Hot water heaters burner only kicks on when i turn the tempeture dial up by hand.?

Question

burner quit turning on by itself. If i wash clothes & use up the hot water it wont kick on. but if i turn the temp. control k**b up a little bit it kicks on then i turn it back down to hot it stays on until the next time i use the hot water up a little. I was wondering if i can maybe fix it by replacing the 5 dollar thermo coupler or is it the gas control valve or something else. PLEASE, can anyone help.........

Answer 1

I agree, your control is faulty. The tank must be drained before you can change this control. If you plan to have a plumber replace it, you may want to consider replacing the water heater altogether. They purposely set the cost of replacement thermostats high to persuade replacement. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

The contact for thermostat is probably sticking. Try tapping on the control lightly as this may free it up, if not you may have to change it.

Answer 3

The thermocouple is only there to prove the pilot and has nothing to do with temp. control.

Sounds like a faulty control.

Could be sediment in the bottom of the tank holding heat at the bottom and affecting the control. Try flushing out, otherwise replace the entire tank.