Water Heater issue - Pilot will not stay lit

[rrocket2002]

Any suggestions?

Who would I call to check it out? That's reasonable.

[Sea-agg09]

Manufacturer possibly?

[rrocket2002]

Its a Whirlpool from 2002.

[fshfrk]

Raul I have a whirlpool from about the same time and the thermal coupling was recalled. it was easy to fix. I had to buy the part and replace it. Brought the old part back to HD and got my money back.

[fshfrk]

http://forum.ih8mud.com/chit-chat-section/222895-whirlpool-water-heater-recall.html

[rrocket2002]

Thanks John.

I sent an email to Whirlpool support last night and got a response this morning. Waiting on part but it sounded complex from the email to me. Wanna put it on mine?

"
Dear Raul Turner,
Yes it sounds like the thermocouple. The left handed thermocouples are no longer made. But we do have a enhancement kit that we can send to you that contains a standard thermocouple and complete door assembly with a adapter that will allow you to switch the heater from left to right handed thermocouple. The kit also has a thermal reset button on the outside of the door assembly that takes the place of the thermal fuse that is now in the left handed thermocouple. The kit is free and will arrive tomorrow December 2nd. 2010. The water heater you have is out of warranty but since the kit is a enhancement we supply that free. If you have any other questions just feel free to call us at 1-877-817-6750. Oh yes and the burner from off the old assembly will need to be transferred from the old assembly to the new one. There will be a new burner orifice included in the package with the kit."

[fshfrk]

Raul it's easy and a little upgrade. Call a mechanicly inclined friend over. Buy beer and some BBQ. It's about a 20 minute job. Good luck. Bet those cold shower suk.

[rrocket2002]

Raul it's easy and a little upgrade. Call a mechanicly inclined friend over. Buy beer and some BBQ. It's about a 20 minute job. Good luck. Bet those cold shower suk.

You know, I do know an engineer. I'll just give my buddy Geoff a ring. If he can handle those huge tanks at the chemical plant, he ought to be handle a little iddy bitty water heater....LOL.

[Bluefyre_Rob]

Hope changing it went well; the newer water heaters are more of a pain to deal with, and they tend to break down more. Just for everyone's info, before you ever change a thermocouple-

The thermocouple is the copper-colored tube that comes out of the water heater and is screwed into the bottom of the thermostat box. If the pilot won't stay lit, always try to tighten the t-couple into the thermostat SLIGHTLY. It just needs to make good electrical contact. If you over-tighten it, you will either break it or short it out inside the thermostat. If it seems already tight, try loosening it and then snugging it up. Doing this first will solve the problem about 50% of the time, especially on the new water heaters with the sealed door and sparker.

[rrocket2002]

Well, like always...nothing is ever easy for me.

The installation of the kit was easy enough, but spent a couple of hours trying to one of the screws that holds the manifold door. It would just turn and turn. Finally with my 18yo son's help we broke the screw so I could take the original door off, but now had to deal with the other half of the screw. Ended up having to break off the part that the screw was lodged in. Then I had to get creative on how to secure that side of the new door but got it taken care of. 30 minute job ended up taking 4 hours.

[Bluefyre_Rob]

The new water heater design makes repairs a lot harder that they have to be. But you can rest easy knowing they're safer and more environmentally friendly...