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What keeps a water heater lit?

By Emma Payne |

What keeps a water heater lit?

The tip of the thermocouple sits over the pilot flame, generating a voltage that keeps the gas valve open. If it senses that your water heater’s pilot light has gone out, the thermocouple will shift off the gas supply to the heater.

How do you know if your water heater is lit?

It’s usually right on the panel. Turn and hold the knob to “Pilot” and push the ignitor. You should hear it click, and probably also a “whooshing” sound. Check in that gap, and you should see the light on.

What happens if the pilot light on my water heater won’t stay lit?

The gas supply to the pilot assembly is controlled by this valve. If the pilot light won’t stay lit and the thermocouple is okay, then the thermostatic control valve may be defective. Replacement of this part should be performed by a trained gas technician.

What to do if your Rheem hot water heater won’t light?

Although Rheem recommends that you call a professional for any water heater repair, you can sometimes diagnose and correct the problem yourself. Open the valve on the gas line by turning the handle until it is parallel to the gas pipe. Turn the gas control knob to the “Pilot” position and push it in.

Why does my gas water heater not heat my water?

Their annual energy costs are lower, they don’t stop working in a power outage, and they quickly heat water to the perfect temperature. But all of this relies on one thing that sometimes goes wrong: The pilot light. When a gas water heater pilot won’t stay lit, the water heater can’t heat the water inside the tank.

Where is the pilot light on a gas heater?

The pilot light should be close to the gas burner tube, watch it closely. Ignite the flame with a long match while switching the knob to “pilot,” hold it in the position for 35 seconds. Once the pilot comes on, turn the knob back to “on.”

What to do when your water heater pilot light won’t stay lit?

Keep holding the gas knob or button down for a minute or so to ensure the pilot light gets plenty of gas flow. Slowly let go to make sure the pilot light stays lit. ONLY if you see that the pilot light is staying lit, turn the gas knob back to the On position.

Although Rheem recommends that you call a professional for any water heater repair, you can sometimes diagnose and correct the problem yourself. Open the valve on the gas line by turning the handle until it is parallel to the gas pipe. Turn the gas control knob to the “Pilot” position and push it in.

Their annual energy costs are lower, they don’t stop working in a power outage, and they quickly heat water to the perfect temperature. But all of this relies on one thing that sometimes goes wrong: The pilot light. When a gas water heater pilot won’t stay lit, the water heater can’t heat the water inside the tank.

What happens if the pilot light is not lit?

Once the thermocouple detects that the pilot light isn’t lit, it turns the gas off as a safety measure. An unlit pilot can also stem from a dirty thermocouple as the dirt may be obstructing the current signal, which would also lead to a gas outage.