Whirlpool Flamelock water heater, thermocouple replaced and pilot not lighting
I purchased my 60 gallon gas whirlpool flamelock in 2005. I have replaced the thermocouple 3 times and the gas control once. Water heather quit working yesterday so I installed a new thermocouple. When lighting, while holding the red button the pilot stays lit, but once I release the button the pilot is out. Since it is a new thermocouple, could it just be defective? There isn't much more I can replace on the water heater. I have limited knowledge of how a gas water heater works, therefore I am cautious of making repairs on my own. Should I call in a professional?? I should mention that we have been having pretty severe wind the last couple of days, could this have been the reason for the pilot not staying lit? Thermocouples can be faulty out of the package. Another source of the problem could be the gas control valve. Had a repairman out today, he said it is the gas control valve. It seems unusual to have so many repairs, since I have owned it for only 3 years?!? The water heater was purchased new from Lowe's. I went their today to get a new gas control and now they no longer carry the one that fits the model that I own. Now it looks like I will be ordering the part and waiting several more days before it even arrives. Is it safe for an amateur to replace a gas control valve?? Is there anything I can do to have this problem corrected? The repairman said that with a 3 yr old water heater to have had 3 thermocouples and 2 gas control valves replaced means that the heater is faulty. With the time zone difference, I have called as early as 3pm Alaska time to find out that they are already closed, and conveniently Whirlpool customer service is unavailable on weekends. Looks like I will be going at least 8 days without hot water!! It is very unusual to go through 3 thermocouples and 2 gas control valves in 3 years. It would make me thing that there's an underlying problem causing this to happen. Sure, the water heater could be faulty, but, you already changed the gas control once, it's not likely that another would go bad so quickly and there's nothing in the water heater that would make it go bad which is leading me to believe it's something else going on. How is the water heater vented? Is vented properly or does an elbow attach directly into the water heater causing inadequate heat rise. Where does the vent pipe exit the house and where does it go once it exits the house? Is there proper pitch on the vent pipe (no less than 1/4 inch per foot lateral rise)? Any of these things could prematurely burn out a thermocouple on these flamelock water heaters. As far as a DIY'r changing the gas control, it's not very hard at all. You need to: -Shut off the gas to the water heater -Drain the water from the water heater. There should be a shut off on the cold water side. Then attach a garden hose to the drain. When draining the water heater, open a hot water faucet so there's no vacuum created with in the water heater. -Disconnect the theremocouple, pilot tube and main burner from the gas control valve. Note the thermocouple will likely have left handed threads on it. -Disconnect the gas line entering the gas control. At this point every thing should be disconnected from the gas control. -Unscrew the gas control valve from the water heater. This too may have left handed threads depending on the model. Reverse the process to install the new gas control valve. Before you screw in the new control, wrap the threads with some silicone tape. Turn the water back on to check for leaks before you start attaching all the other gas fittings. Once the gas line (apply pipe dope suitable for gas on the threads), burner tubes, and thermocouple are reattached and the gas is turned on, put some soapy water (dish soap seems to work the best) on the gas inlet to check for leaks. Then with the water heater operating put some soapy water on the main burner and pilot burner fittings at the gas control valve. For more detailed instructions refer to the owners manual. http://www.whirlpoolwaterheaters.com...ll_manuals.php is the link for the Installation Instruction Manuals webpage. I also recommend checking the warranty on the water heater. Note, if the water heater isn't installed with in the spec's outlined in the installation manual pertaining to venting and combustion makeup air in the room of the water heater, the warranty could be voided. If you had it professionally installed, I would be knocking on that contractors door. If Lowes installed it even better (er, worse) as then the liability of an incorrect installation is on them (IF that's the problem). Apparently you have missed out on all the news about the Lowes/Whirlpool ongoing fiasco: http://www.waterheatersettlement.com/ Best advice: get rid of that WH , because even the retrofits provided have not solved all the problems. Similar problem with Whirlpool Flameguard. Sure fire-yuk yuk - fix is bending thermocouple so that it is directly in the pilot light. Will not work if it is not in the flame.
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