Pilot light help?

January 29, 2011 5:23 AM

Pilot light help.

Need help lighting my mom's pilot light. m.flickr.com/#/photos/fixedgear/5397478915/ is valve, needs to go to pilot position at blue dot. I get that. This is m.flickr.com/#/photos/fixedgear/5397478915/ safety switch that I can't figure out how to reset. Sorry for bad formatting, posting from phone. It's cold and my mom is old. Help.

posted by fixedgear to home & garden (11 answers total)

Valve. Safety switch.

Try pushing down on the valve and then twisting/turning it.
posted by ericb at 5:45 AM on January 29, 2011

Assuming you're following the instructions, is the problem that you can't find the reset button, that you can't light the pilot while pushing the button, or that the flame goes out when you release the button?
posted by jon1270 at 5:48 AM on January 29, 2011

How to Light a Gas Furnace Standing Pilot.
posted by ericb at 5:52 AM on January 29, 2011

It doesn't have any sort of electric igniter. Needs a match. I can't figure out how to reset that safety switch, which has a red dot showing in the window. There is a lever on top, but I can't quite figure out how to reset it.
posted by fixedgear at 5:55 AM on January 29, 2011

Back up there, I'm not sure you need to do what you think you need to do. There's a chance the red dot might just mean that the pilot is out. So, again, have you found the reset button? Have you pressed it down, held it down, lit the pilot and waited 30 seconds before releasing the button?
posted by jon1270 at 6:00 AM on January 29, 2011

Your links and ericb's both go to the same photo. Safety switch photo is actually here.

This is a pretty old unit and could be defective.

In any case, there should be button you hold for 30 seconds while the flame heats up a thermocouple that allows the pilot to stay on. But it's possible the original reset button part was replaced at some point, and that you need to do a push/twist thing with that valve. You push down, twist to a light position, light the flame, hold 30 seconds and then let it go to the normal pilot position.
posted by beagle at 6:04 AM on January 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Your links and ericb's both go to the same photo. Safety switch photo is actually here.

Meaning this, perhaps?
posted by Namlit at 6:19 AM on January 29, 2011

Namlit - thanks. We're all having the same problem. That's the link.
posted by beagle at 6:22 AM on January 29, 2011

It's hard to tell from your photos, but sometimes there is a small hole in the gas tube for the pilot light that is there to let some air mix with the gas and keep the flame lit. These little holes can get crud stuck in them and the pilot will go out. If you can find it, try cleaning it with a wire brush. Otherwise, beagle has the answer.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:17 AM on January 29, 2011

Done, thanks, operator error on my part.
posted by fixedgear at 4:00 PM on January 29, 2011

The way it is configured is that there is a constant flow of gas to the pilot. It needed to be in the 'on' position. Then light the pilot. Then re-set the safety switch.
posted by fixedgear at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2011