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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

On 4/30/2018 2:14 PM, elmo wrote:
On Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 12:56:49 PM UTC-4, 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.


I had the same problem, no one has a simple LH thread thermocouple. Replacement is a pilot and thermocouple unit for about $35, but an hour and a half away, or it can be shipped at additional cost. I followed your lead, cut a slot in the nut lengthwise, put it above the nut on a new thermocouple and it works fine. My water heater is a 16 year old whirlpool, so I hated to sink much more into it. Thanks for the insight.


My gift that keeps on giving. That was definitely my most appreciated
usenet post ever, and demonstrates that good posts never die, no matter
how old they get. I again am glad it helped.
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

Awesome fix! Had my water heater back up and running same day. Saved us a week of cold showers, or a new $500 water heater.
THANK YOU!!!
P.S. I was able to perform the same fix with a reciprocating saw, and I am sure a hacksaw would work too.


On Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 11:56:49 AM UTC-5, 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.


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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

Hi, where can I just get the left hand to right hand thermocouple adaptor? The part number will be appreciate.



On Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 5:41:07 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 2:17:01 PM UTC-7, waterheater wrote:
This is the best solution I could find for the left hand thread problem (as posted earlier in this thread):

American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6...ductId=3434834

I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.




On Sunday, October 28, 2012 9:56:53 AM UTC-7, 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.


Thanks, this post was very helpful!


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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

On Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 9:56:49 AM UTC-7, 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.


Glad I found this. Yesterday I drove 25 miles to Lowes for a thermocouple that was supposed to be a left hand thread for the specific Whirlpool heater we have. Lucky I checked it before leaving because it was a right hand thread, and they did not have any left hand thread. Only had an open box full kit, that did not seem to have the right parts.

I raised Hell with the Lowes store manager who said they no longer carry this brand and I should look elsewhere. They sell yet not support their product.

And for Whirlpool building in this odd ball feature to force you to get something that I couldn't even find on-line! NEVER WILL BUY WHIRLPOOL brand again! I have sworn not to buy Fuji either after they stuck it to their long time customers using their instant film.

Boycott and bad publicity is the only thing consumers in the USA have to fight back. Other countries have strict laws requiring spare parts for at least the normal life of an appliance. All we have is weak protection for car parts, and nothing for appliances. Large screen TVs in dumps because a small circuit board is no longer...

Anyhow, thanks again for your help. Wish I had the old copper tank with manual pilot water heater. These lasted a lifetime and didn't clutter the countryside with dumps.

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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

I have discovered the same problem as most other people with the left hand thread thermocoupler. Before I try the Gerry rigged solution proposed of cutting the old fitting with a dremel and then fitting it over a new replacement right hand thread unit I would like to know if that solution is still working for those that did it? Thanks. Something has to work as replacing a perfectly good hot water tank when the only problem is the thermocoupler is totally insane.
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

Dear Bob F, I am so-o-o grateful for your ingenious solution to the left threaded thermocoupler. Apparently the kit for converting the heater to the right threaded thermocoupler includes a new valve and burner at a cost of well over $300 Canadian. With freight I was looking at $400. Crazy. For anyone else out there that may encounter the same problem, Amazon has an adapter that slips over the new thermocoupler to mate with the left threads at a cost of $16. Similar solution to yours, Bob but better for someone without a visa and a dremel.

MikeC
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

I hope this tempered water heater has been retired by now. Because what you did is a hack and defeated the burning chamber overheat prevention feature..

The OEM part Thermocouple has a built-in temperature fuse. While the universal Thermocouple available at home improvement store does not. That's why the manufacturer chose the left-hand thread to prevent universal right-hand thread thermocouple can be used to replace the OEM thermocouple at the first place.

The new Whirl Pool FG model tune-up kit has left to right-hand thread adaptor to work with the original thermostat, and the temperature fuse has been put into a separated piece of hardware. The new assembly kit thus uses the universal right-hand thread Thermocouple.
There are a couple of different models for each size and BTU water heater. Choose the one made for your model.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-W...Up-Kit/3435164


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.




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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

I just wanted to say that this fix worked! Cut the bolt, put it on the new thermocoupler and screwed it back in! Thanks so much for sharing your fix. I don't think I would have thought of or tried this otherwise!
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

Your ingenious idea saved my marriage. I have a Dremel and the disc for cutting, and it worked perfectly, cutting the original to slide the new couple into. So glad I saw this post.

I was worried about the "why", and the fact that my original thermocoupler had a strange bulge that was attached to the pilot gas feeder, which the replacement did not have.

So I read all posts in this thread, and a recent one answered that, saying that a safety feature exists that the store-bought universal replacements don't have. Thus the reverse threads.

I used your idea (ingenious), which worked, of course, but only as a temporary fix. I ordered the replacement kit for the whole kaboodal, and will replace when it arrives ($45).

I also find it amazing that a post from 2015 (I think) is still paying dividends to this day. Thanks again.
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

Where did you find a replacement kit?
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

At this point, 8 years after the original post, the plumbing suppliers almost laugh at your left-handed request. But ten minutes with the Dremmel and away we go. Thanks
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Default Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

Brilliant! I just did as you instructed would have never thought of it in my own but works perfectly!
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