Water Heater Thermocouple

Trouble With The Water Heater Thermocouple If you are getting no hot water from your tank, the first thing to naturally think is going to be a huge problem with the water tank. However, this may not be as big a deal as that. Check the pilot light and see if it is alight. If it is not, can you light it? If it does light, will it stay lit? If this is a similar problem to what you are experiencing, then it could be a problem with the water heater thermocouple.

Would you know how to indentify the thermocouple? Well it resembles a copper wire appearing out from the control box which is located at the front face of the water heater and it leads down in the direction of where the pilot light usually is. At the pilot light end, the tip of the thermocouple should be enlarged.

What usually happens is that the heat given from the pilot flame will create a small electrical pulse which is forwarded over to the control valve. This tells the control valve that the flame is alight and it is fine to allow gas to flow through to the burners when the thermostat needs the heat.

The thermocouple on many of todays water heaters can be purchased from many electrical outlets or home improvement stores. At the moment, the average cost of a thermocouple is approximately $20. Maybe a little more or less but about that figure.

When replacing the thermocouple, be sure that the end which is placed into the pilot light is the bulb (enlarged) end.