Hot Water Heater Gas Valve Troubleshooting

Go to the article gas water heater thermocouple issues for information on this common repair.

Hot water heater gas valve troubleshooting.

Locate the hot surface igniter and look for a spark or glow there. Gas hot water heater troubleshooting usually leads you to the thermocouple. Turn off the gas supply by turning the gas pilot control valve to the pilot setting on the water s gas valve. Shut off the water supply to the water heater if necessary by closing the shutoff valve on the cold water pipe coming into the top of the heater tank.

Shutting off the gas. Before you can replace your water heater gas valve you need to purchase a new one. The first thing you need to do is shut off the gas to the hot water tank. This is done at the shut off valve that is in the gas line.

A bad gas valve will not allow any gas to go to the burner or pilot light. Sometimes the thermocouple just needs an adjustment so that the tip lines back up with pilot light flame. There should not be a flame up there if the valve is working correctly. You may find that getting an exact match to the one you have difficult.

Okay but what if you get through each of these steps and still can t figure out what s wrong. Turn off the gas supply valve to your appliance to test whether your valve is capable of shutting down properly. If you don t get a spark your system could have an electrode that is bent or carbon grounding. When you see water that appears to be leaking from the bottom of a gas water heater it could be because of condensation try turning up the thermostat a leaking or loose drain valve or the t p valve draining some water through the overflow pipe due to tank overpressurization.

Set the thermostat or the device s controller slightly above the current room temperature. Troubleshooting the gas control valve will help you determine whether the valve is faulty or whether there is a problem with the thermostat heat limiter the pilot or even the gas burner. If the pilot isn t the issue then replacing the gas valve should correct the problem. The gas pilot valve is the piece that supplies fire to the gas.

The last step of the rv water heater troubleshooting process is to turn off the lp system to check for a spark. Before you determine that the gas control valve is faulty check the other components. Common problems and how to fix them. If the valve is the cause then a professional will likely need to repair this.

Do not turn off the water unless the water heater s power and gas are turned off. It could be the gas pilot valve. The other less common problem would be the gas valve. Again easy fix quick solution.

The pilot is the most common reason for a lack of hot water. For electric hot water heaters start troubleshooting with a quick reset. If the valve is working hot water shouldn t be an issue. The thermocouple is a safety device that stops gas flow when the pilot light goes out.