Pilot light

Gday everyone. I have a problem with my pilot light on my gas hot water unit. It wont stay on. I can ignite the pilot light easily and then turn the temp up so it starts heating. It will heat to the proper temp and then cut off, which is all good. But i think the pilot light may be blowing out when the thermostat cuts the main gas. Having said that, i have tried turning the thermastat up and then straight of to see if the pilot stays on and it did about 8-9 out of ten times, so this may not be the problem. But if the pilot stays on, and i leave it for about half and hour it will go out by itself. Now i have replaced the thermocouple and that didnt fix the problem. Any other ideas? small blockage in the pilot light gas line/jet. It goes out even when there is no wind so i can eliminate that cause. Can the intensity of the pilot flame be turned up/down? Thansk in advance. pete

sounds like the pilot jet is dirty

I had a similar problem with the unit going out - at least until I discovered the lawnmower guy used a backpack blower :rolleyes: .

I reckon Bob's right in this case, you might also check to see if anyone turned the gas down at the meter, bored kids do dumb things at times.

Could be your new thermocouple, was it doing the same with the old one?
Is the thermo close enough to the flame?
Could be the control valve itself although rare.

Had a similar problem a while back, replaced the thermocouple to no avail.

The gas bloke that came out put the old thermocouple back in (said the universal type I'd bought wasn't as good) and cleaned out the pilot jet with a bit of fine wire. He said even a cobweb across it can cause problems.


Cheers............Sean

OK. So my pilot light is still going out. I have replaced the thermo couple, cleaned the pilot light jet, even had the gas supplier guy out to check if the gas pressure was sufficient...it was. So now im buggered if i have any more ideas (appart from getting a heating specialist but im tight and broke). The unit is only 2.5 years old. Any more ideas guys?:(

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Originally Posted by mako

even had the gas supplier guy out to check if the gas pressure was sufficient...it was.

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Did he check the pressure at the heater with a water gauge, another problem that can cause this is the diaphram at the meter deteriotates over time and the pressure drops with demand to a point where as the main burners light up there isn't enough gas to substain the pilot light as well, this is the responsibility of your gas supplier, ring them up and get it checked they should do it free

My gas supplier sent s guy around to check pressure but he said it was fine. Do'nt know what he checked though.

99% chance that the pilot jet is dirty if you have access to some cleaning drills (anyone with a oxy set will have them) run the appropriate size through the jet the blow the out

Clean the spud as others have suggested. If it is two years old call the supplier and tell him to come fix it.

Pete

i was just watching the main burner heat the tank and after about 3-4min there seemed to be water dropping onto the burner unit thingy and sizzling as it burnt it off. It would have 1 drop every 10 seconds or so. Does this mean there is a hole in the tank? Im thinking maybe after the main flame has finished it might still drip and splash onto the pilot light, putting it out. I really hope the tanks not stuffed !:(

Are you sure the water dripping is not condensation as the unit heats up?

yeah... probably. that would make sense.

If the tank is leaking and the water causes the main burner to go out the the flame out cut off will shut down the pilot light as well, seems very likely you need to replace the unit, I would be calling a plumber and get it sorted once and forall

Water dripping , sounds like the tank is leaking and only 2 & 1/2 years old, usually they last a lot longer than that, is it still under waranty and are all the fittings to the tank tight, make sure one of these isn't loose and leaking :confused: