"David Nicoson" writes:

Last week, my water heater stopped heating. My wife and I both tried
to light the pilot according to the instructions, but it wouldn't
start. We called Whirlpool's hot-line. Some Indians told us to check
the gas line and so forth. No luck. (The furnace is running fine and
there's only a few feet of pipe between the furnace and the water
heater, so there's not a lot possible points of failure.)

I then called a plumber. He came out and the lit the thing with no
trouble. (I'm sure he thought we were ignorant, and he might be
right.) He suggested that it might have gone out because of failing
thermocouple. He checked for leaks, charged me $60, and left.

He didn't offer to proactively replace the $8 thermocouple while he
was there?

Should I perhaps be looking for gas or air restrictions or replacing a
thermocouple?

I'd definitely start with the thermocouple. If you're not
comfortable with gas, $60 for a plumber visit is awfully cheap.

--
Todd H.
http://toddh.net/