Rheem Gas Water Heater. Our 3 yr old turned the gas off at the mains. We have turned it back on, but cannot relight the pilot light on the Rheem. We are following the instructions exactly but don't get any result. Gas is working elsewhere but it doesnt look like gas even flows to pilot light. Is there something we need to do which is not on the instructions?

Usually if they won't re-light it's a problem with the orifice on the pilot itself. The thermocouple won't cause it to re-light but it will prevent it from staying on after being lit. Just make sure you have valve set to pilot when you press the red button down to light. You can take out the burner by removing the gas and thermocouple lines, unscrew the orifice and use like a wire brush bristle to clean out the hole in the orifice.

Why will my pilot light on the gas water heater not stay lit for ...

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Jul 28, 2011 - The pilot light went out on my gas water heater. I followed the ... This could be from a valve not being all the way open. It could also be from a ...

How To Relight Your Pilot Light On Your Water Heater ...

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How To Relight Your Pilot Light On Your Water Heater. TipsNNTricks .... I answer the following questions in this video. How can I relight my pilot ...

How to Light a Water Heater (with Pictures) - wikiHow

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wikiHowJump to Questions and Answers - If the pilot light doesn't relight or goes out immediately after ... if you are unable to light the water heater after several attempts.

Under the gas valve is a removable panel. On models of that era there should also be a second panel behind the first. remove both.

the pilot light should be clearly visible.

If no pilot, turn the gas valve to OFF. wait 60 seconds. locate the tubes from the gas valve to the pilot location. turn the valve to pilot, and with a long match or grill lighter lit, place flame at the pilot location and press down on the pilot button beside the main valve.

pilot should light. If not shut off the gas and call a technician. If yes, hold the pilot button for 60 seconds, then slowly release. Pilot should stay lit. If not, shut off gas and replace thermocouple, start relight sequence over. If pilot stays lit, replace inner cover and adjust temp to 120 deg. If heater fires up, replace outer cover. Done.

If heater does not light, replace gas valve or entire unit. Water heaters have a limited life expectancy, and if my recollection is correct your unit is 10yrs past warranty.

Problem is not thermocouple:
Thermocouple should be finger-tight plus 1/4 turn
Overtightening will short thermocouple against gas control valve, and solenoid switch will not open, and no gas will reach pilot once red button is released.
Tip of thermocouple has to sit in the pilot flame.
If pilot flame will stay on, then thermocouple is good.

Problem is not solenoid switch.
The gas control valve solenoid opens and closes gas supply to gas control valve.
On mechanical gas control valve, when you push down the red button to light pilot, then you are opening the solenoid and letting gas flow into gas control valve.
When heat is applied to thermocouple, a small electric current travels to gas control valve, and this causes solenoid to stay open.
If you extinguish pilot, then no current travels to gas control, and solenoid clicks off.
You can hear it click, and this is how you test it.
However, since you are getting gas to pilot light, then the solenoid is not the problem.

This leaves 4 possible problems:
1) Bad gas control valve thermostat.
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/How-to-replace-water-heater-gas-valve.pdf
2) Inadequate gas pressure. Call gas company.
3) Dirty combustion parts. Clean the burner with wire brush and water.
4) Clogged air intake on FV water heaters: Rheem FV gas water heaters have glass vial that will break if combustion is slowed by clogged air intake.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-repair-Rheem-TRD.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-gas-water-heater.html

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Manufactures suggest replacing water heater after it has been flooded.
Otherwise replace the burner and pilot assembly.
Contact Rheem:
http://www.rheem.com/Contact.aspx

Buy water heater locally and install yourself
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-install-gas-water-heater.html

Add a comment for more free help.
Also 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.

May be the gas control/thermostat, probably the safest thing to do is replace the control. Are you sure the main tube to the burner is clear of debris and the pilot tube. If they are then replacing the control should work, you can find them on the internet, write down the model no. and the serial no. and contact Rheem for a part no. or just buy it from them. Some hardware stores carry controls for different water heaters. If you cannot do this yourself, find a reliable handyman that knows plumbing. The gas control part is probably $75 and up. take care.

Reliance makes gas and electric water heaters.
http://www.reliancewaterheaters.com/

Best way to start is to look at label on side of tank.
Label has serial number, model number, plus it will say if heater is gas or electric.
Reliance water heater age is shown in serial number: first digit is letter, second two digits are numbers: for example numbers 02 would be the year 2002.
If water heater is 8-12 years old, it might be time to consider new tank.

Gas water heater has 3 inch metal flue pipe coming out of top of tank.
Gas pilot is probably off.
Relight pilot light: Most gas water heaters today have instructions on side of tank just above gas valve that say how to relight pilot light. Instructions vary by model.
If you have gas water heater that is older, it might be easier to call a plumber.

Electric water heater has panels on front.
Open top panel and push in red reset button.
If you have electric water heater of any age, you can usually fix it yourself same day:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html

There is air in the gas line. The best way to get the air out, is with the gas on, loosen the nut that attaches to the gas valve and make sure you can smell a little gas, then reattach the gas line, making sure everything is tight, and then relight the pilot making sure to hold the pilot light button down for at least 1 minute. Please rate

The thermocouple has failed. It is the temp probe that goes from the pilot lite burner area to the control valve. Go to your local plumbng repair shop and buy one. Most appliance parts stores have them also. Take the old one with you and they will hook you up with an exact replacement. They are not that hard to change. Usually a nut or 2 screws in the temp bulb area at the burner end and a nut that threads into the control valve.
Make sure before you install the new one that the area where it mates to the gas valve is clean. Should be about a 20 min job including clean up with replacement parts in hand.

This sounds like a dirty pilot jet orifice or a weak thermocouple. The pilot orifice can carbon up (natural gas is a fossil fuel), become weak and keep going out whenever the main burner lights, which causes a pressure drop in the gas line. The thermocouple can also become dirty and not sense properly.

The pilot light assembly should be cleaned. The gas must be turned off and it's best if the pilot assembly can be removed. Automotive carb cleaner can be used to clean the orifice. Do not try to insert any object into the pilot orifice valve as this can result in damage.

If cleaning does not resolve the problem, replace the thermocouple first. Make sure it is installed correctly and is squarely in the pilot flame.