Water Heater Pilot Keeps Going out - CLEAN THE FILTER GRATE! 2024 (UPDATED!) Most common issue!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- This reset will work with most gas water heaters. Whirlpool, A. O. Smith, Rheem, Bradford White, GE General Electric, ao smith etc.
how to light a pilot light on a water heater
This should work with American water heaters, Rheem water heaters, A. O. Smith water heaters, and Bradford white water heaters
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THANK YOU ! I am a senior woman with a I’ll hubby who can not bend his back... and when the water heater went out I cried thinking how much these days it would cost me .. I shut down unit and went to bed and prayed for answer... woke up drank coffee and grabbed iPad ..went to Utube and searched and you can up and saved me ! Your videos are easy to follow and understand .. you will never know how much you helped me ...God Bless you
We've been without hot water for a couple of days in the middle of a cold, Canadian winter. Pilot wouldn't stay lit after following various instructions since yesterday. I was about to go out to try to replace the thermocouple, dreading probably having to pay hundreds of dollars to have someone come look at it and try to upsell a bunch of things I don't need if that didn't work... but then found this video! Nothing else I've come across mentioned the air grate! We have 5 cats, a dog and an unfinished basement, so as soon as I watched this video I knew what our problem was. Cleaned the grate, pilot stayed lit the first time I ignited, and the big whoosh happened as soon as I turned the heat up! Thank you for the help!
I thought I needed a new water heater, and was so bummed about cold showers, but then I found this video, and I fixed it!! I’m so proud right now😂 thank you so much!!
Thank you so much. After a a 3 minute video, a trip to the dollar store, and 5 minute fix, my water heater is working like new. God bless you.
You sir are the hero I didn’t know I needed. Pilot light went out and I couldn’t figure it out. One toilet brush full of dust later and I’ve got water again.
What error code were you getting when the red light was blinking...
Thank you it’s been on ever since I cleaned it you saved me money that we needed. God bless you
the filter you can't get it at the bottom
worked! thanks for the video! Before watching this video I was going to change thermocouple!
wow. really? this is the 1st vid on this potential fix. been struggling with this honeywell for 2 years now. this might be the fix. I installed this w.h. in 2011.
Let us know if it works!
I would clean it every 3 to 4 months or so. It varies depending on how dirty the area is. Also how much your water heater is used. If you’re ever having problems with the hot water heater not working right, definitely try cleaning that area 👍
Check It Out !!! I just got a house with this exact model water heater, watched videos on how to ignite it and got it working so I was happy I had hot water! I put it in between low and hot and it worked great it stayed blinking my next question would be do u leave it on like that or does it eventually turn on or what? I just messed with it last night so I’m just worried about leaving it on or having to turn it on. The white light stayed blinking and worked great. Thanks!
If your clothes dryer is close to your water heater, you will be cleaning that grate every week or so. Sweeping up around the dryer after every use helps. The phone number on the water heater will get you a "filter" - a rectangular strip to wrap around the bottom of the water heater. But it's impossible for me to get it wrapped with the water heater already wedged into a corner.
Thank You this solved my problem of the pilot always going out had to run water heater on low for some time or pilot would go out, Nice to have hot water again especially since we are in November here in St. Louis ! I'm 62 and work 10 hours a day on my feet,A hot shower really hits the spot!
My water heater is to close to the ground so I can’t clean the air filter properly and the glass where I can see the flame is white or dirty, so I can’t see sh**t-_- can I lift it out the ground?
yea go ahead ,i did this and it blew me up and the kid that was helping me
I had this same issue with the pilot light. Called my home warranty company (my home warranty company is one of the MAJOR home warranty companies in the U.S.). They sent out a technician to assess the situation. He told me I needed a new water heater. My home warranty company only covered the water heater and he said my out of pocket expenses would be almost $700! I quickly said no and decided to try youtube. Thank you so freaking much for this video. You absolutely saved me a TON of money and hassle.
What if its flush with the ground and you cannot clean under the water heater?
Same here
Same here, all the standard trays and stands are flushed to the bottom of the heater.
My filter was not on the bottom, it was on the outside wrapped around the outside on the bottom. Cleaned it with a compressor, and Bam!..Got hot water again. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks for sharing👍😎nice job.
Great video Thank you I have the same heater! Do you know if the thermostat is replaceable on our model?
I replaced the module on mine before. It's not as easy as replacing the pilot but not too hard
What if your water heater is sitting on the floor and you have vents around it at the bottom
I have same issue
Great, great idea. I thought the burner needed to be removed and clean the filter from the inside, but if we can accomplish that with a brush from underneath, that saves a lot of time and trouple shutting the gas, and removing a couple gas connections. This is the same as cleaning under the refrigerator with that long black *bottlebrush looking" brush.Brush from underneath, then vacuum up eith a skinny vaccuum hose attachment.
what do i do if the bottom is not accessible
yep. his in the only one i've ever seen not in a pan.
Found your channel because the Santa ana winds in SoCalif blew out my pilot light...followed your instructions and Walla Hot water 😁...
Now a Subscriber...👍
billy fatbowe Happy to help. Hopefully those Santa Ana‘s don’t start too many fires.
After working for 28 years for Gas/Electric Utility, never did I found dust, even at a dirt cellar, cause any problem. The prices for the new AGWH $500 and up for a tank to heat water compared to $250. Not to mention $5.00 for a new thermocouple.
Thank you! That was perfect. As a water heater technical support representative I couldn't have done it better thank you this is 95% or better of my calls in the day
Sunday morning, no hot water, coronavirus stay at home ordered, if I can get someone out it will be expensive and they may talk me into expensive repairs or replacement - BUT - thanks to TH-cam and this very informative Check it Out channel I was able to diagnose the problem - a dirty air intake filter and re-start my pilot light. Thank you, thank you, thank you !!! Clear instructions, advice and precautions, well done. You’ve taken the mystery and fear out of trouble shooting and maintaining our gas water heater !
My hot water heater is sitting on the floor, there is no gap. I’m assuming that’s a big no no. I ended up here because I’m getting a lot of white dust deposits colllectong on top of water heater. What are you thoughts on this?
Look up flame impingement
Your video was very informative, thank you. My pilot light goes out when we have a stormy windy day. It started being susceptical to the wind 13mos ago. My hot water heater is located in the attic. Good condition; installed in 2014. What to do? New water heater, new thermo-coupling, sensor?? Help!
Thanks for sharing the video and creating a forum for us to share, learn, and help each other. I've had water heaters without air grilles in my house for many years and never experienced the pilot out issue before. But mom was an innocent victim of the pilot going out today. Mom had no hot water when she woke up this morning on her 2 year old Lochinvar water heater in the garage, and we were dumbfounded why the "new" water heater went out. I adjusted the temperature dial to try and force the burner on with no success and finally realized the pilot was out. I tried to relight the pilot following the instructions but I couldn't see a spark when I pressed the igniter, and didn't know exactly where to look for the pilot through the small glass window. Several hours later I somehow got the pilot working and the flame going and thanked God for helping me. I watched the flame and noticed there was blue then orange flame then blue and didn't know the cause. My smarter than me phone told there may not be enough air, and after a while I found the air grille/grate/filter/screen on the bottom. I vacuumed and cleaned everything all around the bottom and the flame was back to normal blue. Like I said I've never had a pilot go out on the older water heaters without grilles, but now I know the air intake grille at the bottom of new ones (AKA flame arrestor plate) can cause unexpected problems. The engineering safety improvement required for new water heaters made after July 1, 2003 solved a flammable vapor ignition resistance (FVIR) problem by a design change that called for an air grille intake at the bottom, but after reading stories here I can see how a dirty air/flame arrestor grille/screen that simply needs to be gently cleaned can become an unnecessary financial burden. Why couldn't the FVIR design stipulate little or no maintenance required? www.achrnews.com/articles/90837-water-heater-design-changes-in-the-works
Cleaned my filter but still not lighting. Any ideas?
Try pushing in the “reset” button. Look for my video on how to reset your water heater
@@checkitout2468 thanks. I finally got it working shortly after posting, not sure what I did a series of resets finally did the trick.
This video saved me time, money and extra hassle of either spending hours troubleshooting on my own or calling “professionals” just to learn that the entire water heater unit needs to be replaced. Thank you for your help!
Thank you for the donation. 👍😎
@Check It Out -
Unfortunately even after cleaning up my filter underneath the light is going off every day . Don't know what else I can do. There is no reset button on my header :-(
didn't know there was a filter grate, you fixed my problem, thank you.
My water heater has no access under the tank. Rheem water heater. Is there another access? Thanks, Tim
Same. Mine just sits in a metal pan. Went stay lit for longer that 5 minutes though. Brand new heater.
This was sooooo helpful. I think the cleaning out the grid was the problem. The resetting from the four blinks inhad gotten from another video last night when this first happened. Hope cleaning the gid means I won't be doing this again anytime soon!!
Can you vacuum this area?
Thank you so much for posting this video. My husband did what you said and it worked.
I have A AO Smith that won’t light. It came with the house. House sat for 8 months. Mice built a nest with the insulation in the water heater. You think it’s clogged?
Hot water was out lat last night. Tried to relight the pilot but it wouldn’t. Googled this morning and found this video. This worked GREAT! I cleaned the filters and my heater started up again. We have hot water again!! Thank you so much!!
Thank you so much. This was very easy. Again, thank you.
Why oh why is the filter grate not on a slide out tray so the home owner or a tech can get to it much easier. Using a stiff bristled brush in that manner can damage the grate and suffocate the system
Well, I went to go see if I could do this for my water heater but lo and behold, I don't have access to that area. 😠
some1 covered mine with mesh and cotton... tried relight pilot but after i did it smelled like gas.
My problem is that the water heater is so close to the floor, I can’t get anything under it to brush it out. Is there any other way to get at this filter?
My water heater is sitting on a water retaining pan, and there is no room to insert a brush underneath. I will figure out if there is another way to clean the filter grate.
My pilot light would not stay lit so I check all things out and thought it was the valve. I took the valve a part and found pilot solenoid wire broke loose from the pin solder it back on put back together and work great.
Nice job!
Thank you for info. I tried multiple times turn on the water heater. It’s on pilot and fire on, then the fire turned off itself after 1 min. Please let me know what can I do the next step. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Check It Out !!! Now the hot water never goes out anymore and my family gets to shower happy
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My hot water heater sits flat on the floor so how could I access its air filter? Its a Rheem Performance Plus. Thx for your help.
your brushing returned no dirt.
Thx so much you saved me $1500 - $1800 a quote from a plumber.
My Rheem is installed directly onto the ground inside of the catch basin in case of leaking. Did they install this incorrectly as no air is getting under it? Or do I possibly have a different model? It was installed 5 years ago and only stopped working today.
Rheem water heaters draw air in on the sides. No filter to clean. Maintenance free.
OMG! You just saved me $$$$! Had a plumber out a few weeks ago who pushed reset button here less than 10 minutes and told me if it kept happening I needed to switch to electric. Well that would have been big expense I'm sure. I think I am a good housekeeper but never thought of cleaning grate! After cleaning the grate pilot lit up no problem! Can't thank you enough!
Thank you so much! I watched your video and got my HW Htr running again.
The only issue I ran into is the instructions written on the unit don't mention anything about the Relay reset button. I called the manufacturer and they were pretty helpful.
Its funny how the instructions to light the pilot didn't mention anything about trying to clean the dust build up underneath either.
Maybe it's in the instruction manual.
Idk. The unit is an 11 yr old Whirlpool and your video saved the day.
Wooo excelente aplicación, justo lo que buscaba, gracias 👍❤️
I agree with everyone on here. You’re a blessing! Thank you so much!!!
I cannot believe this was all it took
This does not work for the Bradford White RG250T6N. The unit is on the ground and there is no access to the underside.
You’re correct! Watch my Water Heater problem-solving video for a few tips.👍😎
Thanks for your video. I got my water heater working again.
What if the bottom of the my water heater is flat I the ground?
The purpose for the "Tight" air intake screen on the underside of the water heater is to reduce chance of explosion---caused by external ignition sources--such as vapors. Note that the pilot area door is also air tight. I got this info somewhere. The burden now becomes a homeowners to make sure the air intake screen is free of debris--be it dust and whatever. Sometimes hard to manage in a very unfinished basement where dust is abundant. Most people would not even know this is now an issue. I learned of it by experiencing the problem. A Water Heater does not use the volume of air say an auto engine uses, but eventually, this will be a problem. Old water heaters had no such problem--ever. Next thing you know they'll be putting air filters on them.
Thanks a ton for this video. I've been struggling with this and thinking I needed to take it all apart to clean it and instead I've just been turning it on again daily. That same brush you used was basically right by my while watching your video. Got it done. Finally. So much easier than expected, I can't believe I didn't just find more videos in the first place. First video I watched suggested taking everything apart and it took me weeks to come back and find this one.
Thanks really appreciate this video
Thanks this helped me! No room for a brush but air hose worked!
What about when the water heater is brand new??
My pilot keeps going out. But it does relight, then goes out again in a few days. How is it possible that there is enough air to burn gas to heat the entire contents of the water heater, but not enough to keep the tiny pilot lit?
It could be that it’s right on the cusp of enough air…
It’s very likely an airflow issue or possibly a thermopile issue…
This flippin' guy. The real MVP! Thank you. My pilot light went out so I had to rewatch your other video (thank you again!) During the 10min waiting period with it Off I decided to learn how to clean the filter. Off to do some scrubbin'.
Love this comment! Thanks for making my day.
Have a good one.
I get under my water heater to clean it. What do I do ?
Vacuum very well after including the grate
Yooo thanks bro's, your video is really a life saver out of all the videos I saw!
you think i can do it while water heater on ?
This helped very much. Thank you
This video helped out alot, solved my problem. Thank you 👍
Happy to help!👍
You're the best!!! Thank you so much 😭😭😭
You're welcome!
Flame arresting mesh = "filter"
this was hepful, thanks!
good tip but out bottom deant have a grate
Omg ima try this I'll be back
It's happened again 😩😩 My water heater is sitting directly on the floor since they replaced it. I'm having 2 keep resting it. HELP??!!
Very good quick video on a no cost solution. You can't beat that.
You’re welcome, thank you for the kind comment 👍
This fixed my shit thanks man
I'd like to add my own experience to this IN CASE anyone has their tank sitting flat and flush to floor, for which case you cannot even access from below with a Scotchbrite:
I rocked the tank a little and kicked a wood shim just enough for maybe 1/4" gap between floor and tank. Unscrewed the cover of Pilot assembly and pulled it up past the bend in gas pipe. Then, I used a 1-2 Punch combo of air compressor with a nozzle blower on hose, along with a strong new HEPA vac I got using a car-crevice vacuum tool. I just alternated between the two, as all the iron rust flakes blew all over the place, and also blew and vac'd under the gap on floor. The Pilot was touch and go for a couple years. Seems that very heavy windy days or if I swept dust around floor would knock it out, and I could light it again. This should rule out bad Thermo. NEVER knew about dust, filter, debris and such, and after this process I managed to get light on first attempt. I use a handy clamp to hold pilot button down for a minute and when I came back it fired up! Best part about success in these matters...is the steam coming out of your shower when you finally wash away the frustrations.
HELP: My water heater is sitting directly on the floor, there isn’t any space to stick a brush underneath to clean the grate. Any tips on how I can clean it?
My pilot has gone out twice in the last year and I’m sure this is why. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! 🙏🏼
I'm wondering if this also relates to the number 6 flashing light indicator code, which says to replace burner? I really don't want to replace something if I don't have to let me know if this is related.
I dont know if this helped but it was pretty dusty under my water heater and i cleaned it and staryed it up and now its working , thanks man
In 11/16 2020 I purchased a rheem hot water heater which I thought was a quality product only to find out a inferior gas control valve was used to save rheem money(,Now I am getting a rheeming for the cost of a service charge and prior proven valve that should have been used in the first place.Thanks Rheem enjoy your savings I sure haven't.
Thank you for the great advice. Spot on! And it's Christmas weekend. No way to get a plumber! Rockstar!
Thank you so so much 🏆🏆🏆😀
You seriously helped me SO SO much I am forever thankful. My mother passed her mass is tomorrow I go to take a shower and then it wasn’t getting hot I looked and saw pilot was out followed steps didn’t work. Then I watched you video on to clean and click the button back in (it was very dusty. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much!! Have been fighting my water heater for weeks and finally came across your video. It lit immediately!!! Thank you so much once again!!
I can't thank you enough
No Problem! I’m happy to help!👍😎🎉
My ex came to look at the water heater....said I DONT need a new thermocouple and that the grate is clogged and not getting air.... Proceeded to tell me there's not really a way to clean the grate and that I would need to put a small hole in the grate for air circulation (mine sits on concrete)... Going to go to Walmart and get a brush like this and try this first!
The problem with my water heater is that you can't fit anything underneath of it . So I guess I'm going to have to remove the pilot light hardware and clean it from the inside. What a pain.
Bet you right dam thing keeps going out I cleaned the filter that yours doesn’t have but I’m sure mine has that filter under the pilot also
I have no technical skills so who am I to say but it's pretty shocking that in this modern world we can't make water heaters that don't require us to use a toilet brush to clean them regularly like this. Are cell phones can do 4 million things and are basically movie studios and computers but we have to clean this great with a brush?
Disculpen pero no entiendo muy bien el Ingles, Alguien me puede decir si de lo poco que entendí del video 🙈 me sirve para el problema de mí boiler se apaga y lo prendo y al dia siguiente se vuelve apagar el piloto.
Se los agradeceré sí me explican por favor gracias 🙂
My warranty expired and same symptoms are happening. I'm going to try this and see if it works......
Hi. What if my Status light is constantly blinking. There is no fire, but my light is just blinking away....
I have a economizer 6 gas water heater model by Kenmore does it come with a fuel sensor my pilot keeps turning off and my gas company came for a regular inspection replace the fuel sensor as a process of elimination? What are your thoughts please and if you know if this model comes with one. I'm still going to go ahead and clean the bottom I like that idea thank you for sharing.
I have returned from watching your video oh about 20 minutes ago. I had to pull the burner unit out to get a brush to the silver filter cleaned it all out vacuumed everything out. I believe the problem is solved we will see at any rate thanks for making me aware that there was another filter actually on the tank it’s self. Seriously it was getting annoying vacuuming and cleaning the pre filter that my unit has.
Hmmm...my model Rheem doesn't have vent holes on the bottom piece. It does on the side but I don't see any on the bottem. It was made Oct. 2018.
Great video but all these videos do not address my question. My pilot STAYS ON!! but the burner won't fire up.