No Hot Water: Water Heater Troubleshooting

hi guys Pat the plumber here and in this video we're gonna go through a step-by-step process on what I do when I get called out for a service call for no hot water on a gas-fired water heater so let's get started the first step is doing a quick visual inspection checking for water at the base of the tank and if the status light is blinking on the gas control valve I will go over status light error codes later in the video remove the panel concealing the burner door and sight glass look through the sight glass to see if the pilot is lit if the pilot is lit and there's no status light blinking test the thermal piles voltage to see if it falls into spec if the thermo-pile test fails replace a thermo-pile if the test passes replace the gas control valve and if the pilot flame is out we can move on to relighting the pilot before lighting the pilot is best to confirm that there's a gas supply to the residence an easy way is checking another gas appliance such as a fireplace or stove if there's no gas supply check the storage tank or if it's a municipal supplied source check the gas meter if this valve is in a horizontal position with a pin or lock through the hole someone wasn't paying their bills and the gas supplier shut off the gas to the residence now that we've confirmed a gas supply to the residence check to see if the gas valve to the appliance is in the on position the handle parallel to the piping is on and perpendicular is off spark the igniter a few times to ensure that it is sparking properly turn the gas control knob to pilot depress the knob and immediately spark the igniter once the pilot is lit continue to hold down the nog for roughly one minute and the status light starts to blink your gas control may give you an error code at this time one flash every three seconds is normal operation if the pilot goes out after you release the knob take the following steps this device right here is a resettable thermal switch if the combustion chamber gets too hot this device trips in one strip the pilot won't stay lit to reset lightly push on the center button if it clicks you know what has been tripped and you can now try to relate the pilot as per previous instructions if a trip thermal switch was the issue the most common causes are lack of combustion air or an obstructed exhaust inspect the intake screen at the base of the water year if Clau to vacuum away the dust inspect the baffle underneath the draft hood to ensure that is installed correctly they're commonly misaligned due to transport if misaligned it could cause the exhaust not to escape properly use caution when inspecting the baffle make sure that the water heater is off and has had time to cool as the exhaust system can get extremely hot if the pilot didn't stay lit after resetting the thermal switch inspect the wiring making sure that there are no breaks or loose connections next is bypassing the thermal switch run a jumper wire from connection to connection or place a metal bit across the connections as I've done here try relating the water heater and if it's stays lit you know the thermal switch is faulty and requires a replacement this jumper is just for testing purposes only and the water heater should never be run with this in place the thermal switch is a safety device and should be replaced if faulty if the pilot flame still won't stay lit at this point it's time to test the thermal piles voltage if the test fails replace the thermal pile if the test passes replace the gas control valve I'll have video links at the end of this video and add a test and replace the thermal file as well as how to replace the gas control valve if checking for error codes remember one flash every three seconds is normal operation two flashes is a weak thermo-pile voltage and should be confirmed with a voltage test and four five and seven flashes are issues with the gas control valve and require it to be replaced well guys I hope this video got you in the right direction and like always if this video helped you out liking commenting subscribing is always greatly appreciated till next time you

Channel: Pros DIY

Views: 1,751,098

Keywords: no hot water, water heater, troubleshooting, fix, repair, hot water tank, diagnose, problems, issue, DIY, plumbing, plumber, how to, thermopile, tco, thermal switch, gas control valve, thermistor, temperature sensor, gas, John Wood, A.O. Smith, Bradford White, Whirlpool, Reliance, GSW, I have no hot water, hot water repair, water heater repair, prosdiy

Id: _XYCVgsPu1U

Length: 4min 16sec (256 seconds)

Published: Wed May 15 2019