On New Years Day I ended up having to take a cold shower, because, as I discovered later, the pilot light on the water heater had gone out. I re-lit it yesterday morning; it stayed lit for I think the rest of the day, but this morning it had gone out again. I lit it again; it stayed lit a few hours and went out again. I attempted to light it again; now it goes out immediately when I release the button. So as per the warning in the lighting procedure, I have turned off the gas to the water heater.
This might seem like a really basic question, but is a plumber the right person to call? I mean it’s a problem with a water heater, but with the gas part rather than the water part.
Is this reparable, or will I new a new water heater?
If I indeed need a new water heater, what’s your opinion on tankless water heaters? I understand they cost more up front but are more energy efficient in the long run. I checked what rebates the utility company is offering, and they only offer a rebate on high efficiency electric heat pump water heaters. I guess that’s another option, but does it make sense to install an electric water heater when the gas hookups are already there?
It may be a bad thermocouple. It connects to the gas control valve and senses the presence of flame from the pilot light. If the pilot light gets blown out, the thermocouple shuts down gas flow. It’s a cheap part - around $10 at HD or Lowes. Easy to replace if you’re handy.
Before that, you might try blowing out the pilot light gas orifice with some canned air. I once had a gas fireplace that wouldn’t stay lit because of dust and dirt building up in there.
Give it a few good squirts, wait 5 minutes for the propellant to dissipate, then try lighting the pilot again.
This should be easily repairable (by a plumber if necessary), and I don’t think you’re going to need a new water heater.
1)A plumber will be able to fix it, so will a handyman.
2)It’s almost certainly replaceable. Pretty much everything down there is.
If I had to guess, I’d guess the thermocouple is bad. If it’s staying lit while you’re holding the button (for a good 30 seconds or so, right) and going out as soon as you release it, it’s not likely to be the valve, the gas supply or a draft in the area. If you’re handy at, you might be able to pick up a new one at lowes at getting up and running tonight yet.
I can’t speak to the thermocouple in a water heater, but once or twice I’ve changed the flame sensor in a furnace. Often times you can get a little extra time out of it (as in days) by cleaning it with some sandpaper.
I have a propane tankless myself, and I love it. They aren’t cheap, though. It’s been a while, but they’re about twice the cost of a good gas water heater. Since you already have a gas line, you would be a good candidate for tankless. Keep in mind however, that your gas line may need to be upgraded to a larger capacity line.
A good plumber can give you the details and costs.
That may well be it. I forgot to mention before, I was actually in the garage where the water heater is one of the times it went out. I happened to be out there throwing some items in the recycling, and since I was there I checked to see if the pilot was still lit. It was, but as I was walking away I heard a “click” from the water heater. I checked again, and now it was out. The sound I heard may well have been the thermocouple shutting off the gas flow.
Around here, a person who works with gas pipes is called a plumber. A gas plumber, not a roof plumber or a sanitary plumber. Plumbing is a 4 year apprenticeship, but ‘gas’ is just a training specialization. (Around here) any plumber that does gas hot water heaters has both a water licence and a gas licence.
I had the same problem with my water heater. I could light the pilot and it would ignite and heat the water. However, as soon as it got to temperature it would turn everything off including the pilot light. The thermocouple was bad and could not detect that it was lit.
The plumber (yes plumbers in North America deal with water, sewer, and gas pipes) replaced the control unit and it was good as new again.
When it happened again years later we replaced the standard unit with a tankless one. We like the small size and endless hot water convenience of the tankless, we will never recover the cost difference in gas savings. One thing to keep in mind if you decide to switch is that you need a bigger gas line and exhaust vent. Those changes can add up to several thousand if your water heater is a long way from the gas meter.
I had that problem and heated the thermocouple with a propane torch. It worked fine for years after that and is still going. The extra heat may have gotten the thermocouple to work or the force of the gas cleaned out something IDK.
A thermocouple is literally just two pieces of wire welded together. There is nothing to fail. It may get coated in carbon, or the pilot may get partly blocked, or it may sag out of position, or the contacts where it plugs it may get loose or corroded or … whatever the problem may be, it probably won’t be because the weld has failed.
Update: I watched an instructional video on YouTube, picked up a new thermocouple from Lowe’s this morning*, installed it after lunch, and now everything is once again working as it should. Thanks for the advise everyone!
*Thankfully the tank is insulated well enough that I was able to have a hot shower last night even with just the short amount of time it ran yesterday morning.
Second update: That first update might have been premature. While the pilot light stayed lit the first time, it’s gone out again and now it’s back to going out immediately after I release the button. And yes, I’m holding the button down a good minute (I’m timing it on my phone) before I release it. I think it’s time to call a plumber.
I had this exact problem when I first fired up the furnace this fall. I tried everything I could think to do, and finally hit upon using canned compressed air to blow out the orifice of the pilot light. Some substantial bits of ash flew out, and ever since the pilot has worked just fine. It’s certainly worth a try.
I ended up just getting a new water heater today. I guess I failed to mention that the old water heater was nearly 17 years old (my problem is that 2003 still doesn’t seem like all that long ago to me), and the plumbing company won’t repair anything older than 10 years old, as according to them trying to repair anything older than that wouldn’t be worth it. I guess it’s possible that’s just a ploy to sell me a more profitable new water heater, but a got one. I went with a traditional one with a tank just because that was the most expedient way to have a working water heater once again. Even that’s more energy efficient than the old one.
17 years is a really good run. My own water heater is nearing 10 and has really been thumping lately. I may have to have it replaced early just to end the annoyance.
Have you tried draining it lately? Apparently you are supposed to drain and flush out water heaters annually. I never did it with our standard tanks but I have started cleaning out our tankless every six months by running vinegar through it for an hour or so.
We had a similar problem 30ish years back, with the furnace, and it was indeed the thermocouple. I don’t recall how much it cost but it was certainly less than the cost of a new unit.
