On 12/19/2017 9:13 AM, Jess Sain wrote:
On 12/19/2017 11:03 AM, wrote:
On Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 10:56:49 AM UTC-6, Bob F wrote:
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The
stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far
as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31
which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)

My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old
thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc
in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of
the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the
way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into
the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.

If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water
heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the
thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer
now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need
it.

The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1
1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit.
The new one
took about 20 seconds.
Bob F. Thank you!

I did this on a John Woods hot water tank. It worked flawlessly.

The stores were telling me to replace my entire burner assembly. They
wanted $170 Canada bucks. The new thermocouple was $7. You are my hero.

If your house burns down because of your cheapskate hack, your insurance
company could refuse to pay the claim.


It hasn't burned down yet. Sorry to disappoint you.