Pilot Light Keeps Going Out

When a pilot refuses to hold, a safety component is telling you something, so call instead of relighting it again and again.

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When this becomes an emergency

The pilot goes out again a few seconds after each relight.
The flame is small, wavering, or orange rather than a firm blue point.
There's a rotten-egg smell around the appliance; get everyone outside and call from there if you smell gas.
Black soot has collected on the burner or around the pilot assembly.

What a pro does

A pilot that dies seconds after lighting points at the flame-proving circuit rather than the flame. The thermocouple or thermopile has to generate enough current in the flame to hold the gas valve open, and a probe that's corroded, soot-covered, or sitting slightly out of the flame path fails to do it. Combustion air is the other half of the picture, since a mechanical space with a plugged air inlet or a strong exhaust fan pulling against it can lift and distort the pilot flame. On propane, low tank pressure during a deep cold snap produces the same symptom without any part being faulty. Closing the valve at the appliance is right if there's any odor.

Frequently asked questions

Why would the pilot stay lit in mild weather and fail in deep cold?

On propane, cold reduces how fast liquid fuel vaporizes in the tank. Pressure at the appliance sags, the pilot burns weakly, and the safety circuit closes the valve.

What does the thermocouple actually do?

It sits in the pilot flame and generates a small current that keeps the gas valve open. Lose the flame or lose the probe, and the valve shuts as designed.

Can the room the appliance sits in cause this?

It can. A sealed utility area with its combustion air inlet blocked, or one competing with a powerful exhaust fan, disturbs the flame enough to drop the pilot.

Is relighting it repeatedly harmful?

A couple of attempts to see whether it holds is fine. Continually overriding a safety device that keeps shutting the gas off is not a habit worth building.

Pilot Light Keeps Going Out?

Get connected with a local pro now.

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