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Drain Pros TNWoman-owned · TN LLP #5045

Common problem · TN LLP #5045

Pilot Light Will Not Stay Lit

It lights, then goes out again within minutes or hours.

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Quick answer

Almost always a failed thermocouple, which is an inexpensive part and a same-visit repair. If you also smell gas, stop, leave the house, and call the gas utility from outside before you call anyone else.

A pilot that lights and then dies within seconds or minutes is one of the most predictable faults on a gas water heater. The thermocouple is a small safety sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is actually burning; when it weakens, the valve does its job and shuts the gas off.

How you know this is it

  • The pilot lights while you hold the button, then goes out when you release it
  • It stays lit for a few hours or days, then goes out again
  • You have relit it more than once this month
  • The pilot flame looks yellow or lazy rather than a crisp blue

What usually causes it

  • A worn or dirty thermocouple no longer generating enough signal to hold the valve open
  • A dirty or partly blocked pilot orifice giving a weak flame
  • A draft in the space pulling the pilot out
  • A failing gas control valve, less common but real
  • Blocked combustion air intake on a sealed-combustion unit

Common questions

Pilot Light Will Not Stay Lit: your questions answered

Can I just replace the thermocouple myself?
People do. It is gas work, though, and the reason the part exists is to shut the gas off when something is wrong. If you are not certain, it is a cheap call for us and it gets tested properly.
I smell gas. What do I do?
Leave the house and call the gas utility from outside, before calling a plumber. Do not flip switches on your way out. That is a gas emergency, not a plumbing one.
How long does the repair take?
Usually well under an hour once we are there.
Will I know the price before you start?
Yes. You get one number to approve before any work begins, and it holds once the job starts. This market has a documented habit of quotes climbing mid-job; we built the opposite habit deliberately.
Are you licensed?
Yes. Tennessee Limited Licensed Plumber #5045, issued by the state Board for Licensing Contractors and verifiable at verify.tn.gov. Across eighteen local competitors, not one publishes their number.

Related problems

No Hot WaterWater Heater Leaking

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TN Limited Licensed Plumber · #5045 · verify at verify.tn.gov

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