On Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 11:15 PM, <scott.hall@comcast.net> wrote:
> so you think I should or should not replace the thermocouple? I'm looking at
>the main burner and it's not firing at all, for whatever reason, but the pilot
>is on and seems fine. I believe the thermocouple should be in the pilot
>flame, right? as in it's got to be hot to work, right?
>
Right. It's the "flame proving" device. Voltage from the
thermocouple proves to the gas control valve that the pilot is going,
which means that when it turns the gas on, it's not going to fill the
house up with gas and cause a nice, impressive "boom". If you're
pilot stays lit, and you've got to hold a button to light the pilot
(or set the switch to a special mode), you're thermocouple should be
fine. (I suppose there might be a failure mode where the pilot will
stay lit, but there's not enough current to pull the gas control valve
open, but I"ve never seen or heard of that.)
> can/should I shut off the gas and disassemble the main burner to see if it's
>clogged? I don't know what else might be up with the heater, but the burner
>is definitely not coming on, and it's not getting gas because I spent a good
>chunk of today trying to light it manually with a match. the gas is not
>getting turned on to the burner. can I jump the thermocouple inputs to see if
>it turns on the gas to the main burner?
I'd clean the burner. They're usually pretty simple things. Check
the flue. Beyond that, I don't know. It's probably possible to
electrically trouble shoot the valve, but I don't know how, and i
don't have one to look at.
>
> I ask (as opposed to just replacing it) because lowes and home depot here
>each have one thermocouple (the same kind) that is a different brand than my
>heater and the people at both stores were evasive about whether it'd work on
>mine. before I start taking things apart or scouring the planet for one that
>fits my heater I thought I'd try to get smart for once and see if it's worth
>it.
With the exception of a few whirlpool heaters that used a goofy
thermocouple, they're pretty universal. And cheap.
--
David Scheidt
dmscheidt@gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
Shop-talk mailing list
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shop-talk
http://www.team.net/archive
|