The majority of newer gas furnaces don’t have a pilot light. Instead, use an electronic igniter that automatically turns on and lights the burner as needed. The reason that manufacturers moved away from pilot lights is to improve efficiency and reduce wasted energy. While a pilot light doesn’t use much power, a small amount of gas still needs to flow to keep the flame lit constantly.
If you have an older gas water heater or a less expensive, less efficient model, you must ensure the pilot is lit for the water heater to work. There are situations where a pilot light can get blown out by a gust of wind, a temporary issue with your home’s gas supply, or a problem with the pilot light itself. Luckily, relighting a pilot light if it ever goes out is usually relatively easy and should only take a few seconds. In this article, we’ll explain what steps you need to take and discuss potential issues that can prevent a pilot light from working.
Steps for Relighting a Water Heater Pilot Light
The controls for the pilot light are located just next to it near the bottom of the water heater tank. A tiny hole also allows you to see the pilot light and check if it’s lit. The first thing you need to do to relight the pilot light is turn the control knob to the Pilot setting. You should then be able to push the knob in.
If you can’t press the knob, you should turn the control knob to the Off setting and then back to the Pilot setting. That’s because some water heaters require you first to turn the control knob off before it will let you relight the pilot light.
When you push the knob in, you need to hold it in all the way and use your other hand to press the red igniter button. Pressing the igniter should cause it to produce a visible spark that ignites the gas so that the pilot produces a flame. In many cases, you may need to press the igniter button a few times before the pilot finally lights.
Once you can see the pilot flame, you need to continue holding the control knob in for at least 30 to 45 seconds. This is so that the flame has sufficient time to heat the thermocouple, a safety device that automatically closes the pilot gas valve if the flame isn’t lit. If you let go of the control knob too soon, the valve will close to shut off the gas flow, and the pilot will go out, forcing you to start over again.
If you release the control knob too soon and the pilot goes out, you’ll need to wait for a minute or two before trying to relight it. The reason is to allow all of the gas released when you tried to light the pilot to disperse so that you don’t potentially end up with the gas, creating a small fireball when you try to light the pilot a second time. This is also why you shouldn’t keep holding the control knob in for more than 30 seconds if you can’t get the igniter to light the gas on fire.
If the pilot light stays on after you release the control knob, your water heater is again ready to go. At this point, all you then need to do is turn the knob to your desired temperature setting. In terms of temperature, you never want to set a water heater below 120 degrees since the water needs to be at least this hot to kill any bacteria that could be present. You also generally never want to have a temperature higher than 140 degrees due to the high risk of scalding and burns.
What To Do if You Can’t Relight the Pilot Light
It’s common for the igniter on a pilot light to give out and no longer produce a spark when you press the igniter button. If you tried to light the pilot and nothing happened after 30 seconds, the first check is whether the igniter is still working. Even when you’re not pressing the control knob, you should be able to see a small spark near the pilot every time you push the igniter button. If you don’t see the igniter sparking, you must try to light the flame manually. The easiest way is to use a long stick lighter, but you can also just use a wooden match.
If you still can’t get the pilot to light when using a match or lighter, you want to make sure that gas is flowing when you press the knob in. This is easy since you should hear a faint hissing noise when the pilot gas valve opens and gas starts flowing. You should also be able to smell a faint odor of rotten eggs if the gas is flowing. If the gas doesn’t start flowing when you push the control knob, it means that the gas valve is faulty or stuck closed or that the gas tube is clogged.
If the gas tube is clogged with dust, you can sometimes unclog it by cleaning it with a needle. Otherwise, you’ll need a professional to determine the issue and either unclog the tube or replace the gas valve.
What Can Cause a Pilot Light to Not Stay Lit?
There are situations where you’ll need to try and light your pilot light a few times before it will finally stay lit when you release the knob. The first thing to do if you can’t get the pilot to stay on is to just hold the knob in for two minutes or so. If this doesn’t work, it almost always indicates that the thermocouple isn’t working. This can happen because it got bent and is too far from the flame to sense the heat or too dirty to sense the heat.
It could also just be that the thermocouple has failed and needs to be replaced. While you can potentially bend the thermocouple back in place or clean it on your own, we wouldn’t recommend trying. It is incredibly fragile, and you could easily break it. While replacing a thermocouple isn’t that expensive, it will still cost you more than it would’ve to have a professional fix it for you.
If you’re having any issues with the pilot light on your water heater or need any other water heater service in Dallas or the Metro Atlanta area, you can trust the experts at Precision Heating & Air for help. We install, service, and repair all makes and models of tank and tankless water heaters, and we also work on all makes and models of air conditioning and heating equipment.
We have more than 30 years of expert experience in the full range of home comfort services and have what it takes to ensure your home is comfortable all summer and winter. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for any water heater or HVAC service.
