If you wake up one morning in a cold house, your pilot light may have gone out. This could be caused by a one-time event, like a strong wind, or it could be an indication of a more serious problem, such as a failed thermocouple. You can follow these steps to relight your boiler before calling in an expert.
First, smell for gas in your utility room or basement area that houses your boiler. If there’s a gas odor, evacuate your home immediately, and call 911 for emergency help. If you don’t detect a gas odor, proceed as follows to relight your boiler pilot light:
- First, turn your boiler thermostat down to its lowest setting.
- Then, shut off the electric power supply to your boiler.
- Next, remove the cover over the gas control valve and pilot light.
- Turn the gas control knob all the way to the “OFF” position. Wait at least five minutes for the gas to dissipate.
- Afterwards, move the gas control knob to the “PILOT” position.
- While holding a lit match or grill lighter close to the pilot burner tip, depress the control knob. When the pilot lights up, keep the control knob depressed for one minute, so that the thermocouple heats up enough to keep the gas supply open.
- Release the “PILOT” knob, and check the pilot light to see if it stays lit. If it does, move the control knob to the “ON” position.
- Then, replace the cover over the gas control valve and pilot light.
- Turn the electric power back on, then turn the thermostat up high enough for the system to call for heat. Finally, make sure the burner fires and that the system comes on for normal operation.
You should call for expert help if your pilot light won’t stay lit, or if you’re not sure you can relight the boiler safely on your own. Call Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing for help with the boiler in your Brownsburg home.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “lineartestpilot/Shutterstock”
