Reliance/Central Hardware Gas water heater Parts — Browse All Models

Top reasons why your Reliance/Central Hardware gas water heater won't heat water

• Pilot light not lit. Check to see if the pilot lot is on. Light the pilot if it's off.
• Check the gas supply. Make sure that the gas cut-off valve is fully open and that you have an adequate gas supply provided to the water heater.
• Bad thermocouple. If the pilot won't stay lit and the gas supply is okay, then a faulty thermocouple may be keeping the pilot from staying lit. Replace the thermocouple if it's bad.
• Failed gas valve assembly. A bad gas valve assembly won't allow any gas to flow to the pilot or the burner. Replace the gas valve assembly if it's bad.

What to do when the pilot won't stay lit on your Reliance/Central Hardware gas water heater

If your pilot light will not stay lit, it is important that you take steps to fix it immediately. Several problems can shut off the pilot-a failed gas supply, lack of combustion air due to a clogged vent or a vent draft that blows out the pilot. A missing, crooked or blocked vent draft hood can cause a vent draft. Also, if the vent pipe cap on the top of the vent pipe on the roof is blocked or missing, wind can go down the pipe and blow the pilot out.

Another common problem causing the pilot to go out or not stay lit is a failed thermocouple (pilot generator). The thermocouple in your water heater keeps the pilot lit by sending a low current electrical signal to keep the gas valve open. If the thermocouple fails, it doesn't send the signal to the gas valve and the gas valve shuts off, extinguishing the pilot.

When lighting the pilot, you press and hold the pilot button to supply gas to the pilot until the pilot heats up enough to generate the signal to keep the gas valve open on its own. If the pilot light goes out when you release the button, you'll likely need to replace the thermocouple because it isn't sending the signal to the gas valve to keep the gas valve open.