Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to where
our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially we had a
new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a while but then I
had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then
every week then like every half an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every part
they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at first.
But the same problems started happening up until now! I just relight it
perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out of hot water. I
had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to make sure it was
still lit. And it had been the last time I looked. And even though it is a
50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had to
light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had to go
out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out less than 20
minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all. Grrr... Grrr...
Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy said
he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him out as
it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or not he could
do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the only
thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't drafting
properly or something like that.

I thought maybe that it had something to do with humidity. We had a few
humid days lately and it seemed to go out when it was humid. Then the
torrential downpour throughout the night last night that knocked the power
out. Amazingly enough the thing stayed lit through all that.

On 09/04/2014 02:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially
we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a
while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps
every three months, then every week then like every half an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every
part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at
first. But the same problems started happening up until now! I just
relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out
of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to
make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last time I looked.
And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the
water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had
to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had
to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out
less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all.
Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy
said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him
out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or
not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.
X




(Snip
if it was not drafting properly, then it was senseless to attempt a
repair or replacement...the venting must be fixed!

The venting was either done wrong or your chimney may be plugged.

"philo " wrote in message
...
On 09/04/2014 02:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially
we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a
while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps
every three months, then every week then like every half an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every
part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at
first. But the same problems started happening up until now! I just
relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out
of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to
make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last time I looked.
And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the
water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had
to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had
to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out
less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all.
Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy
said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him
out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or
not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.
X




(Snip
if it was not drafting properly, then it was senseless to attempt a
repair or replacement...the venting must be fixed!

The venting was either done wrong or your chimney may be plugged.

I have no clue and apparently neither do they. It did work for a while.
Now it simply will not light at all. I did try again twice.

On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 02:41:02 -0700, "Julie Bove"
wrote:


"philo " wrote in message


(Snip
if it was not drafting properly, then it was senseless to attempt a
repair or replacement...the venting must be fixed!

The venting was either done wrong or your chimney may be plugged.

I have no clue and apparently neither do they. It did work for a while.
Now it simply will not light at all. I did try again twice.

I agree that venting may be the problem (bird nest?) but usually, it
would light and then go out once the burner was on. Could be the
overheating burned out the thermocouple or something though.

Be sure they check the vent at both ends and run something through it.

On 09/04/2014 04:41 AM, Julie Bove wrote:

"do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.
X






snip

if it was not drafting properly, then it was senseless to attempt a
repair or replacement...the venting must be fixed!

The venting was either done wrong or your chimney may be plugged.

I have no clue and apparently neither do they. It did work for a while.
Now it simply will not light at all. I did try again twice.



Maybe have a chimney expert look at it.

On 9/4/2014 3:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day.
Initially we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It
worked for a while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it
was perhaps every three months, then every week then like every half
an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced
every part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was
fine at first. But the same problems started happening up until now!
I just relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and
ran out of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in
checking it to make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last
time I looked. And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently
when it goes out, the water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I
had to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and
I had to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it
went out less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light
at all. Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy
said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get
him out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue
whether or not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We
wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.

I thought maybe that it had something to do with humidity. We had a
few humid days lately and it seemed to go out when it was humid.
Then the torrential downpour throughout the night last night that
knocked the power out. Amazingly enough the thing stayed lit through
all that.

Any evidence of condensation dripping on pilot light? If in the end you
can't get it to work and have to replace the water heater, get one with
a pilot-less ignition.

On Thursday, September 4, 2014 3:02:28 AM UTC-4, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to where

our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially we had a

new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a while but then I

had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then

every week then like every half an hour.



They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every part

they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at first.

But the same problems started happening up until now! I just relight it

perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out of hot water. I

had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to make sure it was

still lit. And it had been the last time I looked. And even though it is a

50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the water cools very quickly.



So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had to

light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had to go

out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out less than 20

minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all. Grrr... Grrr...

Grrr...



I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy said

he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him out as

it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or not he could

do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.



Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the only

thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't drafting

properly or something like that.



I thought maybe that it had something to do with humidity. We had a few

humid days lately and it seemed to go out when it was humid. Then the

torrential downpour throughout the night last night that knocked the power

out. Amazingly enough the thing stayed lit through all that.

a realtive of mine had this problem, turned out to be low gas pressure in her neighborhood, it was a intermittenly bad regulat owned by the gas company.....

this occured many states away so i am sorry but lack details.

OP should call their gas supplier to get the homes gad pressure checked.

simple stuff can screw stuff up.

my step sons van broke down. he called me in the middle of the night saying it just quit. The gas gauge was flakey in that van, but he assured me it wasnt out of gas.

van got towed to garage I told the garage check to make sure it has gas..

880 bucks later with a new battery and new fuel pump, the garage gave up and said we dont know whats wrong.

hadvan towed to dealer, they were very busy. van sat for 5 days..

dealer noted gas gauge showed empty, put in one gallon of gas, van started right up....

conclusions.....

van ran out of gas, stepson and garage didnt catch that van was out of gas.

dealer was nice only charged for gasoline..

On Thursday, September 4, 2014 7:03:14 AM UTC-4, Retirednoguilt wrote:
On 9/4/2014 3:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:

Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to

where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day.

Initially we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It

worked for a while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it

was perhaps every three months, then every week then like every half

an hour.



They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced

every part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was

fine at first. But the same problems started happening up until now!

I just relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and

ran out of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in

checking it to make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last

time I looked. And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently

when it goes out, the water cools very quickly.



So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I

had to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and

I had to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it

went out less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light

at all. Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...



I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy

said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get

him out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue

whether or not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We

wait.



Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the

only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't

drafting properly or something like that.



I thought maybe that it had something to do with humidity. We had a

few humid days lately and it seemed to go out when it was humid.

Then the torrential downpour throughout the night last night that

knocked the power out. Amazingly enough the thing stayed lit through

all that.



Any evidence of condensation dripping on pilot light? If in the end you

can't get it to work and have to replace the water heater, get one with

a pilot-less ignition.

We went through this same situation with Julie months ago. Suggestions were
made about checking the venting, how it's vented, any wind blowing into garage
where the WH is located, possible bad thermocouples, ie all the obvious things.
As I recall, the TC had been replaced at least once and the gas control valve
had also been replaced. And I think it happened
with the garage door open or shut, ruling out some sudden gusts blowing into the
garage. I don't recall hearing how or if it was resolved then. But it's kind
of surprising that she would pay for a plumber to come out, again, and still
no one has checked the venting? How about some pics at least of the venting?

IDK exactly how venting could cause this either. Even if the vent were blocked,
the pilot light wouldn't go out. It doesn't even need the vent for the pilot light to remain lit. For it to go out, I would think it would need the
venting to be arranged so that somehow it results in a sudden gust hitting the pilot light. I presume the pilot orifice, tube between the valve and orifice have been carefully checked?

If she can't find someone competent, then the other option is to just bite the
bullet and get a new WH, one that doesn't use a pilot light.

On 9/4/2014 7:40 AM, bob haller wrote:

simple stuff can screw stuff up.
my step sons van broke down. he called me in
the middle of the night saying it just quit. The
gas gauge was flakey in that van, but he assured
me it wasnt out of gas.

van got towed to garage I told the garage check
to make sure it has gas..
880 bucks later with a new battery and new fuel
pump, the garage gave up and said we dont know
whatswrong.
had van towed to dealer, they were very busy. van
sat for 5 days..
dealer noted gas gauge showed empty, put in one
gallon of gas, van started right up....
conclusions.....
van ran out of gas, stepson and garage didnt catch
that van was out of gas.
dealer was nice only charged for gasoline..

I had two similar moments. One time I took apart a
carb on a friend's car, looking for the clog. Finally
noticed the absence of gasoline.

Second was when I stopped to help a guy with the hood
up, in a parking lot. Truck was only a couple days
old. Didn't want to start. Asked him to check the gas
gauge.... add gal of gas. There was a gas station a
couple hundred yards away.

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

On 9/4/2014 3:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially
we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a
while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps
every three months, then every week then like every half an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every
part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at
first. But the same problems started happening up until now! I just
relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out
of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to
make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last time I looked.
And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the
water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had
to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had
to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out
less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all.
Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy
said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him
out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or
not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.

I thought maybe that it had something to do with humidity. We had a few
humid days lately and it seemed to go out when it was humid. Then the
torrential downpour throughout the night last night that knocked the
power out. Amazingly enough the thing stayed lit through all that.

I'm very sorry to hear. Must be annoying. Did you want to ask
the folks on this list for ideas? Maybe someone will have
ideas what to check.

I can think of one or two, but you didn't ask.

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

On 9/4/2014 7:01 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/4/2014 7:40 AM, bob haller wrote:

simple stuff can screw stuff up.
my step sons van broke down. he called me in
the middle of the night saying it just quit. The
gas gauge was flakey in that van, but he assured
me it wasnt out of gas.

conclusions.....
van ran out of gas, stepson and garage didnt catch
that van was out of gas.
dealer was nice only charged for gasoline..

I had two similar moments. One time I took apart a
carb on a friend's car, looking for the clog. Finally
noticed the absence of gasoline.

Second was when I stopped to help a guy with the hood
up, in a parking lot. Truck was only a couple days
old. Didn't want to start. Asked him to check the gas
gauge.... add gal of gas. There was a gas station a
couple hundred yards away.


Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old beater with an unreliable
gas gauge. I got in the habit of setting the trip odometer every time
I filled up and noting the miles I'd used on that tankful. I knew when
I'd put about 250 miles on, it was getting close to time to fill the
tank. It's now a habit. I never look at the gas gauge, I check my trip
odometer.

On 9/4/2014 7:03 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/4/2014 3:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially
we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a
while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps
every three months, then every week then like every half an hour.

I'm very sorry to hear. Must be annoying. Did you want to ask
the folks on this list for ideas? Maybe someone will have
ideas what to check.

I can think of one or two, but you didn't ask.


Ha, Stormy, you nailed it - and her. Julie is into playing games. The
game she plays is the classic "Yeah, but". That's the one where a
person complains about something in order to get another person to
reply with a suggested solution. But the complainer will shoot down
every single suggestion with a "yeah, but", until the other person
gives up in frustration. The longer the complainer can keep the game
running, the more points she scores.

Julie's not here for solutions. She's here to play her game.

On 9/4/2014 8:35 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:

Ha, Stormy, you nailed it - and her. Julie is into playing games. The
game she plays is the classic "Yeah, but". That's the one where a
person complains about something in order to get another person to reply
with a suggested solution. But the complainer will shoot down every
single suggestion with a "yeah, but", until the other person gives up in
frustration. The longer the complainer can keep the game running, the
more points she scores.

Julie's not here for solutions. She's here to play her game.

YD/YB, as noted in Dr. Eric Berne's classic
book, you think? Thanks for the head up,
my friend.
http://www.ericberne.com/games-peopl...t-you-yes-but/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_analysis

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

On 9/4/2014 8:31 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old beater with an unreliable
gas gauge. I got in the habit of setting the trip odometer every time I
filled up and noting the miles I'd used on that tankful. I knew when I'd
put about 250 miles on, it was getting close to time to fill the tank.
It's now a habit. I never look at the gas gauge, I check my trip odometer.

I figure when the trip gets to over
100, it's time to look for gas station.
Of course, if I know I'm going past the
cheap gas next day, I'll let it go.

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

I would watch the pilot light flame with all the windows and doors in the house closed and the dryer and bathroom ceiling fan running.

I'm thinking that if the dryer is blowing air out of the house, make up air needs to get into the house somewhere, and we may have a situation where the downdraft through the water heater flue gas ducting may be causing a down draft through the water heater. The water heater may be fitted with a safety device which detects that "roll out" and shuts off the water heater, including gas to the pilot light.

I'm thinking that with the warm weather lately, people have their A/C running and would close their windows and doors to prevent the loss of that cooling to the outside, thereby preventing make-up air coming in anywhere except the water heater flue duct.

"Julie Bove" wrote:

It worked for a while but then I
had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then
every week then like every half an hour.

Modern gas water heaters use a sealed flame arrestor chamber for the burner.
This was mandated for those who put the WH in a garage where there may be
flamable vapors.

The flame arrestor is usually implemented as a honeycomb like vent panel under
the burner. Unfortunately, the very reason that this was implemented (garage
location) makes the solution a PITA as garages tend to be dusty and dirty. The
dirt quickly blocks the honeycomb vent and the oxygen sensor for the burner
shuts the flame down.

Clean the honeycomb vent and see if your problem goes away.

Julie Bove wrote:

"philo " wrote in message
...
On 09/04/2014 02:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially
we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a
while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps
every three months, then every week then like every half an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every
part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at
first. But the same problems started happening up until now! I just
relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out
of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to
make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last time I looked.
And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the
water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had
to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had
to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out
less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all.
Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy
said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him
out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or
not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.
X




(Snip
if it was not drafting properly, then it was senseless to attempt a
repair or replacement...the venting must be fixed!

The venting was either done wrong or your chimney may be plugged.

I have no clue and apparently neither do they. It did work for a while.
Now it simply will not light at all. I did try again twice.

Perhaps have the gas company check? If it won't light at all it's
probably not a chimney/draft issue. Are there other gas appliances that
are working properly?

On 09/04/2014 08:09 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
"Julie Bove" wrote:

It worked for a while but then I
had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then
every week then like every half an hour.

Modern gas water heaters use a sealed flame arrestor chamber for the burner.
This was mandated for those who put the WH in a garage where there may be
flamable vapors.

The flame arrestor is usually implemented as a honeycomb like vent panel under
the burner. Unfortunately, the very reason that this was implemented (garage
location) makes the solution a PITA as garages tend to be dusty and dirty. The
dirt quickly blocks the honeycomb vent and the oxygen sensor for the burner
shuts the flame down.

Clean the honeycomb vent and see if your problem goes away.




She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.

On Thursday, September 4, 2014 9:04:42 AM UTC-4, nestork wrote:
I would watch the pilot light flame with all the windows and doors in

the house closed and the dryer and bathroom ceiling fan running.



I'm thinking that if the dryer is blowing air out of the house, make up

air needs to get into the house somewhere, and we may have a situation

where the downdraft through the water heater flue gas ducting may be

causing a down draft through the water heater. The water heater may be

fitted with a safety device which detects that "roll out" and shuts off

the water heater, including gas to the pilot light.



I'm thinking that with the warm weather lately, people have their A/C

running and would close their windows and doors to prevent the loss of

that cooling to the outside, thereby preventing make-up air coming in

anywhere except the water heater flue duct.



Julie went through this whole thing months ago. WH is in the garage.
And back then she said it made no difference if the garage door is open
or closed. I wonder if there is a chance the garage is so airtight that
shutting the garage door to the house could blow it out? I've never seen
a garage that tight, but who knows.

On Thursday, September 4, 2014 9:20:45 AM UTC-4, philo* wrote:
On 09/04/2014 08:09 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:

"Julie Bove" wrote:



It worked for a while but then I

had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then

every week then like every half an hour.



Modern gas water heaters use a sealed flame arrestor chamber for the burner.

This was mandated for those who put the WH in a garage where there may be

flamable vapors.



The flame arrestor is usually implemented as a honeycomb like vent panel under

the burner. Unfortunately, the very reason that this was implemented (garage

location) makes the solution a PITA as garages tend to be dusty and dirty. The

dirt quickly blocks the honeycomb vent and the oxygen sensor for the burner

shuts the flame down.



Clean the honeycomb vent and see if your problem goes away.









She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.



OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...

I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.

They make and sell lots of water heaters with pilot lights, they are the
common, entry level models. I agree the story may be fishy, mainly
because we went through this whole thing with Julie months ago, yet she's
starting it up as if it's new.

philo* wrote:

She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

New is relative - in a dirty environment it doesn't take very long for the
honeycomb filter to get dirty.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.

Pilots for gas water heaters are still quite common. It's not an energy loss
situation (like an oven range) because the heat from the pilot still goes into
the water.

Julie Bove wrote:

"philo " wrote in message
...
On 09/04/2014 02:02 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially
we had a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a
while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps
every three months, then every week then like every half an hour.

They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every
part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at
first. But the same problems started happening up until now! I just
relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out
of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to
make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last time I looked.
And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the
water cools very quickly.

So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had
to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had
to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out
less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all.
Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy
said he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him
out as it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or
not he could do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.

Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the
only thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't
drafting properly or something like that.
X




(Snip
if it was not drafting properly, then it was senseless to attempt a
repair or replacement...the venting must be fixed!

The venting was either done wrong or your chimney may be plugged.

I have no clue and apparently neither do they. It did work for a while.
Now it simply will not light at all. I did try again twice.
Hi,
For now light a candle and stick it in the burner chamber, does it stay
lit? If so, gas sup[ply is OK?
Venting or gas supply, what else could be the trouble?
How is the venting done? Tied into furnace stack or all by itself?
Often we tend to over look most simple basic things experts do that all
the time too wasting time.
What kinda chimney?

Moe DeLoughan wrote:

Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old beater with an unreliable
gas gauge. I got in the habit of setting the trip odometer every time
I filled up and noting the miles I'd used on that tankful. I knew when
I'd put about 250 miles on, it was getting close to time to fill the
tank. It's now a habit. I never look at the gas gauge, I check my trip
odometer.

The gas guage causes me to look at the trip odometer. That decides if It's time
to get gas. The trip odometer is a way more accurate indicator of how much gas
is in the tank.

trader_4 wrote:
On Thursday, September 4, 2014 9:04:42 AM UTC-4, nestork wrote:
I would watch the pilot light flame with all the windows and doors in

the house closed and the dryer and bathroom ceiling fan running.



I'm thinking that if the dryer is blowing air out of the house, make
up

air needs to get into the house somewhere, and we may have a
situation

where the downdraft through the water heater flue gas ducting may be

causing a down draft through the water heater. The water heater may
be

fitted with a safety device which detects that "roll out" and shuts
off

the water heater, including gas to the pilot light.



I'm thinking that with the warm weather lately, people have their A/C

running and would close their windows and doors to prevent the loss
of

that cooling to the outside, thereby preventing make-up air coming in

anywhere except the water heater flue duct.



Julie went through this whole thing months ago. WH is in the garage.
And back then she said it made no difference if the garage door is
open or closed. I wonder if there is a chance the garage is so
airtight that shutting the garage door to the house could blow it
out? I've never seen a garage that tight, but who knows.

If the garage has a swing down door, closing that quickly (or opening quickly)
could blow the pilot out.

Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to
where our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially we had
a new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It
worked for a while but then I had to keep relighting it. At first it
was perhaps every three months, then every week then like every half
an hour.
They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced
every part they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was
fine at first. But the same problems started happening up until now! I just
relight it perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and
ran out of hot water. I had gotten to the point of being OCD in
checking it to make sure it was still lit. And it had been the last
time I looked. And even though it is a 50 gallon tank, apparently
when it goes out, the water cools very quickly.
So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I
had to light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and
I had to go out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it
went out less than 20 minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light
at all. Grrr... Grrr... Grrr...

If it won't light at all, it could just be infant failure of a new heater. It is
unlikely to be the same problem that causes the old one to act up. Does the
pilot light but won't stay on, or just not light?

On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 04:40:50 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

a realtive of mine had this problem, turned out to be low gas pressure in her neighborhood

I replaced my WH and could not get it lit. Closed the ball valve,
disconnected the line at the valve and opened the valve until I
smelled the odor. Closed the valve, connected the line and opened the
valve - presto, the WH fired right up.

On 9/4/2014 12:12 PM, Oren wrote:
I replaced my WH and could not get it lit. Closed the ball valve,
disconnected the line at the valve and opened the valve until I
smelled the odor. Closed the valve, connected the line and opened the
valve - presto, the WH fired right up.

It's not a total waste of usenet. At least
the rest of us get ideas how to keep a WH
going.

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

On Thu, 04 Sep 2014 08:20:45 -0500, philo* wrote:

On 09/04/2014 08:09 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
"Julie Bove" wrote:

It worked for a while but then I
had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then
every week then like every half an hour.

Modern gas water heaters use a sealed flame arrestor chamber for the burner.
This was mandated for those who put the WH in a garage where there may be
flamable vapors.

The flame arrestor is usually implemented as a honeycomb like vent panel under
the burner. Unfortunately, the very reason that this was implemented (garage
location) makes the solution a PITA as garages tend to be dusty and dirty. The
dirt quickly blocks the honeycomb vent and the oxygen sensor for the burner
shuts the flame down.

Clean the honeycomb vent and see if your problem goes away.




She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.
They sure do.

bob haller wrote:
On Thursday, September 4, 2014 3:02:28 AM UTC-4, Julie Bove wrote:
Oh so annoying! I had called the plumber because it was getting to where

our replacement water heater had to be lit once a day. Initially we had a

new one installed on New Year's Eve, 2009. It worked for a while but then I

had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then

every week then like every half an hour.



They never could find out what was wrong with it. They replaced every part

they could and finally just gave us a new one. And it was fine at first.

But the same problems started happening up until now! I just relight it

perhaps 2 hours ago when daughter took a shower and ran out of hot water. I

had gotten to the point of being OCD in checking it to make sure it was

still lit. And it had been the last time I looked. And even though it is a

50 gallon tank, apparently when it goes out, the water cools very quickly.



So I relit it, called the plumber because it was getting to where I had to

light it daily. Plumber asked me some questions about it and I had to go

out there to look at it. And it it wasn't lit! So it went out less than 20

minutes after I lit it. And now it won't light at all. Grrr... Grrr...

Grrr...



I am sick of this. And they can't do anything about it tonight. Guy said

he could come out here but I would have to pay $150 just to get him out as

it would be after hours charges. But he had no clue whether or not he could

do anything about it tonight. So... We wait.



Only thing I can figure is that it might be the venting. That is the only

thing they didn't check. They did say that the last one wasn't drafting

properly or something like that.



I thought maybe that it had something to do with humidity. We had a few

humid days lately and it seemed to go out when it was humid. Then the

torrential downpour throughout the night last night that knocked the power

out. Amazingly enough the thing stayed lit through all that.

a realtive of mine had this problem, turned out to be low gas pressure in her neighborhood, it was a intermittenly bad regulat owned by the gas company.....

this occured many states away so i am sorry but lack details.

OP should call their gas supplier to get the homes gad pressure checked.

simple stuff can screw stuff up.

my step sons van broke down. he called me in the middle of the night saying it just quit. The gas gauge was flakey in that van, but he assured me it wasnt out of gas.

van got towed to garage I told the garage check to make sure it has gas..

880 bucks later with a new battery and new fuel pump, the garage gave up and said we dont know whats wrong.

hadvan towed to dealer, they were very busy. van sat for 5 days..

dealer noted gas gauge showed empty, put in one gallon of gas, van started right up....

conclusions.....

van ran out of gas, stepson and garage didnt catch that van was out of gas.

dealer was nice only charged for gasoline..



Hi,
Most experienced techs often over look simplest basic things.
Some times green horns are better at trouble-shooting. Rule of thumb,
don't leave out any even slightest possibility.

On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 08:32:05 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Moe DeLoughan wrote:

Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old beater with an unreliable
gas gauge. I got in the habit of setting the trip odometer every time
I filled up and noting the miles I'd used on that tankful. I knew when
I'd put about 250 miles on, it was getting close to time to fill the
tank. It's now a habit. I never look at the gas gauge, I check my trip
odometer.

The gas guage causes me to look at the trip odometer. That decides if It's time
to get gas. The trip odometer is a way more accurate indicator of how much gas
is in the tank.

Unless you left the vehicle idle, or it sprung a leak, or someone used
a "mexican credit card", or your brakes started to drag, or you pulled
a heavy load or had heand - all of which will cause the vehicle to run
out of gas sooner than the odo would indicate.

On Thu, 04 Sep 2014 12:30:14 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:


It's not a total waste of usenet. At least
the rest of us get ideas how to keep a WH
going.

A blonde goes to a auto parts store and asks for a Seven Ten cap.

On 09/04/2014 11:56 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 04 Sep 2014 08:20:45 -0500, philo wrote:

On 09/04/2014 08:09 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
"Julie Bove" wrote:

It worked for a while but then I
had to keep relighting it. At first it was perhaps every three months, then
every week then like every half an hour.

Modern gas water heaters use a sealed flame arrestor chamber for the burner.
This was mandated for those who put the WH in a garage where there may be
flamable vapors.

The flame arrestor is usually implemented as a honeycomb like vent panel under
the burner. Unfortunately, the very reason that this was implemented (garage
location) makes the solution a PITA as garages tend to be dusty and dirty. The
dirt quickly blocks the honeycomb vent and the oxygen sensor for the burner
shuts the flame down.

Clean the honeycomb vent and see if your problem goes away.




She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.
They sure do.



OK

wrote in
:

On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 08:32:05 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Moe DeLoughan wrote:

Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old beater with an
unreliable gas gauge. I got in the habit of setting the trip
odometer every time I filled up and noting the miles I'd used on
that tankful. I knew when I'd put about 250 miles on, it was getting
close to time to fill the tank. It's now a habit. I never look at
the gas gauge, I check my trip odometer.

The gas guage causes me to look at the trip odometer. That decides if
It's time to get gas. The trip odometer is a way more accurate
indicator of how much gas is in the tank.

Unless you left the vehicle idle, or it sprung a leak, or someone used
a "mexican credit card", or your brakes started to drag, or you pulled
a heavy load or had heand - all of which will cause the vehicle to run
out of gas sooner than the odo would indicate.


Does Moe seem like the kind of guy who would do or not notice any of those
things? He doesn't seem like that to me. So your comment is simply
contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. The sure sign of an asshole.

On 09/04/2014 09:00 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
philo wrote:

She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

New is relative - in a dirty environment it doesn't take very long for the
honeycomb filter to get dirty.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.

Pilots for gas water heaters are still quite common. It's not an energy loss
situation (like an oven range) because the heat from the pilot still goes into
the water.




My house is nearly 120 years old and the basement is pretty dusty and
I've never had any such problem.


I've been informed that they still do make water heaters with pilot
lights, so I know the OP is not trolling.

I did just recall however that I had a gas appliance (can't recall if it
was a drier or a water heater) with a pilot light adjustment.

If it was set too low it would alway go out...I'd check that .

"Zaky Waky" wrote in message

wrote in


On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 08:32:05 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Moe DeLoughan wrote:

Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old
beater with an
unreliable gas gauge. I got in the habit of
setting the trip
odometer every time I filled up and noting
the miles I'd used on
that tankful. I knew when I'd put about 250
miles on, it was getting
close to time to fill the tank. It's now a
habit. I never look at
the gas gauge, I check my trip odometer.

The gas guage causes me to look at the trip
odometer. That decides if
It's time to get gas. The trip odometer is a
way more accurate
indicator of how much gas is in the tank.

Unless you left the vehicle idle, or it sprung
a leak, or someone used
a "mexican credit card", or your brakes started
to drag, or you pulled
a heavy load or had heand - all of which will
cause the vehicle to run
out of gas sooner than the odo would indicate.


Does Moe seem like the kind of guy who would do
or not notice any of those
things? He doesn't seem like that to me. So
your comment is simply
contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.
The sure sign of an asshole.

Pardon me, Zaky Waky, but I think you are the one
acting
like an asshole. Clare gets _far_ more respect
than you do.
phil k.

On 9/4/2014 1:07 PM, Oren wrote:

A blonde goes to a auto parts store and asks for a Seven Ten cap.

Is that like why they stopped describing the
emergency number as nine eleven?

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

On 9/4/2014 1:07 PM, Oren wrote:

A blonde goes to a auto parts store and asks for a Seven Ten cap.


What do polish Coke bottles say
on the bottom?

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

philo wrote:
On 09/04/2014 09:00 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
philo wrote:

She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

New is relative - in a dirty environment it doesn't take very long for
the
honeycomb filter to get dirty.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.

Pilots for gas water heaters are still quite common. It's not an
energy loss
situation (like an oven range) because the heat from the pilot still
goes into
the water.




My house is nearly 120 years old and the basement is pretty dusty and
I've never had any such problem.


I've been informed that they still do make water heaters with pilot
lights, so I know the OP is not trolling.

I did just recall however that I had a gas appliance (can't recall if it
was a drier or a water heater) with a pilot light adjustment.

If it was set too low it would alway go out...I'd check that .
Hi,
It sure does. The adj. screw is in the gas vlve body. Little cap covers
the hole which has adj. screw pilot flame. My camping trailer WH had it.

On 09/04/2014 02:48 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:
philo wrote:
On 09/04/2014 09:00 AM, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
philo wrote:

She said the water heater is new, so it should not be dirty yet.

New is relative - in a dirty environment it doesn't take very long for
the
honeycomb filter to get dirty.

OTOH, I just realized there is something fishy about this story...
I don't think they even make water heaters with pilot lights any more.

Pilots for gas water heaters are still quite common. It's not an
energy loss
situation (like an oven range) because the heat from the pilot still
goes into
the water.




My house is nearly 120 years old and the basement is pretty dusty and
I've never had any such problem.


I've been informed that they still do make water heaters with pilot
lights, so I know the OP is not trolling.

I did just recall however that I had a gas appliance (can't recall if it
was a drier or a water heater) with a pilot light adjustment.

If it was set too low it would alway go out...I'd check that .
Hi,
It sure does. The adj. screw is in the gas vlve body. Little cap covers
the hole which has adj. screw pilot flame. My camping trailer WH had it.



This water heater stuff looks pretty straightforward

here is the first Google hit

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/adjust-...ght-47952.html


The contractor must be pretty inexperienced

On Thursday, September 4, 2014 2:44:17 PM UTC-5, Stormin Mormon wrote:

What do polish Coke bottles say

on the bottom?

Don't you mean mormon coke bottles?