Water Heater Issue

Customer Issue:
Pilot light will not stay lit. It will light and heat up the water in the tank but will not stay lit.

Visual Inspection:
There are several issues with this water heater which were pointed out to the home owner and they are as follows:

• Water heater is not strapped properly to prevent it from falling in an earthquake.
• The gas line decreases from 1/2" to 3/8" after the shut-off valve to the control valve.
• There is no sediment trap in the gas line.

Recommendations:
Recommendations are as follows:

1. Re-strap the water heater properly.
2. Correct the gas line sizing so that it is 1/2" all the way to the water heater control box.
3. Replace the water heater control box.
   
4. Install a sediment trap.
   

To sum up:
While the first issue above is disconcerting it is easily corrected. The other two are by far the most serious and are probably the cause of the issue.

• It is very important that the size of the pipe be correct. It has to to do with the "demand capacity" of each appliance figured with the length the pipe has to travel from the gas meter. The difference in size of the three foot of flex piping from the shut-off valve to the control box CAN constrict the gas flow to the water heater. It makes the control valve work harder to regulate the gas to the heater.
  
• The control valve has been compensating for the reduced amount of gas for as long as that water heater has been there. Because of the next item, it is probably clogged. It is a $93.00 part. Better to replace it now and see if it can be salvaged and used as a spare down the road.
• The sediment trap: "Dirt or contamination in the gas line can block the control from operating creating a risk of explosion, injury or death," according to the instructions for installing the water heater control valve. Gas and gas lines are not clean by any means - "stuff" is inherently in the line.

It's negligent that the person who installed this water heater did not install a sediment trap and reduced the gas line; these are both required by plumbing code. Since it is not required to pull a permit for changing out a water heater, it certainly was not city inspected.

In the end it is worth saving a few bucks if the alternative is "...risk of explosion, injury or death" - is it?

Remember to THINK before you hire and be safe!!