Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Pilot Light Question

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mithrandir
08-11-04, 12:55 PM
Hello all,

I live in Southern California and generally like the house cool, so I only have to use the heat about a total of two weeks a year.

I have an older Rheem rgaa-0800 furnace, and decided this morning to turn off the pilot light. It seems like a big waste of gas to run the pilot light the other 11 1/2 months of the year. My question to the pros is "is there any problem doing this?" I run the A/C a lot, but as far as I know there is no need to have the pilot light lit during an a/c run. In addition it seems like an unnecessary creation of heat in the furnace.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Ed Imeduc
08-11-04, 02:56 PM
Go for it. The only time we say keep it on is like in a basement and there is no AC on the unit. It dont rust with the pilot light on all the time If you dont have AC

ED ;)
hvac4u
08-11-04, 05:42 PM
pilot lights condense moisture on the heat exchanger all summer long as cool air pases through the unit.

i always recommend turning off the pilot to not only save money, but prolong the life of the heat exchanger

mithrandir
08-11-04, 05:59 PM
Thank you both. I appreciate the quick response, and I am glad I can leave it off.