[VAC] Re: hotwater heater

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don,
  You're correct, the thermocouple is the little tube that sits in the 
pilot flame. It has a copper tube attached to it that goes back to the 
gas valve, and it's connected to the valve with a little nut-looking 
thing. If you unscrew that nut, you'll find that the copper tube is 
actually a co-axial cable, with a wire inside it, soldered to a tiny 
washer thingy. If the connection is poor, the gas valve will drop out.

If you look at this URL:

http://www.rvmobile.com/TECH/TROUBLE/GASSYS.HTM and:

http://www.rvmobile.com/TECH/TROUBLE/safety.htm

you'll see how how the gas system works. This site is actually about 
refrigerators, but the gas burner and safety system is very similar. The 
main difference between the fridge and your water heater is the action 
of the thermostat; it modulates the flame on the fridge according to 
need for 'coolth' in the box instead of cycling it on and off as in the 
water heater.

                                 <<Jim>>