Pilot light in gas, wall heater doesn't stay lit.

[David Farber]

This is a gas wall heater manufactured by Southern Heater Corp, model #135S. It has a 24.5K BTU output. The pilot lights in the pilot mode. When the knob is turned to on, it stays lit and the burner ignites. The temperature dial goes from 1 to 5. Very basic. Once the temperature exceeds the thermostat setting, the burner stops. So far so good. But when it's time for the burner to come back on, it doesn't. I noticed that some time during the first few minutes, the pilot light extinguishes even though the burner is still going strong. Is this a thermocouple problem? Every time I relight the pilot, the burner will come on again but minutes later the cycle repeats. I cannot locate any information on this make or model heater and I was wondering if parts for this are generic.

Thanks for your reply.

[Joe]

[dpb]

Possibly...might also simply be a partially clogged pilot light orifice so that it is easily blown out; that was a problem on the basic simpler heater in the wellhouse spoken of in another thread recently.

--

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

Probably-- but it could also be a bit of dust on the orifice directing the heat away from the thermocouple. Get a can of air 7 give it a couple shots before you buy a new thermocouple.

If the air doesn't do it- try here;

Jim

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Or thermocouple connection is loose making poor contact inside the fitting.

[JIMMIE]

Unfortunatly it gets down to how old it is and how much a new one cost. I have a similar gas heater that is 20 years old and cost about $80 USD back then. Before I'd mess around with finding repair parts I would replace the whole thing, about $100. repair parts even if you can DIY may be a significant portion of the cost of a new heater.

[Bob Villa]

Thermocouples are less than $10. Thermopiles less than $40. This most likely is a TC and if he has lit the pilot...he knows how well the flame contacts the TC.

bob_v

[David Farber]

Ok, I'll clean out the pilot light orifice and see if that corrects it. If it turns out that I do need to replace the thermocouple, are there different types, temperatures, or other parameters I need to consider when buying a new one?

Thanks for your reply.

[JIMMIE]

On mine its either welded or stamped in. You would have to replace the whole valve assembly. I had to do this the first year I had it installed in warranty. The part would have been a very significant cost of the heater. I assumed this was pretty much the case on all the wall mounted gas heaters. If its as old as mine 20 years I would still replace even if the part only cost $10. I always ask myself, " would I pay X dollars(cost of repair) for a Y old item". Of course the fix may be as simple as adjusting the position of the TC relative to the flame or turning up the gas to the pilot. The OP may also be having a problem when the main burner is turned off it sucks out the flame of the pilot. The gas guy turned up the pilot to fix this but I later learned it was an air mixture problem. There was actually a small explosion that was blowing out the flame whenever it shut off. Last tech that looked at it turned the pilot down and adjusted the air.That is pretty much the history of my 20 year old unit. One more problem and it winds up on the curb.

Jimmie

Jimmie

[clare]

But IF it is only a thermocouple, it's $19 tops. Closer to $10 if you are lucky. Universal thermocouples com in several lengths - almost certain to be one that "fits".

[clare]

The "universal" thermocouple kits have all the parts to make them fit

- sometimes takes a bit of grunt-work - and the old unit was well enough made it will LIKELY still be working when it would be time to replace the cheap crap you can buy today, the next time.

[The Daring Dufas]

The last one I repaired, had a safety over-temperature switch wired into an adapter that slipped into the well in the gas valve where the threaded connector end of the thermocouple screwed in. The wire was defective so I removed the adapter and screwed the thermocouple back in to restore the water heater to operation. The switch looked like the roll out switch on a gas furnace and it was the first one I'd seen like that. I don't remember the brand of water heater and I haven't looked for a replacement because the owner didn't want to spend any more money. It was just an extra safety added on and for some reason reminded me of the bolt-on emission controls added to cars back in the 70's. I've been seeing a lot of safety devices that are being added to a lot of consumer items that are obviously not a part of the original design.

In your case, I've seen instances where the thermocouple is not far enough into the pilot flame and the pilot flame is pulled away from the tip of the thermocouple by the draft of the main burner. The cure could be as simple as repositioning the tip of the thermocouple.

TDD

[Grumpy]

I know that every body like to do things them self one reason it makes you feel good that you achieved something doing it yourself, and the other it is lot more cost effective meaning lot cheaper However I would not advise anyone full with furnace unless you are sure that you know what are you doing a few dollars of saving could coast your life just be a ware of that fact. we can all say maybe is these or maybe is that and maybe none of us will be right, on the end best for you will be call person that works with that and be safe.

[Bob Villa]

Your use of the language...is nearly unbearable! But I did get the gist.

bob_v

[David Farber]

I replaced the thermocouple. The pilot stays lit now.

Thanks for all the replies,

[Bob Villa]

Did you use a universal type that was cheap?

[David Farber]

The package says, "Universal thermocouple. 12 inches." It is manufactured by LDR Appliance.

The price was $5.99 at OSH.

Thanks for your reply.

[josephchae305]

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