The heater was installed in my crawl space which happens to also be the lowest point in the house. This spring has brought a lot of rain with it and it collects at the base. This causes the pilot to shut off automatically. In the past it has been a sinch to relite it and move on wih life but this last time it has not cooperated. As I said the pilot light lites buut then after a short amount of time it sputters out. If I turn the main line on right away it sputters and goes out quickly. Help please, there is no hot water in my house and this means that I am going to be living with four stinky kids and a mad wife soon.
2007-04-05 14:29:35 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Please don't fool around with this.
It is not acting as it did in the past, so something has changed.
For the safety ot your family get a professional to check this out.
2007-04-05 14:36:04 · answer #1 · answered by ijcoffin 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Have you tried cleaning the contacts on the pilot light? Take a metal brush and scrub the contacts lightly to get the crud off of them. If that does not work, your pilot light assembly may also be bad. You say the heater is old, you may need a new one. If its older than 7 years, you probably need to replace it. Also, is there anyway that you can move the heater to a higher place in the crawl space or at least get a water pump of some sort to keep the water from collecting around the base?
2007-04-05 14:40:43 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If the heater is only a couple of years old, there is a safety device that shuts the heater off in the event the burner area (combustion chamber) gets too hot. There should be a reset switch on the exterior of the heater. A birds nest in your vent could cause the heater to get hot enough to activate this switch. If you're not sure about where the reset is located, there should be a toll-free number on the water heater. The manufacturer should be able to tell you exactly where this is located once you give them the model and serial number. If you have the owner's manual, there should be a picture in the back that shows the location of the reset switch.
2016-03-31 23:53:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You've got a bad thermocouple. That is a device that electrically sees the pilot light. If it doesn't then it thinks that the pilot is out and it will cut off the gas.
It could be dirty, you could try running some steel wool over it a few times to try and clean it, then make sure the rod is in the pilot flame. If you get water in the base check the wires where the thermocouple is connected to. If there is water or some dirt, it could be bleeding enough of the voltage off that it is not triggering a transistor to turn on the gas.
2007-04-05 14:55:26 · answer #4 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like a bad thermocoupler. That is the little pencil shaped metal shaft that the flame of your pilot light touches when it is lit. If the flame does not touch and heat the thermocoupler, it can't send the proper electrical current (millivolts) to the controller to tell the controller to turn the burner on and keep it on until the water is heated. If you don't mount the thermocoupler properly when you replace it, it won't work either. Be sure that it is seated properly in the housing. Pay attention to how your present unit is mounted and repeat it with the new.
2007-04-05 15:07:04 · answer #5 · answered by r0cky74 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bad thermocouple. It's that little round tube looking thing that the pilot lite touches. Sometimes they can be restored by taking some emery board to it especially if it looks dirty. but if it's clean then it's bad. The hardware store will have a replacment. Make sure you get the model number off of it. there are about three or four on the market that look the same.
2007-04-05 14:47:31 · answer #6 · answered by Atheist 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it sounds like your regulator might be cloged try to replace it and get a compressor to clean out the pipes comeing out of the main (make sure the gas is off beofr attempting anything
if you are not veary good wih working with gas call a pro
as far as the slit flood implement a small sump pump to suck to the old water or stop it from comeing in the house in the first palce
2007-04-05 17:05:39 · answer #7 · answered by john M 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
if its that old get a new one the moisture from the crawl could od had an effect on the heater it self i suggest getting a newer one with a push button light so you donnt have to crawl down with a match or lighter all the time to light it
2007-04-05 15:06:06 · answer #8 · answered by ro 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like your pilot light thermocouple is defective.
2007-04-05 14:37:10 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Replace the thermocouple.
2007-04-05 14:41:23 · answer #10 · answered by Neil Budde Sucks Ass 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋