Buying A Water Heater Thermocouple
Simply put, the thermocouple or thermopile as they are sometimes called is a temperature sensor. For safety reasons, the gas shutoff will certainly not allow gas to head to the manifold unless there is a fire at the pilot to fire up the gas. That pipe is part of a recirculation loop, the red point is a pump. If that system is working it keeps warm water circulating to ensure that when you activate warm water there is really little wait time for the water to be warm. The trade-off is extra power is used since the pipes are kept hot constantly. They make as well as adapters that will certainly permit you to utilize a common thermocouple on either a left hand or right-hand man installation.
They are readily available online and also in house supply shops for a practical cost. The length and also the string kind are the two worries when acquiring one. A stopping working thermocouple will not send the right electrical impulse and the gas valve will not launch any gas.
As it was the $60 conversion package would have repaired it however I likewise got the BFG thermostat for $55 so my price was $115 as well as I get great deals extra knowledge. Most gas hot water heater make use of a generic thermocouple ($ 10) you can get at Ace, Lowes or Home Depot. You can by them in 18″, 24″, 36″ lengths. Much better to purchase as well lengthy as well as coil up the extra than as well short. Mine was 24″ on a Whirpool 50 girl container. Many models use a right-hand thread combining to screw into all-time low of the gas valve system. Some Whirpool versions such as mine used a left-hand threaded thermocouple and these are no longer made or equipped ANYWHERE. Don; t bother trying to find left-handed thermocouples.
The parts listing for your heating system is located right here; as well as it appears like your own did not have the high-temp shunt resistor version of the thermocouple. Your thermocouple # is produced by AO Smith and also can be purchased below or elsewhere.
These will certainly not have adapter sets, so you need to make sure you are obtaining the appropriate one for the make as well as design of the water heater you have. Some makers do have ‘name brand name’ thermocouples readily available. They might offer a manufacture day variety or version range for which hot water heater they can be made use of on. These will cost more generally as well as can be a sensible choice. Hunting up part numbers for water heaters can be a daunting job. First there are numerous brands as well as models available. A few of the far better brand names have internet sites that let you seek out information, but generally, these websites are refrain from doing it yourself friendly.
