I see a thermocouple, and oddly enough, also a flame sensor
rod. The flame sensor rod (sticking out of the white
porclean" may be cleaned with very fine steel wool.

No idea what's the tool.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...
My water heater burner won't stay lit. Here's what I know:

1. If I light the pilot, it can stay on indefinitely. So I
think the
thermocouple is actually functioning.
2. If I then turn on the burner, after a few seconds there
will be a
*click*, and the whole thing shuts down. This takes less
than a
minute.

I have removed the burner assembly, and uploaded several
pictures to
photobucket to illustrate the situation.
http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s...ter%20Problem/


Questions:
1. One thread I found on the internet suggested that when
the main
burner comes on, the draft pulls the pilot light flame away
from the
thermocouple, causing it to cool. Is this plausible? If
so, how do I
fix it?

2. If that isn't it, what else might be wrong, and what is
the
solution?

3. What is that element that's wired into the thermocouple
(visible in
pictures 6 and 7)? I don't recognize it, and every
thermocouple
picture I find on the internet doesn't have it.

4. The thermocouple appears to be soldered into its bracket.
Is this
common practice?


BONUS QUESTION: Does anyone know what the heck that is in
picture 10?
It's a tool belonging to my friend, and neither of us know
what it
is. It's two parallel edges, perpendicularly attached to a
single
square tube. The edges are lockable via the white knobs,
and one has
a hinged piece on the inner side that swings out maybe 10
degrees from
the tip. In the picture, it has swung out about as far as
it's able
to. What is it?