Gas Heater Pilot Light Goes Out

Pilot light won t stay lit when you turn knob from pilot to on it goes out as soon as the knob pops up before you can turn it to on pilot light on my reliance 501 gas water heater won t stay lit when you turn it from light pilot to on it goes out as soon as the knob pops up.

Gas heater pilot light goes out.

The heater won t operate properly if the pilot flickers is too weak or goes out and the cause could also be blockages in the pilot tube. Thorough cleaning should do the trick. Fortunately the pilot light on modern water heaters is controlled by a valve that closes when the pilot goes off shutting off the supply of flammable gas. The flame will go out if the tube is clogged with dirt or debris.

The pilot light is supposed to be a strong blue cone not a weak yellow flame. If this pilot light ever goes out. Use a slender needle to. Cleaning out the pilot orifice means disassembling the pilot and clearing out the debris using a needle or compressed air.

When the pilot light goes out it does not leak carbon monoxide gas. Gas heater pilot light troubleshooting. Sometimes the tube might be partially clogged and supplying very little gas for combustion no wonder your pilot light keeps going out. A weaker flame won t envelop the thermocouple properly.

Leaking natural or propane gas can create a serious explosion hazard. Another cause of a weak pilot is a faulty thermocouple. Gas heaters whether they warm up air or water in a home rely on a pilot light to trigger the flame of the actual heater. A device called a thermocouple is heated by the pilot light flame.

The problem is likely something similar to what we mentioned above such as a faulty or dirty thermocouple and it will need to be taken care of by a professional plumber. If the pilot doesn t relight if it goes out right after lighting or if it goes out repeatedly by far the most common cause is a bad thermocouple. However if the light goes out frequently there could be other issues. Some of the possible serious reasons for pilot lights to go out include loose or broken gas valves thermocouples or heat exchangers faulty venting low gas pressure or high winds.

The pilot orifice may be full of dirt.