Hello,

Can anyone please explain to me why my water heater shuts off after a few days? I first noticed this about 2 months back that the flame was out after about 7 months.

I immediately turned off the gas supply for about 8 hrs (to clear off any gas though no smell of any leak) and started the flame back. After 2 months it's done the same thing and I went the same route as before only that this time it lasted barely 3 days.

Any suggestion what I could be doing wrong? Fall is fast approaching so can't afford not to have hot water.

Shandel

Shandel,
Here are a couple things I would check before calling a service person:

Have you checked the temperature setting on the water heater? It may be set too low, causing the heater to "switch off" in an attempt to maintain a low temperature.

Are the gas jets dirty? They mave have become fouled and are not able to keep a flame going. When your water heater goes off, does the pilot light stay lit? Maybe the pilot jet is dirty.

Michelle,

You might be right about the gas/pilot jet. I normally leave the temperature setting at the recommend setting in the manual which is supposed to equate to 120 degrees. At this setting you only have the pilot light most often times as the gas supply is not enough to ignite the burner. When it shuts down the pilot light is also off.

If we assume that either the gas jets or the pilot jet is dirty, how do I go about cleaning it?

Quite often it is the thermocouple. I think there are pictures of them in the heating and cooling sticky, https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/heating-air-conditioning/heating-cooling-maintenance-repair-troubleshooting-frequently-asked-questions-58313.html

Michelle,

You might be right about the gas/pilot jet. I normally leave the temperature setting at the recommend setting in the manual which is supposed to equate to 120 degrees. At this setting you only have the pilot light most often times as the gas supply is not enough to ignite the burner. When it shuts down the pilot light is also off.

If we assume that either the gas jets or the pilot jet is dirty, how do I go about cleaning it?



Hi Shandel,

I am not sure what your heater looks like, but on mine, there is a little door I can open to access the burner jets. I would shut off the heater then use a very small wire brush or stiff bristle brush to rub the jets, even a rag or something. I'll bet you could find a book on home maintenance at the library that could give you some more hints. There's a good one called "How to Fix Damn Near Everything".

Hope that helps.

My vote is for Labman's thermocouple. If it isn't the thermocouple then is might be a draft blowing out the pilot but that is less likely than the thermocouple. They are inexpensive and easy to install, pretty much all are universal.

I had gone ahead to call the gas company to come check out the supply to the house. I was advised to check if other gas related appliances were working properly.

Low and behold, my central heating is not responding meaning I'll call them back to send a technician my way. Hopefully my problem will be solved.

Clean the flame sensor with some soft steel wool. This is the problem. I was having the same problem and was nuts to think this would be it.

Hi Exausted and welcome to The Plumbing Page on AMHD.
First off LOSE THE CAPS! We don't like being yelled at.
The next thing to do is to check the upper left hand corner for the date you're responding to.
You've responded to a 4 year old dead thread. Please feel free to post but check the date first. Thanks, Tom

In addition: If enclosed chamber, make sure that oxygen intakes are unobstructed. I would vacuum them and keep all other "stuff" far away from the intakes. Also, check the vent for obstructions...