Are you supposed to turn off your pilot light on the heater in the summer?

Question

Someone told me that you have to turn it off because it will cause a gas leak. I was just asking about this because last night when it was raining it seemed like some water was dripping into the vent by the heater. I don't know if I should turn it off and then have the gas company come light it up when winter comes back around.

Answer 1

I would definitely turn it off during the summer, for one it saves gas and a little money. Plus although it isn't much heat that comes from it, it will let off a noticeable bit of heat.

Answer 2

The pilot light is a small flame fed by a small flow of gas. When you feed a larger flow of gas to fire up the furnace (by cranking up the thermostat), the pilot flame ignites it, making the warm air.

If you leave the pilot flame on all summer, you're just burning up gas with no return on the investment. Also, since the furnace doesn't come on all summer, and doors and windows tend to be open more often, there is more of a chance of a draft of air that would snuff the flame out and leave gas leaking into the house.

Best bet it to extingiush the flame - MAKE SURE the red valve is turned to "OFF" so no gas flows into the house.

Have it turned on in the fall by a qualified furnace guy - he'll check for leaks, and can change filters and safely bring the gas back online with no explosions.

Good question. This is what Yahoo! Answers was designed for. Thanks!

Answer 3

Dea, I added a room to my house ten years ago and installed a propane-fired fireplace for heat. The third year it was in, I turned that red knob and shut the pilot off for the summer. Bad idea. I don't mean to alarm you but when it came time to fire it up in the fall, it didn't light. Service lady came 'round and found that a spider built its little home down in the pilot/burner orifice. There was no damage and I had no spider infestation problem, it was just a pain in the neck to call for service. Now, I keep the pilot burning all year 'round.
You should have that leak looked into though.
Whoever told you that you 'have to' turn the pilot off because it will cause a leak must have been after the rum cake because I can't think of any possible way that could occur.

Answer 4

NO, NO, NO! A pilot light is supposed to be alight for safety reasons. If you want it off, then get the gas man to do it properly and safely so there is no chance of a gas leak. And while you are at it, get the gas man to check that water leak into the vent of the heater, in case of damage from the leak.

Answer 5

The pilot wastes approx 4% of the appliances efficiency, so turning it off is a good idea, if the appliance has a flame failure device it will not allow gas through the gas valve, but you could also turn off the isolator if it has one at the appliance. If you have the appliance serviced through the summer, you stand a better chance of it re-lighting in the winter and you won't be stuck waiting for an engineer if it wont light in winter when they are busy.

Answer 6

I would turn off the gas until fall and then re-light it according to the instructions which are usually posted on the inside of the cover. My old furnace had a pilot light and that's what I did. My new furnace has an electronic ignitor. A pilot light in the summer is just wasteful.

Answer 7

why don't you have the gas person come turn it off, then learn how to do it yourself. That way you won't be stuck in the cold. Its not a hard thing to learn and you become just a little bit more self-sufficient.

Answer 8

Only if you don't need hot water. Is there a leak at the BASE of the water heater? Then you need to replace it especially if it's over 5 years old.

Answer 9

no the gas company will tell you not to turn it off because if it shoild turn cold all of a second you cannot get any heat til the gasman comes out

Answer 10

Leave it on. It will keep the humidity down and prevent possible rusting during periods of higher humidity.