In article , Bruce Farquhar
wrote:
On Tue, 11 Dec 2018 17:04:22 -0000, Colonel Edmund J. Burke
wrote:

On 12/8/2018 8:41 AM, Bruce Farquhar wrote:
On older boilers (furnaces if you're American), when the heating isn't
actually running (eg. the thermostat says the house is warm enough),
there's no power to the boiler, so how does the pilot light valve stay
open with the tiny voltage (40mV?) and current from the thermocouple?


The basic problem with english engineering is that it hasn't advanced
much beyond the 1500s. We superior Americans, however, employ the use
of electronic ignitors.

As do we with new boilers. But our stuff must last longer because a lot
of folk still have one with a pilot light, the only ones that don't are
the morons that thought they should spend £1000 to get a boiler that will
save them £50 a year on gas. So you make a profit in 20 years time, why
bother? My boiler is at least 25 years old and I've only ever replaced
the thermocouple for £7. It could be newer fancier boilers have more to
go wrong, I've heard of a modern boiler lasting only 7 years!!

My boiler - with pilot light - was installed 30 years ago - by myself.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle