Are you on Gas and have sometimes felt that your hot water is starting to run cold?

The first thing to check would be to see if the pilot light on your gasgas  water system hasn’t gone out.

The pilot light is the flame that lights the burner when the gas hot water system needs to heat up and it should be on all the time.

So what do you do if it’s out?

Here are a few steps that will help relight the pilot light:

Instantaneous Gas Water Heater (IGWH)

1. Reset the hot water system by turning off the power to the unit and unplug the cord.

2. Wait 30 seconds then plug it back in.

3. Check to see if hot water comes out of a tap.

If this doesn’t work, you may need the help of a second person to listen for the clicking of the unit trying to ignite. If they can’t hear anything, you may be out of gas.

Gas Storage Water Heater (GSWH)

If you have a Gas Storage Water Heater, this one is a little different to the IGWH:

1. Turn the knob around to the O mark and wait 30 seconds.

2. Turn the knob to the lightning bolt symbol and while holding the dial down, press down the ignitor.

3. Have a look underneath to see if the pilot has lit.

4. Do not lift the dial until you have counted to 30secs, then turn it around to no.5.

Your Hot Water System should have hot water within 1 hour depending on the size of your storage unit.

If there is clicking noise while trying to light the pilot light but it doesn’t seem to want to light, you may just be out of gas and will have to change over the gas bottles. If you are on Natural Gas, then there could be an issue with the hot water system.

Call A Grade Plumbing & Gas on (07) 3290 2245 and we will come out and assess the unit for you.