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brandi gurl · Mar 14, 2007, 06:33 PM

I have not had hot water for 3 days I need a shower, asap , how do I light my pilot where is it I have a gas hot water tank it has a switch that says on,off,and pilot and in the instructions it says to light pilot and hold for 1 min but do I use a lighter or what where is the pilot and how do I light it HELP ASAP

Fr_Chuck · Mar 14, 2007, 06:41 PM

If you don't know, you need to call someone in, at least here the gas company will come in and do it for you.

I would have someone who knows how to do it, show you how in person.

If you don't know where the pilot light is ( where the flame for pilot is,) you really don't need to try and find it on yours by talking to someone online.

doug238 · Mar 14, 2007, 07:31 PM

Brandi, do you have a good insurance policy? Pay a pro to light it, get him to teach you how. Take notes

iamgrowler · Mar 14, 2007, 07:36 PM

I agree -- Natural gas is not something to learn about online.

Something made the pilot light go out to begin with -- And walking a novice through the steps to ascertain why would be very irresponsible of any of us.

Your local utility should have someone they can send out to walk you through the steps needed to make sure that relighting it is all that is needed.

Good luck.

labman · Mar 14, 2007, 08:56 PM

Nobody taught me to light a pilot light. I am sure many people figured it out themselves. You should have 2 smaller tubes disappearing behind a plate. Pull the plate off. One tube is actually the thermocouple. The other is the gas supply for the pilot. Best thing is one of those long lighters. Turn, it's actually a valve, to pilot. Light the lighter and poke it in where the 2 tubes end. Push the red knob down. The pilot should light. Hold the knob down about a minute. It the pilot goes out when you let go, try again a couple of more times. If it won't stay on, likely the whole problem is that the thermocouple is bad. Turn the valve to off. Carefully identify which tube has a closed bulge at the end, and which is open for the gas to come out. Unscrew the nut back near On/pilot/off of the closed one with the bulge. Unscrew anything that holds the other end in place.

Go to a hardware or home center and buy a new thermocouple. Most of them are about the same except for length. Try to get one about the same. If you have to buy a longer one, make a big loop with the excess, do not make any sharp bends. Once you have it installed as close to the way old one was as you can, follow the instructions for lighting it again.

If you have any doubts about my answer, do a search and you will find similar ones in the Heating and Air Conditioning forum. We have helped many people with lighting pilot lights.

Once the pilot light stay s lit, turn the valve to On.

labman · Mar 15, 2007, 04:34 AM

This morning I thought to check the Heating and Air Conditioning sticky. We have a top HVAC professional who is here to help. Northern Heat has prepared the best sticky I have seen on AMHD. In the future, I will refer people to it rather than give instructions on lighting pilot lights.
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/heatin...ns-58313.html?

There is also a picture of a thermocouple. It is coiled up just as they come out of the package.

We had a good man put a ton of work into that sticky.

If you still need help with any details, I suggest posting to the heating forum.