4 Yr Old - AO Smith 50 Gallon Won't Relight?

sfagtjt

i have a 5 yr old 50 galllon ao smith gas water heater, no hot water starting yesterday night....... tried to light pilor a dozen times, but no luck. cannot seem to get it lit again... i have followed book & instruction on water heater to relight, but no luck... this is how i tried to relight.....IN THE OFF POSITION, I TURNED KNOB TO PILOT, PUSHED DOWN, PRESS THE IGNITOR BUTTON NUMEROUS TIMES, BUT NO LUCK.... on a couple of OCCASION, did seen to see a small spark inside the small glass window,,, .... i googled this model, appears this tank may have problems? anyone have an opinion.

schraggyj

Thermocouple? That is usually the culprit. My understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you won't be able to relight if you need a new thermocouple.

oh'mike

When a thermo coupling fails you can relight the pilot--but it will go out as soon as you let go of the button.

OP can't get the pilot to light at all---Often simply turning the valve to 'OFF'--then 'PILOT' and hold the button down for one minute--then hit the clicker ---will work---it's worth a try.

---Mike--

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