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Water heater flame not stable

2016 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  del schisler
Hi,

I've been having problems with my A.O. Smith water heater's pilot light going out so I got a replacement pilot light assembly (there thermocouple for this model has some is not sold separately) and switched it out. The pilot seems ok now, however, the once the gas turns on the flame looks good initially but after a few seconds it starts spilling out which doesn't look right. I don't think it was doing that before i took things apart and put them back together but I'm not 100% sure as I didn't pay attention to what it was doing. Any thoughts on what could be causing that and how I might be able to fix it?

Thanks!
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Welcome to the forum nndiy.

Yes, I agree with you, definitely looks like the flame is floating or lifting off the burner after a few seconds.

Ensure draft flue and air filter are not blocked or restricted. Make sure the flue didn't get disconnected or come loose somehow when you changed the thermocouple.
The flue baffle runs up the center of the water heater, draft diverter then to vent assy. Make sure everything is connected properly and vent not blocked.

It's possibly you may have installed the burner incorrectly or knock something loose when changing the thermocouple. Recheck your work.

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This is a classic example of a chimney that is not drafting properly. This needs to be shut off immediately and not used until the venting issue is resolved.
Hi,

I've been having problems with my A.O. Smith water heater's pilot light going out so I got a replacement pilot light assembly (there thermocouple for this model has some is not sold separately) and switched it out. The pilot seems ok now, however, the once the gas turns on the flame looks good initially but after a few seconds it starts spilling out which doesn't look right. I don't think it was doing that before i took things apart and put them back together but I'm not 100% sure as I didn't pay attention to what it was doing. Any thoughts on what could be causing that and how I might be able to fix it?

Thanks!
didn't look at video , but flame not setting on burner right could be that the adjustment for air to the burner is open up to much shut it down tell the flame is blue and on burner ,
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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