Vacuum your water heater to avoid pilot light outages

[Rph52G]

I learned this lesson the hard way. Pilot light started going out. Plumber recommended a new thermocouple for the 7-year-old Rheem water heater. I agreed. Still went out. He recommended a new gas controller. I agreed. Still went out. I called Rheem. They said it was "environmental." I told the plumber he needed to vacuum around the water heater (outside in a shed). He blew it out and vacuumed. Problem fixed, $750 later. Ouch. I found several YouTube videos with the same issue, and the same "didn't think of that."

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

Its very rare that you have to do this to a Rheem heater.... you must have a ton of lint , cat or dog hair,
or some other kind of heavy dust settling around that heater.... Getting into that screen inside the Rheem
heater is nearly impossible.... its probably something you should do every few months...

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Tankless Tech]

Same issue with my grandparents heater. i re-ran their hot and cold lines from heater up to attic and over to kitchen after their original in-slab plumbing started to leak and when i got to connecting the heater and starting it i couldnt get it to light. looking through sight glass i deduced the igniter was bad or loose wire because i couldnt even see it spark. their water heater is in their pantry/laundry room and behind that is another medium sized room that connects to the garage and is where their dog is kenneled at night. the house and room was spotless so i couldnt imagine it was dirty till i opened it up and took a peak and sure enough it was lint, dog hair, and dust bunnies. 5 minutes with a shop vac later and it fired right up. should be included in regular maintenance of heater and i advise every plumber / homeowner do this every couple of months as stated by Mark