Water heater control valve? Bradford White MI40T6FBN

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Jmcneal

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My pilot light on my water heater wasn't coming on. I replaced the thermocouple and it didn't fix the problem. So then I bought a whole pilot assembly with thermocouple, pilot tube and igniter all in one. I installed that and the pilot came on and held. When I turned on the burners they worked for about 10 seconds and then it all went out, burner and pilot. Now the pilot is not wanting to come on again at all. What else is there that I can do? Side note: drip pan is full of water.
 

Jmcneal

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Waited about an hour and tried again. Pilot light came on and as soon as I tried to turn the burner on it all went out.
 

Reach4

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Side note: drip pan is full of water.
That is a big deal.
  • If the water is coming from the temperature and pressure relief valve (T+P), you need to deal with that -- possibly by adding an expansion tank.
  • If the water is not coming from the T+P, replace that water heater. The leak will get worse. It is too bad you spent the time to fix the tank. I would put a water alarm in place nearby, such as http://www.glentronics.com/water-alarms/ , but still get that water heater replaced very soon.
 

Jmcneal

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If it is coming from the t+p, what are my bandaid options? A new water heater isn't in the budget right now.
 

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If it is coming from the t+p, what are my bandaid options? A new water heater isn't in the budget right now.
It should be easy enough to determine if the water comes from the T+P, so I think you may be implying that you have done so.

Presuming you are on city water,
  • if you have a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV), then you need a properly working expansion tank. If you have such a tank, there are ways to test it.
  • If you do not have a PRV, you might still be in the same boat. Water meters often have a checkvalve that prevents expanding water from re-entering the water main. The thing to do is to put a pressure gauge on a hose tap. This can be outside, or it can be at the laundry for example. Better to get one that has a "lazy hand" to record the peak pressure. Use a fair amount hot water. Then stop using any water . See if the pressure rises. If it rises past 80, you should put in a working expansion tank. Water expands when heating. Now 80 in itself is not bad. It takes about 150 PSI to force water out of the T+P valve. But your little test is not going to produce worst case conditions.
http://www.amtrol.com/support/therm_res_sizing.html is a sizing tool. That is a top brand, but you can get by with a lesser quality tank. If your lowest inlet water can be colder, your water tank is bigger, and/or you heat your water hotter, those would each raise the required size.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/thermal-expansion-tank.55185/

A expansion tank is not a band-aid. It is needed if you have city water with a PRV or checkvalve. If you have a well, you would normally not need one, because your water system would already have a pressure tank. I guess there could be special case exceptions.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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what in the hell are you two talking about?? So,,,,,What brand of water heater is it???
If it goes out almost immediately it is probably the high limit re-set button on
the side of the firewall on your heater......but you have not supplied anyone enough information
to know for sure what brand it is......

it also could be the high limit in the actual gas control valve too...
but we dont know what brand it is...... so i am just spit-balling with you on this
just making a half-assed guess ......

if it is comming from the t+p, why dont you sut install a new t+p?? but that is not gonna mean
the heater is going to fire up any time soon...

but if we are gonna play "water heater charades " and you want us to guess what your problem is
I can play along for a while with you.....

p.s. if it is a Whirlpool heater you are screwed.......
 

Jmcneal

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It is a Bradford white model # mi40t6fbn. The water in the drip pan does seem to be coming from the tp.
Bradford White MI40T6FBN
 
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Jmcneal

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I haven't seen any reset buttons on the water heater. I can light the pilot and then start the burner. Almost immediately the burner and pilot both go out. After they go out I can't light the pilot for a little while. I come back to it maybe 30 min later and I can start the pilot again but still have the same issue with the burner not staying lit.
 

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if it is comming from the t+p, why dont you sut install a new t+p?? but that is not gonna mean
the heater is going to fire up any time soon...

From watching prior posts, seems to me that most cases of a dripping T+P is from either there needing to be a an expansion tank and there is none, or there is one, but it is waterlogged. A pressure gauge can determine that. It could be a bad T+P, but it seems to me that the odds are less than for a pressure tank problem. If they don't use checkvalves and PRVs much where you are, I guess your experience could be that the T+P itself is the most common cause of a T+P leaking.

Now that does not address the pilot light going out. If there is a pressure tank need that is not addressed, the pressure tank will have to be done even if the water heater gets replaced.

http://www.bradfordwhite.com/sites/default/files/product_literature/44943-D.pdf lists pilot light symptoms and cause on page 4.
 
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Master Plumber Mark

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I haven't seen any reset buttons on the water heater. I can light the pilot and then start the burner. Almost immediately the burner and pilot both go out. After they go out I can't light the pilot for a little while. I come back to it maybe 30 min later and I can start the pilot again but still have the same issue with the burner not staying lit.


So Why wont you simply tell me what kind of water heater it is.....
am I asking too much of you to just answer that simple question??

if the catch pan is full of water have you considered that the unit might need to be changed out.....???

Again ...how old is the unit and what brand is it??

So is it a Smith, a Bradford White, a Rheem, a State, a Whirlpool, a Lochinvar?? The serial number on any of these units will tell you how
old the unit is... this is pretty simple stuff....

Those are the most common and popular brands in Indiana .....
 

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So Why wont you simply tell me what kind of water heater it is.....
am I asking too much of you to just answer that simple question??

if the catch pan is full of water have you considered that the unit might need to be changed out.....???

Again ...how old is the unit and what brand is it??

So is it a Smith, a Bradford White, a Rheem, a State, a Whirlpool, a Lochinvar?? The serial number on any of these units will tell you how
old the unit is... this is pretty simple stuff....

Those are the most common and popular brands in Indiana .....
I posted Bradford white right after you asked and gave model number?
Bradford White MI40T6FBN
 
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Jmcneal

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That's kind of what I was thinking. I thought the pressure usually is higher when the water is hot and that's when water is released?
 

Master Plumber Mark

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I posted Bradford white right after you asked and gave model number?
Bradford White MI40T6FBN


very sorry,,, I did not notice that post.... you have not posted the serial number so I still dont know how old
the unit is... do you light the heater with a match or is there a striker--sparkey thing that you click down
on to light the heater???


if the unit has a looking glass that you see the piolit light through then it was made after 2003 which makes the unit up to
12 years old... you shoud have two wires that come off the gas thermostat and go down to
a button that is attached to the fire wall on the heater...

if you reach in and light it with a match then it was made before 2003 and that makes it very old and you
are probably in need of a new heater.....



 

Jmcneal

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It has the window with an igniter to light the pilot. And yes there are two wires going to what looks like it could be a button but it doesn't push down.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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PLEASE NOTE
if the pan is full of water to the top and your heater is not sitting up on bricks out off the bottom of the pan
it will not be able to suck in air due to the water in the pan blocking the air intakes....
Sponge all the water out of the pan and it might light

if you give the re-set button it a hard tap
with a set of channel locks it will re-set and it might re-light once the
water is out of the pan.................... maybe..........

if you disconnect the two probes to the button and touch them together you will create a
circuit and it probably will light ...


most likely your water heater has a leak if the pan is full
unless you visibly see it dripping out of the t+p valve.....

You really dont sound like you know what you are doing and I dont like to see
anyone burn off their eye-brows or their arm hairs , working on these water heaters.
please be careful ...

have you considered just calling a plumber?????




 
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