The heart of your water heater is the pilot light. This small blue flame that burns petroleum gas produces heat in your water heater tank. Without this flame, you won’t be able to have warm water for your bath, your kitchen sinks, your dishwasher, your laundry, and others. Warm water is essential for the shower and everyday usage.
How to light the pilot light of your hot water heater
To light the pilot light on your water heater, first, you need to hold down the control dial of the pilot light burner, second when it ignites, then you can turn the dial to “on”, this is so easy and won’t cause you any worry to perform. Third, if the pilot light turns off, you need to turn the gas valve back to the “pilot” and hope it will restart the pilot light back up again. But, if you see the burner and the light is still off and the flame is still out, you need to turn the gas valve to the “N” position and you have to wait for a little bit to reset the pilot light.
Why your water pilot light keeps going out or turning out?
1. Unclean or clogged pilot tube
The pilot tube is the passageway of the gas to the pilot light for incineration. If it is clogged with dirt or debris, it will cause the flame to go out.
2. Check your thermocouple
The thermocouple is the brain of the process of your water heater. If it is dirty it will close the gas valve and cause the pilot light to turn off. That is its main job. It operates as a safety device to avoid the gas from leaking and causing a fire.
3. A kink or broken thermocouple.
After you clean the thermocouple, make sure that It is not slightly bent at all. It needs to be near the pilot light for it to obtain heat and open to send out gas to the valve. If it is still not producing light to your water heater, the thermocouple might be broken, and you need to have it fixed or replaced. It is the best time to call your plumber for fast fixing and help.
4. Flex tube problem.
The gas will not be supplied from the burner for ignition if the flex tube is also damaged, conked out, or blocked.
5. Defective main control regulator.
This is the rarest of all issues that you will encounter with the pilot light of the water heater problem but still can cause the light to burn out.
Signs of a defective main control valve:
- A faulty pilot light button, it will not pop up after pressing it
- A defective control switch
- An extremely hot water temperature than what you set it for.
6. Electrical wiring issues.
This is most often the problem with electric water heaters.
Take note:
Checking the water heater if it is still under warranty upon purchase. You can return it to the manufacturer for repair or for a replacement for a new unit and hope for a better one with no expense.
Always consider the safety precaution in handling this stuff. Make sure you turn off the main gas supply to prevent sending off gas to deadly leaks. Wait for a few minutes for the heat and gas to totally disperse before restarting the pilot light of your water heater.
Safety is always the main course because this can cause fire and hazard to your property and harm to you as well. If you want to do it without the help of a plumber or technician, you can call a friend to give you a hand. Well if this at least will ease your mind in case of a dilemma. A helping hand will always come in handy. Besides, two heads are better than one as the saying goes. But the expert is still the best to do all this job for you. They are trained professionals because we already know how dangerous electricity and gas can be. You do not want to mess up with it. There is no such thing as trial and error. Your protection is supreme.
