Easiest Way To Light A Gas Water Heater Pilot Light

Are you running out of hot water or your hot water is only lukewarm? The most common problem which can be easily fixed is your pilot light went out if you have a gas water heater. I will walk you through the lighting process but also show you all the different components and internals which are involved in lighting and maintaining a pilot light which is essential to correct operation of your gas water heater.

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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:57 Things To Check Prior To Lighting Pilot Light
1:40 Pilot Lighting Procedure (Honeywell Control Valve)
4:17 Water Temp Safety Check After Lighting Pilot Light
5:17 Removing Burner From Gas Water Heater
6:07 Parts Overview On Gas Water Heater (Burner and Pilot Light)
8:43 Reinstallng Burner From Gas Water Heater
9:41 Other Solutions For Shower Water Temp Cooler Than Desired

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[Katie]

Side note: the repair technician that came out suggested your video because I could not afford the cost of him dismantling the unit, cleaning it then reassembing it. He said it was easy to clean and told me to blow through the thermal coupling. He shut off the gas for me, unplugged what needed to be unplugged and directed me to your video. He said he wouldn't charge me for the service call, which was on a Saturday. Just pointing out there are still good people out there that are willing to help those who can't afford to hire someone.

[sweetpeamissyp]

My hubby ( who always takes care of everything ❤️)is sick with the flu so I wanted to do it myself without bothering him & I did thanks to this video! Thanks so much!

[_delfinameza]

College girl here & I just had our maintenance guy stop by a day or so ago to relight the pilot. Dang thing went out again and was afraid I’d have to call him out again. Thanks to the breakdown of the parts in this video, I figured out which part was actually releasing the gas and in charge of igniting the pilot. I got it to the light on my first try! Thank so much!

[partychefamanda]

Discovered late at night that our hot water tank was not heating. I followed all the directions on the tank with no luck so I resigned to let my hubby know so he wouldn’t be surprised in the morning when he showered and to call the technician in the AM. Being the stubborn person that I am, I decided to check YouTube and found this video which gave better details about lighting the pilot light and voilà, it lit. Thank you, thank you, thank you. No technician needed and I get hot water to shower with. As a woman, this is somewhat empowering for me.

[RickardReelz]

you saved me with the waiting 10 minutes thing! I didn't see a spark so I though I had another issues entirely. You have to have it on OFF and wait 10 Minutes and it still took a good 30 seconds or so of clicking the ignitor before it lit.

[kennethfingleton]

I got a call on a Honeywell controlled Rheem water heater today and it has an intermittent problem. I said I would call back in a half hour. Then I watched this video and was confident if they bought a new control for that 2012 heater, I would install it for them. Thank You! ~ Retired Electrician

[lupe]

You are very thorough and patient and you actually explain it slow enough while making sense! Thank you!!! I just needed to watch from the beginning, up to 5:05 to light up the pilot on my water heater. You are a blessing, and I appreciate you!

[DathSith]

Just looked at ya video for the pass two days & man I gotta say thank u. I changed the ignitor switch & the ignitor system. I've order the stuff of Amazon & saved me a ton of money from plumbers. Thanks for inspiring me.

[mia]

Best video for figuring out the Honeywell valve. My pilot would not light. Took burner assembly out and detected a weak spark. Little light snadpaper to the ignitor and put it back together. Pilot came on after 1st click. Now back to normal. Thanks again.

[araceliadams]

Thank you. I just had to restart my water heater. Had to read all those instructions. You simplified it that if it goes out again. I'll be able to turn it back on.
Again, Thank You.

[tomjames]

Thanks your the only video on YouTube that worked for me all the other videos kept telling me to turn the glass off first before hitting the ignite button 🤦 been at it for 4hrs but thanks to your video my hot water is back on

[DarthBalsamic]

My water heater just went out and this video helped take me through the steps in how to get it back up. Thank you sir. This is why I've subscribed to this channel. You do good work.

[hizerjason]

Just moved into a new apartment and went to take a shower and the water was cold 🥶
Realized the hot water tank was off. Told landlord and they scheduled a guy to come look at it.
I found this video and figured out how to do it myself! Called the landlord and told them I got it.
Made me feel manly 😂 great video! Thanks!

[BobRobbie-dmch]

At about 3:38 you said "you may have to click it several times...." was exactly what I needed to hear!!! This is an awesome video. Thank you much!

FYI for anyone trying to do this, the sight glass on our hot water heater does not look directly at the pilot light, I had to move my head to the right to see the pilot light.

[govindshah]

I am very grateful for this video! I referenced it several times while changing my burner assembly. It was especially helpful to see how the electrical wires are plugged in (whether you pull straight out, push a clip, etc) and what direction the lever is turned to shut off the gas. For me, the gas line that goes to the pilot needed a compression sleeve, which I needed to learn more about. Also, I needed to use some lubricant to for both the gas line and pilot gas line coming out of the controller. It would be great to learn about these topics in any follow-on video.

[paulturner]

Don't think I waited long enough the first time. Seemed like more than 10 min. Waited like 30 min then went back. Worked like a charm. Thanks bro

[richardrivera]

Outstanding video. Been 3 days without hot water. Repair guy can't make it for another 3 days. I feel confident now to fix the problem myself.

[roberts]

Very informative video as usual. The only fine point I would add is after connecting pilot tube and gas to gas valve is to test for leaks with soap bubbles.

[karajokoo]

You are a master instructor. Not only did you teach us the correct procedure and a lot more, but you did it with such calm and poise as a gospel reader in church. I was successful in reigniting my pilot and getting the heater to put out hot water. I thank you very much for your help. 👏👏👏👏 😉

[marjorier]

This was the perfect instruction for a first-time user. The instruction is not rushed, and it included important signs that each step had been completed (e.g., keep pressure on pilot button to ignite, and then viewing flame through the tiny window. Thank you so much.