RE: [VAL] Glyn's Water Heater

["David Tidmore" <dtidmore@xxxxxxx>]

Tom,
If you are within 1/8", that is typically good enough, but much more will
give intermittent hold-in of the pilot flame (ie the pilot light valve will
close off the gas).  If is better to adjust the flame so that the
thermocouple is at the very tip of the flame, as the pilot flame size itself
can vary.  The hottest part of the flame is at the very tip, so that is
where the thermocouple will generate the most voltage.  This is not rocket
science and thermocouple based pilot light systems are pretty forgiving of
misalignment between the flame and the thermocouple, but when things are not
working, it is best to get everything back to optimum conditions.
Understand that the voltage generated by the thermocouple is what holds the
pilot light gas valve open, so the more voltage the quicker it locks in and
the more forgiving of wind, cold, etc.

david