2) Reliance gas water heater is same as AO-Smith/ American/ Craftmaster/ State etc. Air intake is located on bottom of tank. Use compressed air or feather duster and clean air intake before replacing parts etc. http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/Find-Age-of-water-heater.pdf
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Reliance 2nd and 3rd digit of serial number is year C05 is 2005
What color is flame? Should be clear blue. Pilot is burning so thermocouple is good, and sitting in pilot flame. Pilot flame should be clear blue. Otherwise clean burner parts.
With FVIR protection: Get more fresh air to the unit. Clean the flame arrestor screen. Test and replace the thermocouple: http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-thermocouple.html Inspect and clean burner and combustion parts Test gas pressure, bleed air out of gas line. Replace gas control valve. Test draft air by lighting match and see if smoke is pulled into the vent pipe at draft hood on top of tank.
Rheem 42V50-50 is ordinary atmospheric-vent gas water heater with mechanical (non-electronic) gas control valve, which says that unit has ordinary thermocouple, and not thermopile. Buy generic thermocouple from local hardware.
To replace the thermocouple you need to remove entire burner assembly from water heater, and have replacement Burner access door gasket on hand. 1-800-268-6966 Combustion door held in place with tamper-proof screws
Since the water heater problem may be more complicated than just the thermocouple, and water heater flame arresor screen may need to be cleaned, and burner parts cleaned, door gasket replaced, and gas pressure checked, and piezo electrode checked, it might be best to have qualified service technician do the work for $300.
Many problems are solved by replacing thermocouple, but usually pilot will not light if thermocouple is bad. And some Reliance water heaters, the thermocouple is grouped with TCO and not generic part from hardware store. If the combustion chamber is sealed with gasket, you might need spare
gasket on hand before taking out the burner assembly to replace
thermocouple. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0aBPsNg6vo
Gas water heaters can malfunction for many reasons. Service tech is best resource unless you have manual and can take time learning parts and how to replace.
Other ez problems include: Gas shut off valve not fully open and handle is not parallel with gas line, so gas is partially shut off If water heater flooded, then replace heater. Excess water vapor from bad venting rusted out the burner parts. Inspect burner for rust.
Not enough combustion air, for example the house was recently
weather-tightened, or a louvered door replaced with solid door. Or air
intake screen located on bottom of heater is clogged with lint or dust.
Very hot attic can cause pilot to go out.
Trace amounts of pool chemical, laundry chemical, process chemicals, wax, etc can cause damage to burner parts. Low gas pressure can cause problem.
Air in the gas line.
Bad gas control valve.
If ECO was tripped, there should be no gas to pilot.
Gas control valve might have debris or water from gas line.
If FVIR event tripped FV sensor, that would explain problem, and you would need service technician.
Upvote the help. And take advantage of fixya expert assistance live. For a price, expert works with you while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project. Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.
To change a gas hot water heater thermostat you will need to first buy a new gas valve for your hot water heater. The gas vaive and the thermostat are integrated into one unit.
To replace the thermostat on a gas hot water heater you must follow these procedures....
1. Turn off the incoming water and drain the water heater.
2. remove the pilot tube, the burner gas tube and the thermocouple from the gas valve. Turn off the gas line and remove from the gas valve.
3. get a pump pliers or a wrench in behind the gas valve and turn the whole assembly CCW to remove it from the tank.
4. After appliying pipe dope or tape to the new gas valve threads, turn the new gas valve into the tank by turning in a CW direction. Be careful not to damage the small wires to the ECO. They are the little red wires on the back. If you break them the assembly is irreparably damaged.
5. reinstall the gas line, thermocouple, burner tube, and the pilot tube to the gas valve.
6. Fill tank with water. Make sure to open a hot water faucet and purge all air from the tank.
7. Check for leaks where the gas line hooks up with soapy water.
8. Relight pilot light and check operation.
9. Set the new temperature setting to a medium setting and then adjust the temperature to your likeing from there and adequate time for heating completely.
The paid answerers might have a specialist in your model of water heater. As a free answerer, I specialize in providing resources that might help you for free. When you say the gas control pieces, I assume you mean you replaced your entire gas valve with a generic dial-type gas valve. You replaced thermocouple, but you did not replace burner assembly that includes the pilot tube. Your other gas appliances are working fine. You have not installed a new gas furnace with a blower that is vented up the same chimney as the water heater. You have put your hand near the vent hood to see if there is backflow coming into the water heater when the furnace turns on. You have removed the vent hood to give you access to the vent pipe, and you lit a match and the smoke from that match drafted upwards. You have done the lighted-match test when the furnace turns on which reveals the general condition of the venting stack. You have checked your outdoor vent stack to make sure there is no obstruction, or the vent hood is not missing. The burner flame on the water heater is a clear blue color with very little yellow. This shows the quality of the combustion air and reveals if amount of gas flowing to burner is restricted.
http://www.reliancewaterheaters.com/prod/gas.html Reliance is an AO Smith company The site doesn't have a manual for the 501 I e-mailed Reliance several weeks ago asking for a 501 manual. They send a generic gas water heater manual with no troubleshooting
http://www.reliancewaterheaters.com/lit/om/g616.html Link above shows a typical Reliant heater, the 616 Age of your water heater can be seen on serial number. The two numbers following first letter are the year water heater was made.
http://www.reliancewaterheaters.com/lit/om/manuals/186486-002.pdf Troubleshooting begins on pg 29 Troubleshoot flowchart begins on page 31 The new gas water heaters have the FVIR system so troubleshooting includes that information. I don't think the 501 would have a FVIR flammable vapor prevention because it is older The new systems have an igniter The troubleshoot flowchart gives valuable information
It would be my guess without seeing it, that you are not holding the gas button down for the pilot light to start or are releasing it too soon for the thermocouple to heat up enough to allow the passage of gas or the thermocouple itself has become defective.
The pilot assembly should look similar to the pic above. Depending on where you live, you may be required to hire a certified plumber to replace the parts. If not you can do it your self. Keep in mind if it's not staying lit you also need to check the thermostat and the thermocoupler before replacing the pilot assembly. There is a good chance it is just the thermocoupler going out. It is one of the first things to check when troubleshooting a pilot light problem with a gas water heater. A thermocouple determines if the pilot light is lit. If it's not lit, the gas valve fails. If that's the problem, replace the thermocouple.
Shut off the gas valve on the water heater and the gas valve on the line near the heater. Remove outer and inner doors, and loosen the pilot and supply tubes and the thermocouple connections to remove the burner assembly.
Step 2
Loosen the screw holding the thermocouple to the bracket. Remove old thermocouple. Bring it with you to the store to ensure you are buying the proper replacement.
Step 3
Install the new thermocouple. Position the thermocouple so that the pilot flame heats 1/2 inch of the tip.
Step 4
Reinstall burner assembly in the water heater. Tighten burner supply tube, pilot tube and thermocouple connections. Tighten thermocouple no more than a quarter turn more than hand-tight.
Step 5
Turn on both gas valves. Check supply tube and pilot tube for leaks with soapy water. If soap bubbles, tighten connections to fix leak. Ignite the pilot light, and make sure the thermocouple tip is heating up. Replace inner and outer doors.
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