Gas Water Heater Pilot Light Won T Stay Lit

This is also a likely cause if the pilot won t ignite at all.

Gas water heater pilot light won t stay lit. Remove the burner access covers and unscrew the nuts on the gas pilot and thermocouple lines. These are the most common reasons why your heater s pilot light won t stay lit. Although a blocked gas line is one reason why the pilot light on a rheem water heater won t light or stay lit there are other reasons as well some easier to correct than others. There is a chance that your thermocouple has simply gone bad and is the reason your pilot light won t stay lit.

Dirt and debris can collect in the pilot tube causing the flow of gas to be blocked. A faulty thermocouple or malfunction of the gas valve could be the culprit but the problem may be as simple as a draft coming from a crack in the wall or under the door. The gas supply to the pilot assembly is controlled by this valve. A pilot light can also keep going out because of a problem with the thermocouple.

This control is part of the gas valve assembly and normally has a dial that will allow for temperature adjustment and will also have a probe that monitors the water temperature. Another possible reason why a pilot won t stay lit has to do with the flex tubing. This tubing connects to the gas controller and will ensure a steady stream of gas. Sometimes this tubing will get kinked in places which will prevent proper operation.

Down draft from the ceiling fan draft at the bottom of the unit or high winds are also common reasons when the pilot would go out. A bad thermocouple will shut off gas to both the pilot and the burner so the pilot light won t stay lit. In this case you may need to replace your pilot light. Most of the time improper venting would cause the pilot outage on direct vent gas water heaters dv.

If your gas water heater doesn t stay lit you may have a defective control thermostat. As a result the pilot doesn t get enough fuel to stay lit. If you ve checked everything else and the light continually goes out this is probably the cause. If this is the problem then unkinking the tube will occasionally resolve the issue.

If you re fairly certain this is the source of the problem you will either need to have the thermocouple replaced or repaired. Thankfully a dirty pilot tube is the easiest issue to fix. The primary reason a pilot light won t stay lit is simply equipment malfunction. Most recently manufactured water heaters function with the aid of a thermocouple.

The thermocouple has been damaged.