hope this helps!
Hi thanks for the video. I have the same exact thermocouple but unfortunately mine is broke. All the replacements I've seen or have been told will work from parts departments do not have that black battery looking piece. I can only find it on amazon. What is it and is it not needed? Can I replace it with a regular thermocouple? I did a temp solder to make sure that was my issue and the water heater worked fine so i know its the thermocouple. Thanks
What do you mean black battery looking piece?
@@HandymanHertz I'm not exactly sure what it's called. A fuse link? It's the piece there that looks like a small watch battery.
If you pause @2:01 its the little round thing in the bottom left corner. @HandymanHertz
@FishingWithZach oh, ok. I know what you're talking about and I wondered what that was too. I'm not sure what that is. I bought the whole kit on Amazon that came with it.
Once it turns on can we return it back to pilot mode ? Or keep it on at all times? Will the flame turn off when it reaches a certain degree ?
If everything is working properly, you should be able to switch it to pilot out on and the pilot light should not go out on either setting
I replaced my pilot assembly just like you said but and the pilot lights and works great now. However I am getting a small gas leak that I just can't get rid of. Nothing is cross threaded and I just barely tightened the fittings at first. And the smell only develops once the pilot is lit so it must be the fittings on the bottom of the control unit. Any idea what I should do short of just getting a new water heater? This heater is about 6 years old and I don't want to keep throwing money at it! Is yellow teflon tape ok to use on those fittings?
Glad you got it working. 👍🏼 regarding the gas leak, you can see in my video that I didn't use any pipe dope/thread sealant or any yellow (for natural gas) tape. That's because the way they seal is a compression fit, not a threaded fit. The threads are only there to compress the fittings together to make a tight seal. My first thought is that maybe some of your tape is hindering that seal? Or maybe some tape got in between where it seals?
What I would do is mix a tablespoon of some dish soap on a bottle, shake it, and spray it around the fittings. That way you can identify which one is leaking. Bubbles will form wherever there is a leak. Once you've isolated where your leak is, you can tighten it until there's no more bubbles. If tightening it doesn't help with the bubbles, I would shut off the gas, take it apart, and try it again after you clean everything, especially the yellow tape, and inspect it for obvious damage.
if it still leaks, I would look into replacing the control valve AND/OR the gas tubing, which will be cheaper and easier than replacing the whole water heater. Hope this helps.
@@HandymanHertz Thanks for the quick reply! I did not use any thread tape yet... I was just wondering if I should try some because I can't seem to get the leak to stop any other way. And I would only put it on the threads not the actual compression fitting. In the mean time I'll try the leak test because the 2 connections are very close to each other so I'm not sure which one is leaking.
@tommichaels2466 sounds good! I'm curious to see what you find, keep me posted!
Thanks for posting this. I do have a question. My issue is with the burner as it doesn’t turn on. The pilot light stays lit and the status light is normal. It blinks once every 3 seconds but the burner is out. I took out the whole burner assembly cleaned it and also cleaned the thermocouple like you did in the video. Put the burner assembly back and the burner won’t stay on. Took the whole assembly out once again and this time replaced the thermocouple. Put the assembly back with the new thermocouple. Now the pilot won’t stay lit and the status light does NOT come on at all. No blinks or anything. Just completely out. The pilot light goes out after I let go of the dial knob. I hope you could help me out. Thanks again.
I may be able to help.
If the pilot light does light, but doesn’t stay lit (after holding it for 1 minutes) you need to adjust the thermocouple position so the flame hits it properly.
Im confused… does the burner turn on or just turn on for a while? Also, your gas valve should have a code on what the blinking lights mean. What code does it read?
@@HandymanHertz I tested the thermocouple which is rated at 750mv with a voltmeter and it is reading at 649mv. My question is, is that enough voltage that it is getting to send that little current to the solenoid to open it up to let the gas flow to the burner to turn it on? Because that’s my issue, I don’t think the motherboard is detecting that current that the thermocouple is sending. How much voltage does the thermocouple need to send to the motherboard to open up the gas valve? So just to be clear I’m able to light up the pilot light. After holding it for 90 seconds, I get no blinking from the status light indicator. So as soon as I let go of the dial knob, the pilot light goes out.
@ktp0913 it sounds like you have a bad gas valve to me. The new ones go bad more often than I’d like in our rental houses. I like the old mechanical ones without the blinking codes.
Your thermocouple (technically called thermopile if it puts out that many mV) should be putting out enough mV to open the pilot tube solenoid for the pilot light to stay on. (If pilot isn’t on, main burner won’t turn on either) I looked at a few forums online and I think it’s a bad control valve. I would try tapping it on the bottom with pliers, you may get lucky. Sorry I couldn’t help you more
I’m gonna check the gas valve and see how much resistance it has. Thank you for your help.
@ktp0913 good luck to you, hope you get it 👍🏼
I just put a thermocouple on a gas water heater and it lit and stayed lit, but I don’t think it was the right one for that water heater. Do I have anything to worry about?
Nope, I don't see any reason why. The only job of the thermocouple is to send voltage. The longer ones may take longer to send, but once they do you're good to go!
Do you need to cut off the power for that ignitor switch?
No, mine is just like a manual one on a grill, it's mechanically powered
Is there a way to increase the size of the pilot light flame?
I don't believe so, at least not that I've ever ran across.
Timmy! Im having this problem now u should just come fix it for me!
Bobby! sure, ill call you in a bit!
I can’t get the main burner nut off. It seems stuck on there, is this something that happens?
I’ve heard, but never experienced, that some have right handed threads, so maybe try going the other way. If that doesn’t work, you may need a flared nut wrench and just give it some power. If you’re afraid of busting the whole gas valve, use some sort of hold back on it as you loosen it. it may be partly seized on there, but I would make sure it’s not a right handed thread first. I’m curious to know what you find.
I swapped out a new thermal coupler put it an eighth of an inch from the pilot and the pilot light still won’t stay on any tips?
The thermocouple tip needs to be touching/immersed in the pilot flame. The flame will heat up the thermocouple, sending enough voltage to allow the burner to kick on. Let me know if that works or not.
I wasn't able to easily get the bolts unscewed, unlike what's shown. I finalky got it loose, but the tool bent the line. The wires on mine don't seem to have any way to be undone. Went to next step but trying to get the screw loose is impossible. I start to smell gas even though the gas is off. There are two valves on mine, one is red, one is yellow. Do I turn both off. This seems so easy but it would be helpful to see the tools needed or have tips for getting these bolts loose!
Hmmm it seems like one time I ran into this. I couldn’t get the bolt loos without ruining something…just too much torque required. I believe I took off the cover (where the site glass is) off in two pieces and left the burner in and just replaced the thermocouple by reaching in there. I don’t remember what brand but that nut didn’t want to come off, just like yours. That’s only happened to me once.
Also, a flare nut wrench would have been the proper tool to break loose that nut, but you need a holdback or the pipe might bend.
This didn't work for me. Replaced the thermocouple--buying two of the same to verify the first wasn't the problem.
The pilot lights, but as soon as I depress the pilot button it goes out.
This is an older model, doesn't have a separate igniter switch.
Natural gas, normal vent water heater. Model: MI403S6EN12
Serial: XD3905353
This is common when installing a new thermocouple. Most of the time it seems this is due to the flame not hitting the the thermocouple properly.
I would adjust it and see if that works. Also, make sure you hold down the pilot for a minute or so while the thermal couple heats up and starts sending voltage.
Hope this helps.
@@HandymanHertz thank you!
I've tried adjusting and cleaning both thermocouple. I bought two thermocouples and they both stayed lit when first lit for about 2 hours. Then they go out, and will light again, but when releasing the pilot button, it just goes out.
Maybe the valve itself? I took it apart and found nothing dirty or clogged. Still no luck. The water heater is at least 12 years old. Time for a new one?
@JoJoJonnSinn it does sound like the gas valve may be the issue. If you want to make sure, you can test what voltage is coming from the thermal couple on the end… I think it's 20 mV, but you may Google it just to verify. 12 years is on borrowed time, but a lot of mine have lasted 20+ years in my properties. If it were me, I would replace it, as those gas valves aren't the cheapest things either. You'd hate to pile money into it just to have your tank rust out next year or something. Sorry I couldn't give you a more easy answer.
@JoJoJonnSinn one other possibility is it could be a draft coming through and blowing out the pilot. I don't know if you have windows open for the nice spring air coming through or something that would blow the pilot light out? Just a thought. I've even heard of downdrafts coming down the chimney and blowing it out 🤷♂️
@JoJoJonnSinn sorry, I had another thought. Maybe the tube that carries the gas to the pilot light is partially clogged, and limiting the flow of gas to the pilot light?
Pilot tube is aluminum,thermocouple is the copper! 😂
You don’t need to put Teflon tape on the gas lines? 3:26
What if l replaced it but still exact issue of not saying lit?
Do you get any flame? Does it stay lit for a while? Does it ignite the pilot light but go off when you release the button? Need more info to help diagnose. What exactly happens?
Think mines needs to be replaced. The couple and rod is really melted. Nevermind. I see the rod just looks burnt and the other rod has opening where the gas comes thru. There’s a spot on the burner looks melted or white residue. Going to attempt the sand paper.
Hmm possible… wonder if you could get a new burner assembly? Maybe you’re right, it may just be time to send it to Pasture!
@@HandymanHertzread something online says signs of back draft. Not sure what I’d do for that
Sand paper didn't work. Flame dies out after I let the pilot knob go. I'll hit up Ace Hardware or one of your links for the assembly..
Interesting…back draft. So would that be a chimney/exhaust issue or blockage? Good luck in fixing it. And thanks for using my Amazon link in advance, if you do! 👍🏼
Bro do you have a link for the vacuum? I need that.
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Oh ya, I love that vacuum!. I'll be doing a review on it within a few months bc I use it all the time. 👍🏼
you say use water and soap to check for gas but how? Kinda left that ambiguous but it would be helpful to see a demonstration. I guess put soap in water and smear it around the gas line attachment and then check for bubbles to see if there is a leek?
Put water and a squirt of dish soap in a bottle. Shake. Spray. Bubbles will appear if there's a leak this works with air leaks in tires too.
Anode rod wasn't disgusting, it was perfect! The missing portions just show it was doing it's job!😂
haha well, I wouldn't say perfect, as it had a coating of lime that limited the magnesium from reacting to the minerals in the water. But it was certainly doing its job and was still somewhat effective!👍🏼
Tell them to hold down the pilot button untill the thermo heats up and stays lit.! To repeat untill pilot stays on when releasing the pilot button.
my man replaced the thermocouple an it still won't stay lit.it will for awhile then go out plz help!!!👀🤔🧐😏
A very common problem why it won't stay lit after a new thermocouple is that the flame is not hitting the new thermocouple properly and needs some adjusting.
nice long add for a tv antenna
I don’t understand?
It’s a longer thermocouple and looked a bit different, not much but a little different.
👍🏼 no problem.
@@HandymanHertz thank you! I went back to the man’s house to make sure it kicked off and he still had hot water, everything was good. 👍🏻
Glad to hear it! Thanks for the update.
SUB FRICKING SCRIBED
Oh man, thanks!!!
It's not a hot water heater.. It is a water heater because you don't heat hot water unless it is a boiler.
🙄
I am going to correct you at no charge. At 28 seconds I hit pause because I saw "PILOT LIGHT GAS" in green lettering. This is NOT the pilot light gas. This is the thermocouple. Skip ahead to 35 seconds and you say "next we take out the thermocouple.." and in red letters the word "THERMOCOUPLE" is captioned.Again, this is NOT the thermocouple. This is the pilot flame tube,or as you put it, the pilot light gas. How can i be the only one out of the first 10 comments to notice this and comment on it? Your comments are all super positive which is great but Im just pointing out there is an opportunity for improvement here.
I’m looking for a way to get the pilot assembly in one day instantly I don’t wanna wait three days when my water heater is down
Clean it. It's free and instant.
Hardware store doesn’t carry those
Nope, Amazon or pluming parts store