Why is my gas water heater not working?

If a gas water heater isn’t heating, a common problem is usually that the pilot light has gone out. This may be caused by the gas valve, the natural gas supply, or—more likely—the thermocouple located next to the pilot light.

What to do if your hot water heater pilot light goes out?

Replacing the thermocouple usually does the trick. If your hot water heater suddenly stops working, chances are a bad thermocouple has shut off the gas to the pilot light. Replacement is an easy DIY repair. No hot water? If you have a natural or propane gas water heater, chances are the pilot has gone out.

Why does my pilot light keep going out?

If your pilot doesn’t re-light, won’t stay lit or keeps going out after a short time, you most likely have an issue with the hot water heater thermocouple. This can happen with age. This can happen with age.

How does the pilot light work on a gas heater?

Once there is a need for heating (or call from a thermostat), a gas control valve releases the gas into the main burner, and the pilot light ignites the gas.

What to do if your hot water heater is not working?

After checking each of these, if you still can’t find the reason why you have no hot water, it might be time to call a professional. If you have a gas heater, check to see if the gas valve is open.

Why is my pilot light not staying lit?

The primary reason a pilot light won’t stay lit is simply equipment malfunction. If you’ve checked everything else and the light continually goes out, this is probably the cause. In this case, you may need to replace your pilot light. A pilot light can also keep going out because of a problem with the thermocouple .

Why is my furnace pilot not staying lit?

The most common reason the furnace pilot light won’t stay lit. Bad Thermocouple. A furnace thermocouple is a safety feature that regulates gas flow to your system based on whether the pilot light is on. In simple terms, the thermocouple checks to see if your pilot light flame is lit and turns off the gas flow if it senses that your pilot light is off, so you don’t have gas building up in your home.

How do you troubleshoot a gas hot water heater?

If troubleshooting a gas water heater, make sure that the gas is on, then relight the pilot flame with a BBQ lighter at the base of the water heater. If troubleshooting an electric heater, make sure the heater is receiving electricity, then reset the thermostat by pressing down the red reset button on top of the thermostat.

How do pilot lights work?

Pilot lights serve a fairly straightforward purpose in gas furnaces; they ignite the gas that’s flowing through the furnace in order to create heat. When the furnace is turned on, gas flows from a valve into the burner, where it is lit. A small amount of gas is also fed from a valve into the pilot light, which is how it keeps burning all the time.