Why will my gas hot water heater not stay lit?

Lack of Combustible Air. Another reason your gas water heater pilot light won’t stay lit could be due to not having enough combustible air. Your water heater requires air to keep the pilot light burning. Otherwise, the flame goes out.

Why is my gas hot water heater not working?

The other less common problem would be the gas valve. A bad gas valve will not allow any gas to go to the burner or pilot light. If the pilot light lights and then shuts off it is not the gas valve. If it won’t light at all, see the article, ‘ Fixing Hot Water Heater Gas Valves ‘ for the issues surrounding this device.

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.

How does a gas fired water heater work?

Most gas fired water heaters use a standing pilot to ignite the main burner. The gas for the pilot assembly is supplied by the main gas valve and is monitored by the thermocouple. The thermocouple is a heat sensing probe that is part of the pilot assembly and sits just above the pilot flame.

What happens if you have two immersion heaters?

In case one of the immersion heaters malfunctions, the other one will still try to overcome that loss and heat the water. Since one heater is not enough to warm up all of the water in the cylinder, the resulting water flowing from your hot water tap will be lukewarm. This is one of the most common water heater issues that is hardly exposed.

How do you troubleshoot a gas hot water heater?

If troubleshooting a gas water heater, make sure that the gas is on, then relight the pilot flame with a BBQ lighter at the base of the water heater. If troubleshooting an electric heater, make sure the heater is receiving electricity, then reset the thermostat by pressing down the red reset button on top of the thermostat.

Why is my hot water heater not heating?

When the upper heating element or upper thermostat is faulty, the water in the top of the tank will never reach the temperature setting on the upper thermostat and the water at the top of the water heater will not get hot. When this happens, it will never switch power to the lower thermostat or heating element.

How do you turn on a hot water heater?

Turning On Electric or Tankless Water Heaters Turn on the breaker for the hot water tank after it’s full of water. Wait several hours for the water tank to heat up. Turn off the gas before switching on your tankless water heater. Confirm the temperature and turn on the gas for the tankless water heater.