As soon as I release the pilot button the flame goes out.

After a few seconds the status LED comes on so the thermocouple is still putting out voltage. What could it be?

you have to hold the primer for like 2 minutes to clear the line and fill the champer when the gas/water heater get shut down
usually holds after that

>>2922124
I kept the pilot burner going for about 5 minutes hoping it would charge the valve more. The status LED doesn't show a a problem but I wonder if one of the flame sensors is bad. I tried bypassing them with and without a jumper and no change.

>>2922127
I had this problem and replaced the controller. In doing so i finally broke the ‘thermocouple’ which was only held together by the fabric wire sheathing, this was actual cause of pilot not staying lit

Its 16 years old. Maybe its time for a new one.

>>2922150
goysoomer

>>2922118 (OP)
Sounds like a you problem, not a we problem you fucking fag

I went to a plumbing supplier today. They wanted $400 for the gas valve. I could get a small electric water heater for that price.

Thermocouple still works.

I was able to track it down to the circuit board inside this valve. I tested the solenoid on the gas valve itself and it works with a 9v battery.

>>2922290
never buy parts from an actual store, if you aren't a local business and just a homeowner looking to fix your stuff, they always give you the fuck off price. always buy parts online

t. been working at a nationally known plumbing/hvac/industrial supply house for over a decade now

>>2922312
$200 for that v $600 for whole new heater
if thing is more than 5 years old I'd just get the new heater

IF you were a real man you'd get an on demand water heater...

>>2922553
Those are terrible.

>>2922681
Rinnai tankless water heaters are the greatest thing in plumbing since pvc pipe was invented

>>2923461
>not installing the superior Navien
It's like you want to have problems.
>>2922681
>Those are terrible.
They are terrible because my kids used to stop the shower because the hot water ran out. Now, if I'm not paying attention, they can be in there for an hour. You also aren't going to fill a 70 gal soaking tub with a tank style water heater. My only regret was not installing the recirculating loop for instant hot water at all the taps.

>>2922301
Thermocouple needs to be ground down to remove oxides. A bit of sandpaper or a fingernail file will do it.

>>2923462
>My only regret was not installing the recirculating loop for instant hot water at all the taps.
a lot of modern tankless have a built in recirc setting, alternatively modern recircs can be installed just under a vanity, they work pretty well
they make ones that connect between the hot and cold and stop running once temperature is reached. so it just pumps all the hot into the cold line super fast until it's warm
cuts down warm up time a shit ton

they also have water heater boosters for tanks that essentially work as a mixing valve, tank holds hotter water and the hot line uses less of it
indirectly increases tank output by like 50%

>>2923461
>pvc pipes
I mean. I guess you're right

Problem solved. Someone in my neighborhood was throwing away an identical water heater. I swapped the gas valve out.

I've got hot water.

>>2923467
>Thermocouple needs to be ground down to remove oxides.
It tested okay for voltage. My pilot light solenoid was bad. Here is how to test it with a 9 volt battery. I was able to get another one off a scrap water heater.

I love watching those things fail

>>2923950
Probably sponsored by big tankless water heater.

>>2922118 (OP)
buy a new thermocouple
thermocouple work by sending a small charge of electricity after being heated up quite a bit
this small electrical charge goes to the box in front and is the trigger that keeps the gas valve open,
the red button is just a bypass to light it initially, to heat the thermocouple until it achieves enough voltage
the thermocouple eventually do go bad though and start sending lower voltages
sometimes holding the red button for longer can help, but you really should just replace it

>>2923958
You mean sponsored by old British water heaters, were were glorified toilet tanks. No top to them. Unpressurised and mounted in the attic. That is why they had two spigots in their sinks. The hot water was not potable and had to be kept separate so it couldn't contaminate the cold water.

>>2922118 (OP)
Mine was doing this one time, so I just pulled the shit out and scrubbed it clean with a wire brush and then it worked fine for another couple of years until the tank itself sprang a leak.

>>2922118 (OP)
I dunno how do you know how old it is essey

>>2924427
I remember when it was installed, you transient.

>>2923934
What are the chances

>>2924761
Not completely absurd, houses may have been built by the same company around the same time and used the same batch of water heaters. OP said he remembered when it was installed so the old water heater must have failed around the same time as his neighbor and they both happened to get the same water heater that was available at the time. Now those both failed around the same time. Still highly unlikely but if I'm right that's pretty interesting.

>>2923938
boss

>>2924824
as a service plumber this is just becoming more and more common with the increase of development communities
yard signs que a lot of similar work

>>2922150
pedo hands typed this post

>>2926861
Kek. This made me laugh so hard I almost woke up the wife.

I quit smoking and now I’m shitposting from bed instead of the garage. How quaint.

>>2922150
>16 years old
I don't understand you boomers. Were things truly that bad in the 60's that water heaters were old at only 16 years old?

>>2927063
>I don't understand you boomers. Were things truly that bad in the 60's that water heaters were old at only 16 years old?
Wtf are you on about? Water heaters usually have a 6 year warranty, and the second they reach that 6 year mark you are living on borrowed time. If you keep up on anode replacement you can probably get a few more years out of them, but who has time for that bullshit?

>>2927078
>anode rod lasts 5 years
>waits 6
>doesnt have time to replace anode rod
>has time to replace whole heater
>has time to wagwcuck to pay for it
How much time do you get with a new anode?
I never had to replace a heater, even the one in my grandmas house from mid 80's still works.
My main house one is from 1998.
My parenta installed theirs in 2001.
>boomers are really good for GDP numbers huh