Pilot Light Keeps Going Out

A pilot flame that won't stay put is a safety control cutting the fuel deliberately, so it's a call to make rather than a nightly ritual with a lighter.

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When this becomes an emergency

The pilot dies as soon as the hold button is released.
It burns but the flame looks stringy and won't stay steady.
The pilot has needed relighting several times in the past month.
A gassy or sulfur odor hangs around the equipment; step outside and call from there if you smell it.

What a pro does

What holds the gas valve open is a small probe sitting in the flame, generating a current from heat alone, and when that current fades the valve shuts within seconds. Corrosion is the usual reason, and in damp basements near the water those probes give up sooner than they do elsewhere. A technician reads the probe's actual output against what the valve needs, inspects the pilot orifice for soot or spider webbing, and confirms the flame is landing on the probe rather than beside it. Draft gets checked too. An old chimney that has cooled through a long shoulder season can spill or reverse enough to knock a small flame off its perch until the flue warms up.

Frequently asked questions

Why do these sensors fail faster in some houses?

Damp, salty basement air corrodes the probe and its connections, and a sensor with corrosion in the circuit can't deliver the current the gas valve is waiting for.

Can insects really block a pilot orifice?

They can. Spiders and small insects nest in pilot tubes during the off season, and the restricted flame that results is too weak to keep the safety circuit satisfied.

Why does it fail more in the fall than in deep winter?

A cold chimney draws poorly until it warms, so the first calls of the season can push draft the wrong way through the appliance and blow out a marginal pilot.

Is there any harm in relighting it a few times?

Once or twice tells you whether it holds. Beyond that you're overriding a safety device that has decided something is wrong, and it's better to have that looked at.

Pilot Light Keeps Going Out?

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