I have a 4 year old maytag water heater, has been fine since it was new. Starting yesterday the pilot light has gone out 4 times. The only other thing is that I turned on my central air conditioning yesterday. The water heater and the furnace are in the basement. What is going on? I guess I call the plumber?
Thanks,
Jeff
Turn the a/c off and see if the problem goes away... If it does then you have a draft issue and you need to call a plumber quick.
The a/c may be pulling the fumes into the duct work.
Sit in front of the heater (leave the inner baffle plate in place) and watch the pilot. Have someone else switch the blower fan for the A/C on. See if that deflects the flame.
(The A/C blower shouldn't affect the house pressurization, but the coincidence is too strijing to ignore.)
Jim
I watched the pilot with the furnace fan off and on and did not see much difference. I lit a match and definitely see a slight draft up into the water heater, so that must be good. The pilot is burning with a low blue flame and every once in a while spits out a little yellow. Maybe the gas line has a problem?
is that natural gas or propane?
never mind :)
mine did that. i changed the thermalcouple and it didnt help. i had to take the burner and pilot feed tube off and blow em out. that fixed it. tader
Well pay close attention to other things in the house when you turn a/c on. Make sure windows are closed and chimney damper is closed. Sometimes it takes a strange situation to get the downdraft started.
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