How To Light A Hot Water Heater

Tank type gas water heaters use a pilot light to ignite the gas burner when the water in the tank needs to be heated.

How to light a hot water heater. If you don t have any hot water the first thing you should do is check to see if the pilot light on your rheem water heater has gone out. Not sure if this is your problem. How to light the pilot for a gas hot water heater. Lighting the pilot light will take about fifteen minutes.

First take off the plate that is below the box with dials on. If you have shut off your water heater for draining or repairs or to conserve fuel while away on a trip you must. There are two basic styles of gas hot water heaters new and old old style heaters will require you to use your own flame to relight the pilot while new style tanks come equipped with a pilot light igniter. The pilot will be a little tricky to reach otherwise.

Rheem water heater pilots need to be manually lit using the piezo ignitor striker built into the water heater. To light this type or water heater i suggest grabbing a long barbecue lighter. If your pilot light is out there will usually be cold water coming out of your hot water valves. It s important to know how to light the pilot on your water heater because you should always.

When a water heater pilot light goes out it usually means that a natural change in gas pressure extinguished the flame. Your hot water heater pilot light can go out for several reasons. The lack of a pilot light may indicate a problem with the heater itself but a hot water heater pilot light can go out for other reasons such as fluctuations in the gas pressure. Without the pilot light a gas hot water heater will not work and you won t have any hot water.

The water won t get hot. Determine what style of water heater you have. See gas hot water heater troubleshooting for a complete listing of all the possible problems and how to solve them.