Gas smell

[JWBlue]

Woke up to gas smell in garage. Called fire department.

Fire department says the gas water heater pilot light went out causing the gas to not burn. Fireman said the pilot going out was due to the planned power outage that early morning which I do not know if it makes sense. Would the pilot light go out if there was a power outage?

Electric and gas company came out and said there wasn't a leak and it was another issue. Said fire department wasn't correct.

I was told all water heaters have a mechanism where if the pilot light goes out the gas shuts off automatically. Is this true? Do we have an issue with out water heater?

 

[Reach4]

ire department says the gas water heater pilot light went out causing the gas to not burn. Fireman said the pilot going out was due to the planned power outage that early morning which I do not know if it makes sense. Would the pilot light go out if there was a power outage?

No.

Yes, gas WHs shut off the gas if the pilot goes out.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

The power going out would have no effect on the gas valve. It would stay lit on its own and if the pilot does go out that i supposed to stop sending the OK signal to the gas valve which in turn shuts off gas.. If everything is working properly. Even if you have a power vent water heater, the electrical has nothing to do with the gas valve.

So, if the gas company came out and said it wasn't a leak, but another issue.. What was the other issue that you smelled?!

 

[JWBlue]

The power going out would have no effect on the gas valve. It would stay lit on its own and if the pilot does go out that i supposed to stop sending the OK signal to the gas valve which in turn shuts off gas.. If everything is working properly. Even if you have a power vent water heater, the electrical has nothing to do with the gas valve.

So, if the gas company came out and said it wasn't a leak, but another issue.. What was the other issue that you smelled?!

No idea what smelled. It sound like the fire department or SDGE really are not qualified to address the issue.

What would cause the pilot light to go out?

 

[Phog]

Many water heaters don't have traditional "always-on" pilot lights these days, they are instead equipped with an electric igniter. For example in power-vent style water heaters (the kind with the PVC exhaust), it is common to have an "automatic pilot" that lights itself when there is a call for the burner to turn on, and then goes out completely when the burner turns off. If you look when this type of water heater is idle, you will see no always-on pilot flame, because the system doesn't have one. The first step for you would be to figure out what type of water heater you have, and whether it even has a traditional pilot to "go out".

 

[JWBlue]

No.

Yes, gas WHs shut off the gas if the pilot goes out.

Plumber came out. I am confused. He said the Burner and igniter regulates the gas when the pilot goes out. I thought it was the thermocouple.

They want $1,100 to replace the part which seems like a lot and it might not be the right part.

 

[Reach4]

A pilot light going out, and the valve stuck on in the garage would not be smell-able in the house. The burners being stuck on, maybe.

They want $1,100 to replace the part which seems like a lot and it might not be the right part.

Normally, when you are talking about a bill like that, you would replace the WH.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Plumber came out. I am confused. He said the Burner and igniter regulates the gas when the pilot goes out. I thought it was the thermocouple.

They want $1,100 to replace the part which seems like a lot and it might not be the right part.

You are right, the thermocouple is heated by the pilot light that keeps the gas valve open for the pilot light. There are plenty of You Tubes on how to replace and what is this thermocouple. A model number and pictures may help.
A new water heater may cost $1200 to replace (Florida) but you're in CA, prices there are always higher. That seems way to high.

What to do? If the water heater is more than 10 years old, it may be worth replacing it. Gas WH do not last as long as electric units. Put a ton of money into it and at any time it might blow a leak.

 

[Jeff H Young]

JW you seem a little interested so Id suggest learning a bit. following you is a little hard> Im going to forget about the gas smell for now. 1 light water heater 2 does pilot stay lit? 3 turn on main burner 4 will main burner come on?
a few questions how many gallon water heater? If gas smell is gone then.... what was the question?

 

[JWBlue]

JW you seem a little interested so Id suggest learning a bit. following you is a little hard> Im going to forget about the gas smell for now. 1 light water heater 2 does pilot stay lit? 3 turn on main burner 4 will main burner come on?
a few questions how many gallon water heater? If gas smell is gone then.... what was the question?

Pilot stays lit. Burner comes on. The question is whether this issue will happen again. We do not want gas leaking. Could be dangerous.

 

[Bannerman]

If the gas company Tech inspected the WH and gas supply lines and found no issue, and if the odor is not continually present, there should be no further concern.

Perhaps wind and weather conditions were such that particular night to cause the WH's exhaust gases to be blown down from above the roof into the garage (open window?) or down the flue. While those conditions will not normally cause the pilot light to be blown out, it is possible.

To test the gas valve's safety mechanism to ensure the pilot light gas feed is actually shutting off when there is no flame, turn the gas control valve fully to the OFF position which will extinguish the pilot flame.

Allow the thermocouple to cool for 3 to 5-minutes and then turn the gas control valve to the PILOT position and attempt to relight the pilot flame without pushing down on the Red button. The pilot should not relight.

Holding down the Red button will manually open the gas valve. When heated, the thermocouple will produce 10-30 millivolts which is sufficient to power an electromagnetic coil which will continue hold the gas valve open to supply the Pilot flame. Because the thermocouple will not supply full power until sufficiently heated, the Red button will typically need to be continually held down for up to 1-minute after relighting the Pilot flame for sufficient voltage to be produced to continue to hold the gas valve open after the button is released.

 

[Reach4]

JWBlue, I would have wondered if it was a non-gas smell, but then it was a heck of a coincidence that the pilot went out... unless you turned off the gas when you smelled what you thought was gas. Did you smell gas, and leave the gas cock on?

 

[Jeff H Young]

Pilot stays lit. Burner comes on. The question is whether this issue will happen again. We do not want gas leaking. Could be dangerous.

Man like pulling teeth . the water heater works? IF YOU SMELL GAS CALL GAS COMPANY AGAIN!

 

[JWBlue]

I spoke to another plumber. He feels it is the control valve that needs to be replaced. Would that also solve the issue of the gas leaking if the pilot light went out?

The other plumber also mentioned that the pilot light was burning but it was not strong. He mentioned it should be a certain color but was another.

 

[Bannerman]

Would that also solve the issue of the gas leaking if the pilot light went out?

Have you tested the control to determine if it does leak if the flame goes out?

He mentioned it should be a certain color but was another.

Usually indicative of a dirt, which could be a reason the flame went out. Remove the gas supply tube and clean the orifice inside as well as the Pilot burner.

He feels it is the control valve that needs to be replaced.

How old is the WH? If a few years old, if there is a problem with the gas control valve, probably less expensive to just replace the entire WH.

 

[JWBlue]

Have you tested the control to determine if it does leak if the flame goes out?

I will do that. I wonder why the plumber didn't do that when he came by.

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

I will do that. I wonder why the plumber didn't do that when he came by.

not all plumbers are the same quality or have the same diagnostic experience. Some will not touch anything without being under contract as they become liable if something breaks without any guarantee of compensation. Its hard to say why. But a few DIY steps now as described by Bannerman, will give you some knowledge as to how to proceed.

 

[Phog]

Some will not touch anything without being under contract as they become liable if something breaks

Exactly. I would even say the vast majority of plumbers are this way. I bet you every professional plumber on these forums has a story about that one time that an old water shutoff started dripping after they turned it for the first time in 25yrs, and the customer blamed them for touching it. Or similar tales like that, where they tried to help someone and it ended up costing them.