# I need HELP! from Natural Gas Using Dopers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 6, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973 "2013-04-06T02:22:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/1 "2013-04-06T02:22:53Z")
Use Natural Gas in your home? Keep reading… Go check your water heater for a little cloth bag hanging from the cold water valve. Looks like the old “Gold Rush” bubble gum bags for use old-timers. Got one? Keep reading… Inside, you will find a pilot-light tube/thermocouple assembly and a little card that should tell you that this is a set-up for LP Gas (propane) and a little explaination about how the orifaces are a different size. Got one? Keep reading… I _need_ one! I’ll _pay_! PM me! All contacts confidential! 😃 Horrid, long backstory: They don’t sell pilot-light tube assemblys seperatly, it seems, however they _give_ them away with most new water heaters (so the installer can hook up the correct set for the type of fuel used). I was replacing the thermocouple on a (propane) water heater and the pilot tube had a kink from the previous owner and while trying to dislodge that little bugger probe, the tube snapped! I hooked up the set-up for natural gas, but the pilot flame is larger, uses more gas and _may_ lead to premature thermocouple failure (remember the thermocoupler failer? This song is about the theromocoupler failure 😃 ). Not available at Home Despot, Lowes or even True Value (they have everything!). Even tried my neighbor, who is in the heating/AC biz. He doesn’t do water heaters. So, if you have a Natural Gas set up, and have an unused propane-sized oriface pilot tube hanging from the cold water valve, I’d like to talk to you! ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/2 "2013-04-06T02:53:16Z")
Just so you know someone is reading, and because I was going downstairs for another slice of pizza anyways, I checked mine…sorry, no bag of treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/3 "2013-04-06T02:59:12Z")
Ummmmm! Pizza! Thanks for checking. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/4 "2013-04-06T06:46:15Z")
Have you [looked around online?](http://www.thefind.com/appliances/info-gas-pilot-assembly) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/5 "2013-04-06T06:53:42Z")
[Or?](http://www.gobigchief.com/?page_id=1488) I don’t know anything about water heaters, but if you can buy a custom fitted, prescription monocle online, you can surely find whatever hardware you need. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/6 "2013-04-06T12:16:33Z")
Sorry, checked ours and didn’t see a bag. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/7 "2013-04-06T13:40:39Z")
Sorry. I even looked again with my custom-fitted prescription monocle. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/8 "2013-04-06T13:46:48Z")
I’ve never heard of that or seen it on the handful of water heaters I’ve installed, but then no one in this area uses propane. You might try going to a hardware store out in the styx somewhere where propane is more in use. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/9 "2013-04-06T15:29:42Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Have you [looked around online?](http://www.thefind.com/appliances/info-gas-pilot-assembly) Well, **The Straight Dope** is always my _first_ stop online! 😃 Thanks for that link. Cool site. That looks promising… ---
**Author:** ![MemoryDump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@MemoryDump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MemoryDump)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/10 "2013-04-06T22:30:05Z")
I would try a commercial plumbing supply house. The one in my town is happy to sell to anyone who comes in. I was able to find an obscure thermocouple for my wall heater when the hardware stores didn’t have anything close. The plumbers, for the most part don’t go to the hardware store like us DIYers ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/11 "2013-04-06T23:42:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Sorry. I even looked again with my custom-fitted prescription monocle. Yes, of course. But did you close the other eye whilst you conducted your inspection? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-from-natural-gas-using-dopers/654973/12 "2013-04-07T18:44:41Z")
> [@MemoryDump](#): > > I would try a commercial plumbing supply house. Thats my next stop. There is one in town, but they keep hours that make bankers jealous.