I'm wondering what kind of vent cap is best to prevent pilot light from being blown out in high winds. This happened last week - first time I have ever seen it done.

This unit is in the garage, all to code (18+ inches above grade, pipe/vent/etc approved and to code, etc). Distance from top of the water heater to the roof is about 5 feet, vent duct goes straight up a few inches, then at 45 deg angle for 2-3 feet, then straight through and above the roof to code. Distance from roof to cap is to code. Basic cap is code.

On Friday, February 19, 2016 at 10:15:46 AM UTC-5, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
I'm wondering what kind of vent cap is best to prevent pilot light from being blown out in high winds. This happened last week - first time I have ever seen it done.

This unit is in the garage, all to code (18+ inches above grade, pipe/vent/etc approved and to code, etc). Distance from top of the water heater to the roof is about 5 feet, vent duct goes straight up a few inches, then at 45 deg angle for 2-3 feet, then straight through and above the roof to code. Distance from roof to cap is to code. Basic cap is code.

first replace thermocouple

this is the typical failure mode, and a cheap fix

On Friday, February 19, 2016 at 7:19:10 AM UTC-8, bob haller wrote:
On Friday, February 19, 2016 at 10:15:46 AM UTC-5, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
I'm wondering what kind of vent cap is best to prevent pilot light from being blown out in high winds. This happened last week - first time I have ever seen it done.

This unit is in the garage, all to code (18+ inches above grade, pipe/vent/etc approved and to code, etc). Distance from top of the water heater to the roof is about 5 feet, vent duct goes straight up a few inches, then at 45 deg angle for 2-3 feet, then straight through and above the roof to code. Distance from roof to cap is to code. Basic cap is code.

first replace thermocouple

this is the typical failure mode, and a cheap fix

Ditto.
Re-lit my HW heater several times over a period of weeks before finally changing the thermocouple. Problem solved for less that 20 bucks.
Last month, I had to replaced the TC on my floor heater (about 50 bucks)
Several years back, had to replace the gas valve on it (150 bucks)

On Friday, February 19, 2016 at 10:33:43 AM UTC-5, Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Friday, February 19, 2016 at 7:19:10 AM UTC-8, bob haller wrote:
On Friday, February 19, 2016 at 10:15:46 AM UTC-5, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
I'm wondering what kind of vent cap is best to prevent pilot light from being blown out in high winds. This happened last week - first time I have ever seen it done.

This unit is in the garage, all to code (18+ inches above grade, pipe/vent/etc approved and to code, etc). Distance from top of the water heater to the roof is about 5 feet, vent duct goes straight up a few inches, then at 45 deg angle for 2-3 feet, then straight through and above the roof to code. Distance from roof to cap is to code. Basic cap is code.

first replace thermocouple

this is the typical failure mode, and a cheap fix

Ditto.
Re-lit my HW heater several times over a period of weeks before finally changing the thermocouple. Problem solved for less that 20 bucks.
Last month, I had to replaced the TC on my floor heater (about 50 bucks)
Several years back, had to replace the gas valve on it (150 bucks)

And/or remove the pilot light and burner assembly and make sure they
are clean. I've seen problems where rust scales off from the tank,
drops onto the burner assembly over time, and eventually interferes
with pilot light, even burning, etc.