Water Heater Pilot Flame Goes Out

Not enough combustible air.

Water heater pilot flame goes out.

Now you have the johnny cash ring of fire song in your head. When the water heater pilot light goes out first try relighting it following the directions on the water heater label. Not enough combustible air. The water heater pilot light is a small flame that ignites the gas burner on your water heater.

Sometimes the tube might be partially clogged and supplying very little gas for combustion no wonder your pilot light keeps going out. Most of the time improper venting would cause the pilot outage on direct vent gas water heaters dv. The pilot tube supplies gas to the pilot light for combustion. The flame will go out if the tube is clogged with dirt or debris.

In this hvac training video i show up close how the thermocouple pilot light and gas valve work on a water heater furnace fireplace as well as other ap. Here s the short answer to why the water heater burner goes out. 2 if the pilot flame is not blue but is yellow or flickering severely it may not be keeping the thermocouple hot enough so when the draft changes as the gas burner goes off the thermocouple cools enough to shut off the gas. The water heater is starved for air.

If this pilot light ever goes out the heater has no way of actually turning on to heat the water or air that your particular type of heater circulates to warm the house or other elements. There s just enough air getting into the burner area for the pilot light to work but not enough to sustain the big ring of fire. If there is a restriction in the fresh air delivery find the reason and remove the obstructions. If the pilot doesn t relight if it goes out right after lighting or if the pilot light keeps going out by far the most common cause is a bad thermocouple.

If the thermocouple fails to shut off the gas all the gas flowing through the furnace could get into your home. If there is rust against it brush that away while the flame is off may be blocking pilot flame. Down draft from the ceiling fan draft at the bottom of the unit or high winds are also common reasons when the pilot would go out. The thermocouple is the copper rod the pilot flame directly hits.

Flame was blown out.