Water Heater Problems

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raji1980

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Hi just needed some help and advice. A pipe above my water heater cracked and was leaking all day on the water heater. We also had no hot water. A plumber came out and fixed the pipe but the pilot light would not come on and there was no spark. He told me it probably just needs to dry out.

5 hours later I tried to ignite it but no go. He came back out and still no spark. He also said he did not smell any gas. He lit it up with fire and the water heater came on. The pilot light still was not lit. The water was hot through the night but in the morning it was cold again. I tried to ignite the pilot but there was no spark. I lit it up with fire and it popped on. I noticed when the heater was set to on while the fire was blazing the ignite button sparked but when its set to pilot there is no spark.

I followed the water heater steps step by step to light the pilot. Only thing that gets it started is sticking fire in there. Is it possible the pilot will eventually come on or does something need to be replaced? Thanks
 
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It sounds like your igniter is still wet. Have you tried using an air compressor and forcing out any accumulated water?
 
It sounds like your igniter is still wet. Have you tried using an air compressor and forcing out any accumulated water?

Well I have no idea what a air compressor is. I know nothing about water heaters. I went and switched the water heater to off to try the ignite again. The spark is working now but still no luck with the pilot light. Now I cant even get it to light back up. I honestly don't even no how I did it the first time.

When your lighting it manually where do you hold the flame? Also before I switched it to off I switched it on pilot and I guess it was lit. It was like a yellow blue color.
 
You should hold the flame close to the thermocoupler, which is a 2" steel rod with two wires coming from it. When you advised your flame was a yellow/blue color, this tells me that you still have water inside which is obstructing the correct oxygen adjustment for your flame. An air compressor is just high blasts of air which are used to inflate car tires. If you don't have one available, you can substitute with the aid of either a reverse vacuum (blow instead of suck) or even a hair dryer will work in order to dry out your components.
 
You should hold the flame close to the thermocoupler, which is a 2" steel rod with two wires coming from it. When you advised your flame was a yellow/blue color, this tells me that you still have water inside which is obstructing the correct oxygen adjustment for your flame. An air compressor is just high blasts of air which are used to inflate car tires. If you don't have one available, you can substitute with the aid of either a reverse vacuum (blow instead of suck) or even a hair dryer will work in order to dry out your components.

Thanks for your help. If it goes out again I will use a blow dryer. If all that fire is in there is there any reason why it might not be drying it up?

I just have one last question. When the plumber was trying to light it manually he had the flame in there a while. You said the thermocoupler is the 2inch steel rod. When I looked in there that small rod looks burnt. I don't know if the plumber did it or not but does that mean it could be damaged? Thanks
 
First off, the fire is controlled within the heat box, and does not go near the delicate panel, which is contained outside the reach of the flame. The thermocoupler will get toasted due to wear because the last 1/4 of the tip is in the direct flame, but usually does not cause it to malfunction. They are designed to allow gas to the pilot light when it is hot, but will stop the source of gas when it becomes cold. This may be the source of your original problem, and are easily replaced for a few bucks at most big box stores, if you feel inclined.
 

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