Lighting a gas water heater pilot

My friend is having trouble lighting the pilot on his gas water heater.

I've looked ont the web and so far only found instructions for when things are going well, which doesn't apply here.

It has a built=in sparker, like a gas grill. Should we be able to see the spark that the sparker makes while looking through the hole?

If the sparker doesn't work, can I use a match? In that same hole? Do I need s really long match? I have none. Can I light the straw from a real straw broom?

He's been trying to sell this house for a year, finally has, and the walk-through is on Monday. We're hoping to light the wh Sunday so the water will be warm in time for the walk-thru.

We had the red button pressed all the way down for at least a minute (not realizing it wasn't lit) but never smelled any gas. All the valves in the supply pipe appear to be turned on, and the stove works.

Should we have smelled gas in just a minute?

Thanks a lot.

Reply to
mm
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If the line's been off or otherwise has air in it, it can take a long long time to bleed by holding that pilot button. But yes, you should be able to see the spark, and yes, you can use a match, straw broom straw, rolled up news paper, candle lighter, propane torch, etc. I actually held a flame in one long enough to heat up the thermocouple and i didn't even have to hold the button after that, just wait for the air to bleed. You should be able to see the air 'blow' your flame sideways a little if infact the valve is being opened to allow gas to flow. no, you may not smell it after just a minute. Pilot circuits use very little flow. like i said, it may take a while.

Reply to
Steve Barker

could be no spark, rusted pilot, spiderweb. or call the plumber to come in monday with his blowtorch, the buyer will like a new water heater and can meet the plumber too. see more "water heater pilot won't light" searched at applianceguru at

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Reply to
buffalobill

It's not unusual for service techs to take the gas line loose and turn on the shutoff valve to purge the air out of the pipes quickly. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's not familiar with gas appliances. If you have a friend who's a handyman, he may be able to do it for you. Around here, the gas company is glad to send out someone to light you pilots and check everything for leaks. I don't know about gas company policies in your area.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

That's a good idea. I'll try to check on that. Thanks, and thank you Steve and BBill.

Reply to
mm

I have a gas hot water heater at my cabin. Every time we leave, we must turn off the gas. So, when I turn it on, I then have to go start the stove with a match. This takes upward of a minute. From there, the line goes to the HWH.

I use one of those long lighters you can get at the 99 cent store. My problem is that it takes a long time for the air to get out of the line, and the pilot to light. Rather than laying there for several minutes, I turn the knob to the ON position with the lighter in there. This causes gas to flow to the main burner, and that lights with a few seconds. I have since quit trying to heat up the thermocouple and waiting for the air to bleed, as my hand cannot hold the flame on the lighter for that long a time. And I don't want to just keep my finger on the button until I smell gas and then strike a match.

Try the ON thing if your dryer is configured to do so. Start at PILOT position first until you have the match in the right place. An assistant turning the control valve makes it easier, too.

Would like to know if that helps. Just be sure you have the lit match in there when you turn it to ON so you don't get a gas buildup that could cost you your eyebrows and all that lovely nose hair.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Just the confidence of knowing you don't have any leaks is reason to call the gas company. What a great idea, DD.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

It sparks as you push the button down. Holding it down does nothing.

Reply to
Bob F

Yes, I like to heat the thermocouple in situations like that. It's fast and painless. I have a very small flame propane torch that works perfect for the job.

Reply to
Tony

on 9/19/2009 10:30 PM (ET) mm wrote the following:

What Steve Barker said. I have a propane fired fireplace in my sunroom that is only used in the winter (naturally). It takes so long to start up the first time that my thumb hurts and I have to switch back and forth between thumbs to keep the button down before it will light, and then it might burn for a second or two and then go out, requiring a relight. .

Reply to
willshak

I used to do the same thing when I had to light gas fireplaces that had been off for months (sometimes years). I would hold the flame on the thermocouple until I could get the gas burner to open up then keep the flame near the thermocouple and pilot until all the old gas/ air was bled out and the burner fired up (usually only a fraction of the time it would have taken if I held in the pilot starter button).

Reply to
Slightly Graying Wolf

The reason modern water heaters have a spark ignitor is that the burner is inside a sealed chamber to prevent an explosion if you place flammable liquids next to the heater. in order to actually reach the pilot burner with a match you must remove an access panel. According to at least one manufacturer (Rheem), if that panel is removed, the gasket must be replaced for continued anti-explosion safety.

Reply to
Bob

Butane Aim N Flame gadgets are really first rate.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

If you like to live with adventure. Use a propane torch to heat the thermocouple. Then turn the gas valve on. The torch will light the gas, and by the time you turn it off, the thermocouple is warm, and the pilot is lit.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

You've seen my Jesus method for finding circuit breakers, I call the use of a torch to get the main gas valve on to purge the air, "The Satan Method". If you're not careful you can get a big ball of flame. *snicker*

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Call the gas co., they will probably do it for free.

Reply to
Bob M.

As long as you have a flame at the pilot light or at the burner there is absolutely no danger

Reply to
Slightly Graying Wolf

Thanks for the idea.

As it turns out, my friend might have lit it Friday, or I might have lit it today. We were looking straight into the hole, and the pilot was way off to the left. I was lying on my left side and had to move towards my feet to finally see the pilot. So I don't know when it got lit.

The walk-through for the house is tomorrow or Tuesday and my friend, the seller, doesn't know when they are coming and he wanted the water to be hot in the morning.

Oh, while we there tonight, he called the plumber who put the WH in originally and asked about lighting with a match. The guy said it can't be done, but neither of us believed him (partly because one of you guys told me otherwise). The sparker is the same sort of thing one find on a gas grill for the patio. It might be a little hard to get a match, even a long match in there, but I'm sure we could do it. I brought a long thin candle.

It also turns out there was a class action and a recall on Whirlpool gas WH igniters, and his plumber got him one free, but since the WH is out of warranty (someone said, but the first link below says the warranty period is 9 years (although maybe that is on the tank not leaking and not on anything else???)) 5 years old, Whirlpool won't pay to have it installed, and the plumber wants 150 dollars! It doesn't look hard, but the old one is still working! And the house will probably be sold by Wednesday. I think he's going to give the new igniter (it's much bigger and more complicated than just that) to the new owner, and he can decide what to do. It's certainly not our place to start fiddling with a working water heater 3 days before the house is sold.

Thanks for all the help.

selected urls about the recall

Arthur, you should look at these! I think they are dated 2005 and

2006, when you bought yours iiuc. Remember, you'll need a water heater for your new home some day. :)

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:rKfvVM_IOrYJ:

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http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:qVKazGs1axUJ:
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http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:QTGT1OrbDh4J:
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Reply to
mm

In the webpages related to complaints about this wh, I did see this "Whirlpool spokeswoman Jody Lau said the thermocouples are malfunctioning due to new safety standards in gas water heater ventilation systems.

As of July 2005, all new water heaters manufactured in the U.S. are to include Flammable Vapor Ignition Resistant (FVIR) technology. The Gas Manufacturer's Association in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission voluntarily implemented this new safety standard in

2003."

But despite that, the pilot was visible, once I knew where to look, which was once the pilot was lit. It would have been hard to light with a match or straw or candle when I didn't know where to put the flame (I'm proud to say I had actually thought about that before I got there.) But now that we know where it is, I would think it would be lightable with a match. OTOH, the only reason I thought the ignitor might not be working is that I thought the pilot wasn't lit yet, and maybe it was and we were looking straight into the access hole instead of looking far to the left.

Thanks a lot.

Reply to
mm

I wasn't clear. On this model, the red button was the gas and the black button was the sparker. The red button hss to be held down until the air purges from the line if necessary, and after the gas lights, until the thermocouple heats up enough to keep the gas on without pressing the red buttonl

Reply to
mm

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