Hello. I have a gas furnace. Since yesterday the pilot light does not stay continuously. After I light it, then I turn it to ON position. Then I turn ON my thermostat and the burner goes ON. Then after awhile the burner goes OFF as well as the pilot light with it. Please help.
Before I change the thermocouple, I want to clean the orifice. I need to know where this is located and clean it. Step by step instructions would be helpful. Thanks
Follow the pilot tubing from the gas valve to the pilot burner. Usually a brass ferrule holds the pilot tubing into the pilot burner, and the pilot orifice is inside the pilot burner where that ferrule screws in.
So---
Remove the screws that hold the pilot burner in place.
Gently bend the pilot tubing to move the pilot burner out where you can work on it.
Use a 7/16 open end wrench to loosen the brass ferrule holding the pilot tubing into the pilot burner.
Finish loosening the ferrule by hand so that the pilot tubing comes away from the pilot burner.
Most of the time the pilot orifice will fall out of the pilot burner at that point into your hand.
In many cases a wire from a wire brush can be used to clean out the hole in the end of the pilot orifice. Sometimes very small holes will need to be blown free of dirt and dust.
Use a wire brush to clean up the rest of the pilot burner.
Reassemble and reinstall the pilot burner.
Cleaning the pilot burner will fix your problem about 75% of the time.
Just wondering if the cleaning job worked. If not, I'm thinking you have a faulty safety valve. You might keep your fingers crossed and try a new T-couple, besides they're cheap and if it don't fix it you have a spare.
Will turning off the furnace switch from the circuit breaker turn off any other things like water heater pilot light or gas stove?
Do I have to turn off anything else besides the furnace pilot to OFF and furnace switch from the circuit breaker?
Originally Posted by prashp1
Do I have to turn off anything else besides the furnace pilot to OFF and furnace switch from the circuit breaker?
No.
Since cleaning the pilot will correct most problems, it's the obvious thing to do first, since it takes a minimal amount of time and costs nothing, and in any case is ordinary maintenance that should be done every couple of years or so.
Mountains of perfectly good thermocouples have been replaced when all that was needed was to clean the pilot.
as inexpensive as t-couples are I recommend replacing the t-couple while you have everything disassembled.
If someone wants to replace a thermocouple, they are certainly welcome to do so. There are mountains of perfectly good thermocouples discarded every year supporting this practice.
For the DIYer, that means laying out a few bucks for parts, and more importantly spending the time to shop for a suitable replacement. Often that can be something of a challenge for DIYers.
Personally, it offends my style to replace parts unless there is a good reason for doing so.
The style of some repairman is the opposite. They may replace lots of parts on the theory that they are used, might fail, look worn or whatever. Mountains of pressure switches and flame sensors that are perfectly good are also replaced every year, along with thermocouples and other parts. Plenty of furnaces are replaced every year for no good reason too.
Well, replacing thermocouples is a venial sin as such sins go.
I agree with hvactechfw. My time is worth more to me than the 8 bucks for a thermocouple. It would drive me crazy to have to replace it the same year that I have already had everthing taken apart. The economy is tough and perhaps everyone does not have this option.
Ahhh, Houston. When you proposed to clean the pilot rather than replace the thermocouple, I supposed I had found a DIYer with the soul of a real repairman....
Tags: furnace, need, help, orifice, pilot, light, pilot burner, pilot tubing, circuit breaker, every year, from circuit
