Gas Hot Water Heater Thermocouple Troubleshooting

How to diagnose and repair a faulty atmospherically vented gas fired water heater.

Gas hot water heater thermocouple troubleshooting.

The danger with a gas hot water heater is the gas itself. Common problems and how to fix them. A gas water heater in boise baton rouge buffalo or boston uses a thermocouple that includes a probe attached to a copper tube that screws into a port on the gas valve. The thermoucouple is a simple replaceable part on your hot water heater.

The thermocouple is part of the pilot assembly where one end is always in contact with the pilot flame while the other side is connected to the gas control valve. When the pilot goes out this component send a signal to the gas valve to make sure that it remains closed while the pilot light is not yet lit. The thermocouple found in older water heaters that have permanently lit pilot lights or the flame sensor found in newer water heaters is a simple device that senses the heat in the pilot light flame. If it is not behaving as it should replacing it is the only option.

When the thermocouple does not sense flame it prevents the gas valve from delivering gas to the burner. A thermocouple or flame sensor is a device used to control gas flow in gas water heaters on older style heaters with standing pilot lights the device is typically called a thermocouple while on newer units with electronic ignition the same or virtually the same device is called a flame sensor for our purposes we ll refer to both devices as the thermocouple. Type k chromel alumel are the most widely used general purpose thermocouple 200 c to 1350 c 330 f to 2460 f. For gas powered water heaters the thermocouple serves as a safety device to detect if the pilot light is burning.

Troubleshooting low performance insufficient hot water pilot light problems improper gas combustion issues with the pilot light thermocouple gas burner venting and other common issues. Troubleshooting a water heater thermocouple. Example tank is a john wood 40 gallo. To test if the problem.

There are no adjustments or parts that can be repaired or replaced. Building mechanical systems oil gas heating water heaters gas burner flame safety water mild chemicals gases dry areas engines hospitals food industry. Some common problems for all types of hot water heaters are pressure relief valves leaks sediment drain valves anode rods and dip tubes. Thermocouple repair replacement.

A general troubleshooting discussion is provide in the article identifying and repairing water heater problems. Gas hot water heater troubleshooting guide will assume that the gas unit was correctly sized professionally installed per codes and manufacturers.