Hot Water Heater Pilot Light Won't Stay Lit or On - How to fix waterheater by testing Thermocouple
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- Опубликовано: 23 май 2013
- I am not a professional, just documenting how i repaired the hot water heater's pilot light to stay on.
The solution was adjusting the thermocouple. You can review different thermocouples on Amazon here: goo.gl/9SKSI
The following link goes to Amazon's Digital Multi Meter with Capacitance:
goo.gl/3cjvt
Colin G comment:
1. The thermo couple tip should 3/8" ABOVE the "pencil Pilot Tip", should read about 30mv.
2. Once opened the burner door. Manufacture requires installing a new gasket around the burner door to prevent CO and air leakag. 
Хобби
I want to thank you very much. My husband just had his leg amputated and our water heater died. I tried relighting the pilot but it wouldn't stay lit. He certainly couldn't help. So I decided to go to RUclips to see if I could find any info and I found you. Our waterheater is much older than yours but your description was so good that I was able to translate it to our older waterheater. The thermocouple was just dirty. I cleaned it and viola! Because of my husband's illness we are out of $ and you saved our ass. My husband is very proud of me and grateful to you so thanks again.
I am sorry this happened to your husband. God bless you both, and hope things can go back to some type of normal for you. Take Care -
Way to go!
I'm doing the same. Haha good job, your share has made me more confident in doing this particular task myself. God bless.
Work the same way for me with my older water heater
Thank you so much you save me alotnof money...u actually used a dollar bill to clean the dirty thermocouple I didn't want to take the chance of damaging the couple...but God Bless you for this video...
You’re far more handy than me. To you, that was an easy fix. I’m just going to sell my house.
Haha
ditto LOL
Bahahahaha!
😂😂😂😂😂😂
The whole house lmao
Your description of this repair is spot on. Always do the easy, cheap stuff first before spending a lot of money. This worked for me doing these steps exactly. Thanks dude.
Thanks brother! You gave me the confidence to dive in and fix my heater. I usually shy away from anything gas. All the other building trades? No problem. Not even electric. But gas has always given me pause. But you showed it was simple as long as you pay attention to detail. Thanks again!
I just want to thank you for making this video, because of your narration and on screen tips I was able to isolate and repair our bad thermcouple, I feel great and appreciate your contribution. I had no idea that water heaters were so basic in design, mind blowing! Now I want to invest in learning how to better use a multi meter!
Thanks for taking the time to make and post this tutorial. My pilot light wouldn't stay lit. After following your guide, I was able to lightly sand the thermocoupler and we are now back in business!
great video, helped me out! my thermocouple was hovering 19/20 millivolts and wouldn't stay light. turned out to be really dirty, works great now with light sanding. thanks.
I just watched your video last night and today I bought the thermo coupler and yes!!! it worked...thank you you save me hundreds of dollars
Thanks for the very informative and thorough video. It helped me immensely today while troubleshooting my Kenmore Power Miser 6 water heater. What solved my problem was removing the burner assembly, vacuum it as well as inside the chamber and lastly, I used sandpaper to smooth out the surface of the thermocouple. Assembled it all back together and now I have a functioning water heater! Thanks again DIY Tinker!
Thank you for posting this, brother. I didn't know how to open the unit to clean out dust/soot accumulation. Now I have a working water heater, no call to the plumber, and a wife who thinks I'm a hero. Doesn't get any better than this!
Thank you for a quality video, I replaced the thermocouple two times, but after a while (about a month each time) pilot light wouldn't stay lit, this time instead of replacing, I cleaned it and adjusted it closer to the pilot light flame, put it back together, works again. I appreciate the information and the money saved.
Thanks for the instructive video. I was a bit frightened, with the gas and all, of attempting to fix my water heater. A few RUclips videos, a trip to Home Depot, and a little time and I was up-and-running. Doing it myself probably saved me $150 or so. Plus the added bonus of understanding how the water heater works and the satisfaction of fixing it myself. Thank you!
I followed your instructions and fixed my heater. The thermocouple was all dirty. I sanded it gently, put everything together and voila - it works!
This is the best, clearest instructional video of this kind I've found. Excellent detail, visuals, focus, spoken instructions. Everything was perfect. This showed me exactly what to do to fix my problem. Thank you very much!
the kid is a gentle instructional bad-ass!
I haven't worked on it yet, but it looks like what you are saying is happening to mine. Thank you for taking the time to make this, and sharing it with the world.
Thank you for taking the time to produce this video sharing your knowledge and insight. It is noteworthy to mention that this video was produced about 7-years ago and it still applies and works. Al and I just got done moving the thermocouple with our bare hands into a much closer "orbit" of the pilot (It was really probably a 1/2 an inch away). When we relit the pilot light the flame was not only much brighter in its brilliance, but it was also a slight bit bigger as well. Sure enough, when the switch was turned to the on position, and the heater ignited immediately. Thank you DIY TINKER and Yahuwah(God) bless you and your family for sharing the gift of Yahuwah in you, by the sharing of this video.
Good & easy instructions. I called in the Affordable Water Heaters in bay area, CA when the pilot light won't stay on after heating water. The guy took 10 minutes & said I need to replace the control valve & they can do it for $766.xx; I asked him how did he know it's the control system & answer was "I've been doing this for 20 years". I asked him to leave.
Saw this video & did some testing. Replaced the themocouple & made sure that no gas leak was found (I would add that to the video) as it's risky with gas. It is working for last 24 hours.... hope to last another couple of years before I open it again.
Words can't express how greatful I am for this video! Thank you so much! I was able to fix the thermocouple and now she is running great!
Great post. I just tested and replaced the thermocouple and worked great. A couple of notes: tightness of the thermocouple up into the thermostat is very important, you can try different tightnesses by slowly releasing the button until the pilot starts to flicker then push down again quickly before it goes out, then tighten more and try again, repeat. That way you dont have to keep relighting (I didnt have an electric sparker). Also, I needed a shorter thermocouple for my heater but the shortest Home Despot had was 24". I put a loop in it and tucked it in underneath so I could close the inner door, but it would have been better to use a metal bar and twist it around the bar like a telephone handset cord underneath the outer door.
Thanks for this video. I followed your procedure and determined I needed a new thermocouple. $13 and 15 minutes later I have hot water again. You've no doubt saved me a lot of money keeping the plumber away.
Thank you so much! My thermocouple was broken but I was able to replace it using your tutorial! This saved me days without hot water and probably several hundred dollars!
Great video. I dont have a voltmeter but your video did lead me to try reseating the two igniter wires before I started unscrewing things. Simply reseating the wires fixed it.
Thank you so much!!! I did exactly what you explained and got my waterheater to work again! You saved me a lot of grief after getting nowhere with GE tech support. You also saved me close to $800 from buying a new one. Much appreciated :)
Thank you so much DIY Tinker! You're video was so helpful. It was thorough yet short and simple. I was able to reignite the pilot and keep it burning. It was such a relief to see the pilot still burning after letting it go and turning to on. Thank you.
Many thanks for making such a concise and easy to follow video. I tested the thermocouple and found it malfunctioning. Replaced it and tested the new one…works perfectly! An exacto knife worked perfectly on the red rubber grommet. I'm gonna go take a hot shower now!
I have same problem after 5 years, I replace the thermal couple - bought that from homedepot- $14. replace the part, and we have the flame... thanks you very much
Man- thank you sooooo much! My unit it 12 years old and all of a sudden- it stopped working. Pilot light would light and then go out. Tested thermocouple and got a 1.7 reading. Pulled out the burner cluster and the tip had black carbon all over it acting as an insulator. Cleaned it up with light sand paper and presto! Working perfectly. You saved me $$$ by posting this. Thank you!
Duuuude...THANK YOU! i watched your vid while waiting for repairman to come out on a Sunday night. my coupler was pulling only 12 millivolts...it needed replacing. Thanks to you i was not talked into replacing my water heater. Thank you! i learned so much.
Thanks so much. After watching the video i had it working in about 15 minutes. Taking it apart was simple and i felt comfortable tackling the fix. Your video was the only one i watched to get it fixed.
I've been an electrician for 45 years but didn't know this trick. The thermocouple on my 25 year old (and still going strong!) AO Smith water heater tested bad, so a trip to Menards for a new one and hot water again. Thanks!
Judy Alsmeyer I'm amazed that you got 25 years of service out of a thermocouple. In my experience they seem to last around 7 to 8 years when they're constantly in a flame. Since they seem to poop out on a Saturday night when the hardware stores are closed (it's happened to me twice so far) I now keep a spare on hand. Replacing the thermocouple takes just minutes, if you have one.
I used a brass brush on a high speed rotary tool and cleaned the thermocouple without needing to disassemble anything. Worked awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Dude, for not being a pro, I'm very impressed at the work you did. The only things I'd suggest at the end, is to soap test the gas fittings you disturbed with the burner and pilot on, as well as making sure it's venting properly.
MrTachyon3000 how do you make sure it’s venting properly?
Yo bro, just tried the introduction of your video to hold my pilot down for a whole minute and that fixed the solution! Thanks for this!
All the extra knowledge if needed I’m sure will come in handy !
THANK YOU! I ran through 3 iterations of trying to get my pilot light to stay on, until I came across your video; which you mentioned how my thermocouple was too far from the pilot light, I can now take a hot shower for work tomorrow, you have no idea how much that means to me! :)
Thanks for the video. I took the unit apart, lightly cleaned the thermocouple with a steel brush, vacuum out the inside of the water tank and around the base unit, reconnected everything back up and it work's like a charm, again thanks for the video.
man, this is by far the best water heater fix and trouble shooting guide I have seen! Thanks a lot!
My problem needed detail on REPLACING the BAD thermocouple. It would help if the video title says (NOT replacing thermocouple). I needed detail about the tiny clip that hold the thermocouple in place... which other videos are vague on. Very good video because of the effort/detail you put into it.
Dude.... You saved my ass. In 40+ years I've never had to replace a thermocouple. Great instructions and $12 at Home Depot and I'm showering warm tonight.
You just save me at least $80! Thank you! In my case, the pilot light just wouldn't stay lit. I removed the assembly and just cleaned the copper thing and viola! Thanks for a clear, concise and valuable video!
Thank you. I have not worked on a sealed heater and was afraid to open it up. After seeing you do it and getting a look inside I have lost my fear. Now I can take that yearly bath. ;-)
Thanks for all the good info on how to test and align the thermocouple. I am having the same problem and I put a new thermocouple into the unit. I will check mine this morning. If the thermocouple readings are good I will pull the burner and check that air link inside the unit. As long as I hold the pilot light button down it burns but as soon as I release it it goes out no matter how long I hold the button down.
Thank you sir, I followed your instructions and cleaned my thermocouple and the heater is now repaired. You saved me time and money. I really appreciate the time you took to put this video together and to share your knowledge. this would have cost me at least $200 in labour to repair. Since my heater is about 8 years old I also cleaned out where the burner sits, there was a lot of burnt debris in there and it was piled up quite bad. I vacuumed it all out and its good as new.
What he said -^
Also holy crap that burner gets disgusting with the crap that builds up, doesn't it?
Your video made me very confident to do this. I'm the past I would have called someone because I don't like to mess with gas. So after watching your video, grabbing my tools, local hardware store and back - I was done in less than an hour. I now have two hours to relax before I head out for work and my wife won't nag me because we don't have hot water while I'm gone. LIFE SAVER!!!
thats wonderful! you made my day.
Awesome video DIY Tinker! Great detail on the breakdown and just what i need for the same problem I have with my water heater/pilot light not staying lit. Can't wait to test it tomorrow and see if I need to replace mine. I'm a big DIYer myself so I love videos like yours! Thanks!
Thanks, I called a heating place to come since my pilot light wouldn't stay lit thinking it was a hard problem. Watched this while waiting, went to Menards and $7 later (and about 15 minutes of work) it's running great. Saved me a service call
This was an awesome video.
The parts where I was thinking "where the heck is the thinga ma bob??!", you added the outlines with labels.
Thank you. This will definitely come in handy tomorrow when the husband is fixing out water heater
Same problem but with an old water heater. Cleaned corrosion off the coupler, and it worked! Thanks!
Awesome video! I have very LIMITED plumbing/electrical experience and followed your directions exactly as posted. After checking my thermocouple(cleaning it and making sure it was not bent on the interior burner side), it did not produce the voltage it should have. I found a Rheem universal thermocouple at my local Home Depot(under $12), replaced it and within 5 minutes the gas heater was working again. As a mom, every dollar saved is much appreciated. THANK YOU!!!!!!
Thank you so much for this video. You saved me a grip and all it took was 20 minutes work and some sand paper. This is invaluable advice and very thoroughly conveyed. 👍🏾Subscribed!
Dude you made my water heater start up for the first time in three days after I spent 10 seconds with the sand paper. Thank you.
Really clear video and excellent instructions. My thermocouple was misaligned and reading very low voltage. Fixed it! Thank You very much!
I’m definitely going to try this tomorrow. Our heater is only just over one year old, in a new construction house; I’m assuming it was damaged from shipping or installation, and the now lower temperatures of winter may have caused an issue with contraction of the metal. Thanks for the video!
I just did this and it was right on the money my mother in law is happy and a 8 dollar fix did the job who knows how much I would of got charged! Great video!!!!
Thank you for this very well done and simple to follow video. I know nothing about water heaters and my pilot wouldn't stay lit. Just followed your instructions, however, I sanded down the tip of thermo=coupling, replaced, lit and it's working like a champ. Thanks again.
Awesome video. Easy to follow, straight to the point and absolutely helped me fix my own Hot Water Heater. I liked and subscribed. Thank You for posting this!👍🏻
Thank God for your video, I wasn’t getting hot water so I thought the worst, but I had the same issue, I just realigned the thermocouple to the pilot and cleaned it. After reinstall everything worked as it should, so thank you so much
Thanks for the video. You gave the best tutorial ever. I did not know how to test the thermocouple. Mine was fine. Turns out as you said. I pulled the new burner unit out and checked the position of the thermocouple to the pilot and it was misaligned. I tweaked it a bit and presto.
Thanks very much.
I have same problem. Great video and great instructions. I will try today to fix
Thank you so much for sharing this video.
Thank you. Mine is another case of fixing the problem by diagnostics. The copper tubing was touching the other pipe and when I moved it away, the thermocoupler worked and the thing lit up beautifully! Thanks again!
oh, thats a good point. i never had that problem before, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much. You saved me a ton of money. We were able to complete this process in less than 1 hour with only a screwdriver, a piece of sandpaper to clean off the probes, and a closed end wrench.
Thank you ... this video helped me. Went and got the part from ACE hardware for $9.99 and replaced it in about 1 hour.. Now all is working again..
Thank you so much for saving me time and money. Your instruction was clear and straightforward.
Excellent tutorial. Easy one to fix. Thank you so much for the information
Thank you Mr. DIY Tinker!!! Only sanding down the Thermocouple seems to do the trick. Money saver for sure!!! Much appreciated!!!
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! I k new nothing more than how to light the pilot light on a hot water heater. My pilot light would only stay lit for as long as I held down the red button, after a minute of holding it and then letting go, the pilot went out immediatly. Your video was great!! after watching it I was confident enough to replace my thermocouple. This is a very well put together video with good camera angles to show everything. THANK YOU!
As winter approaches furnace repair companies get bogged down with calls. Your tutorial video could be a life saver for many coming here. Bravo 👏
Just fixed my heater for $10. Thanks for the tutorial. It worked like a charm 🤞👏🙌👍🤝💪🙏
Watched a few videos including yours. Went to Lowes and got the part for $8. Fixed and water hot again, thanks.
Thank you for this. I replaced the thermocouple and the pilot light wouldn't stay lit. Made an adjustment so it would line up with the pilot and success the first time.
Thank you so much! saved me some money! I just had to readjust the thermocouple and we are good to go!!!
nice job! a fine point - many plumbers say to use steel wool to clean a thermocouple because sandpaper can leave a residue that can clog the nearby gas orifice. I know that sounds pretty unlikely, but .....
Awesome video. Dirty Thermocouple and Igniter. Adjusted my Thermocouple height, and like a champ - I was in business. You da man!
Thanks alot I got home and my water heater wasn't working I was freaking out and I saw your video and fixed mine in 15 minutes saved me alot of money thank you so much......🍻
As you know... YOUR THE MAN!! Thanks for posting... RUclips University gets it done again
Excellent video, thanks very much for taking the time to make it. Helped me fix my water heater with a simple $12 part.
Thank you soooo much!! My water heater is exactly the same model as the one shown here. The pilot would not stay lit, I cleaned the thermocouple with sand paper but still no luck. I went to the local ACE hardware store to buy a new one, it did not look exactly the same but I made it work waahoooo!!! The only thing I had trouble with was removing the old thermocouple, I had to use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove it, it was kind of hard but not impossible.
thank you again, you saved me from spending hundred of dollars on a service call :)
Very helpful - Thank you! Replaced the thermocouple. A $10 part from the local hardware store and did the trick just in time for new years eve. Ah, hot showers here we go!
You just saved me $500 for replacement water heater and many nights of cold shower. I replaced thermocouple and got my hot water back. Thanks
Great video! No hot water tonight and the pilot would not stay lit just like yours. Watched your video, took the coupler out and cleaned it with sandpaper. The heater fired right up! Only about 30 minutes of work. Thank you for posting this video. Tomorrow is Sunday and we would have had to wait days for someone to fix it. Not to mention paid them a couple of hundred bucks!!
same here! My story matches yours exactly.
Outstanding, helpful vid!
Clean, clear and to the point. Thanks!
Good video. I was glad to see you test the t'couple with your meter before completely
installing it. Nice way to provide complete information! Thanks!
Thx man! PEOPLE THIS VIDEO IS VERY HELPFUL! BUT PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IF YOU HAVE A THEMOCOUPLE WITH A RESISTOR ON IT AS OPPOSED TO THE COPPER WIRE ONLY YOU WILL NEED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE BURNER ASSEMBLY (the copper wire and pilot line) Do not pay a plumber $200 + the thermocouple is less than $12 & a new burner assembly can be ordered for around $30 on amazon!!!!!!
This is the video that saved me a service call on Saturday after Thanksgiving. Thanks!
Good job! One of the best RUclips's I've seen.
I shut off the gas disconnected the three lines and pulled out the burner. Cleaned debris on top of burner and put a small wire brush to the thermocouple. Pilot has stayed lit now for over 12 hours. Still going to replace it as it's over 13 years old but good for right now. Took maybe 20 minutes, tops. Thanks!
thanks so much for making this video. saving me hundreds on a tech coming out and the cold showers too.
Great video, thanks for posting it! I didn't know the voltage for the thermocouple. But thanks to your info, I found that my thermocouple put out 24.4 mV. My problem turned out to be a bad connection on the other end. Works like a charm now. Thanks again........
Worked great - my thermo couple was bad and was able to replace it. Thanks for posting this video!
Great video,, this made it easy to test my thrmocouple. Worked great. I now have hot water. Had a loose thermocoulple and was crusty.
Loved this video. I tested my coupler with a meter and it did not even register. I took thermocouple out and it was covered with soot. Sanded the surface of the thermocouple and put it back in and it lit and stayed lit.
Thanks DIY Tinker! I woke up this morning to no hot water, and when I tried to lite the pilot on the hot water heater, it would not stay on like it usually does when you release the button after 1 minute. I tried cleaning the thermocouple, but still no luck in multiple tries. I used your instructions to test the voltage, and I was getting up to 25mv from the thermocouple, but I figured, what the heck, let me buy a new one at Home Depot for $11.00 before spending big bucks on a service call. Sure enough, replacing that part did the trick! Even though the old one was putting out voltage, maybe it was too low or something. In any case, things worked right away as soon as I put the new thermocouple in, even though the old one was clean and putting out 25mv. So all you DIY'ers out there, keep in mind a 25mv voltage from your thermocouple still doesn't mean you don't have to replace it, like I did. Thanks DIY Tinker! You saved me some money today.
+Steve Gorman Thanks for the tip. I need to check mine. Mine lights but goes out in a few days.
+Al Phillips It's worth a try to replace the thermocouple using these instructions. Mine was 14 years old and I guess it finally got weak. I figured it was worth a try before calling the plumber, especially since the part cost only $11.28 at Home Depot. Be careful to turn off the gas and make sure you don't small gas at any point. www.homedepot.com/p/24-in-Thermocouple-Kit-15028/204834536
DIY Tinker, Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've never messed with a water heater before, but I thought I'd give it a try. The multimeter test showed a bad thermo couple, so a visit to Home Depot and we're back in business. Great video
thx for the feedback and happy to know it worked out for ya!
Great video. Only one negative comment: I measured 19mV on the thermocouple and reckoned it was O.K. but I replaced it anyway, and that fixed the problem. So, getting a decent voltage on the thermocouple doesn't necessarily prove that it's good. Other than that, the video was a great help, so thank you! :-)
Thanks, I'm confident I can fix my ongoing "no hot water for a shower in the morning" issue I've been experiencing lately.
great vid as some probably are afterwards on removing the stupid thermocouple. i tried your trick of removing the whole thing and pushing my t/c back. it was way out. it didnt do any good. i didnt have a meter that would read milliV so i went to HD got a universal t/c and presto. just cut the grommet like you said and now, after all day, it works. THANK YOU
wow WOW WOW I JUST FOLLOWED THE STEPS..GOT MY MULTI METER OUT AND TESTED MY COUPLER.....TESTED BAD.....WENT TO LOWES AND 10.96 LATER I HAVE HOT WATER AGAIN AND I SAVED BIG BUCKS...…….THANKS DOUBLE THANKS...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you very much for taking some of your time to do this very fine and clear explanation, is very helpful. keep up the good work
hey diy tinker, thank you very much for the vid n great xplantion, I went sand paper da end of da thermopost wer dey all meet, n it works great just like brand new
This did not fix my problem but I thoroughly enjoyed your video.
Thanks for the info didn't know how to check the thermocouple so I would assume if the produces 30mv or higher it may be the controller