Water Heaters - Help with Gas Heater not staying on

I have a 40gal Nat Gas HW Heater that is about 8yrs old. Yest night we had no H/W so I went to check it out.

There was no flame below. I relit the pilot and then turned on the burner per the instructions on the tank. I stayed down there about 10 mins to make sure the burner stayed lit. I have had to relight it again later last night.

This morning my sis left me a note that the water never got hot. I went to check and it was out again. I relit and waited to make sure it didn't go out. I just went to recheck 1/2hr later and no flame under the tank again.

Someone please advise were the problem may be.

It would appear that your thermocouple is bad. You can replace this yourself. Just take the old one with you or get the make and model number so you get the right one. The thermocouple lets the gas valve know that the pilot is operating and allows the gas valve to open. It is located above the pilot flame and is not hard to remove. Good luck.

I see where the thermocouple is, how is it removed? What I mean is can it be removed with the h/w heater in place? I don't see much room through the little opening to work with any tools, is it removed by hand?

Thanks
Rem

Most just clip in place at the burner end and have a nut that unscrews where the connection is made near the gas valve. Small open end wrench should be all thats needed. I know it's tight space but it can be done. You really don't want to disconnect all the piping just to do this small job. Good luck.

Thermocouple replaced. $7 at the local plumbing store. Tried HD first, what a joke!

Let's hope this does the trick. I found some instructions online and they recommended removing the whole burner assembly. It made the job a whole lot easier, especially if u have never done it. I couldn't figure out how the thermocouple was held in place while looking into the small opening with my flashlight. It was clear as day when I was holding the burner assembly. It also gave me a chance to clean the burner. Was rusty and dusty.

All is installed now. I will check my faucet in 15mins and then head downstairs if the water isn't getting warmer.

Thanks for all the help.

This last comment from the homeowner is a wonderful piece of advice for others. You can read about things, but often simply putting your hands (and brain) on it will cause the solution to be obvious. Don't be afraid to tackle these things.

Water is nice and hot now! Thanks for all the help, I'm glad it was such an easy and inexpensive fix!