Posted by: Steve on December 03, 2004 at 22:42:05

In Reply to: Direct Vent Natural Gas Wall Furnace Pilot Problem Posted by: Richard Howl on January 30, 2001 at 16:23:46

I have a Sears 22,000 btu direct vent wall furnace and the pilot will not stay lit. I can get it lit and when I let out on the pilot button it goes out. I've tried about 100 times to get it to stay lit so I can get the valve in the "on" position and burning.

Answer:
You need to change the "Thermocouple". When these go bad they do not sense the heat from the "pilot" and therefore will not send a signal to the gas valve to continue to give gas. This works as a safety so that when the pilot blows out for whatever reason, the gas valve unit will shut it self off and will not send any gas to the furnace. The thermocouple is very easy to change, it is made of copper and is usually 1/2" away from the "pilot". It looks like a probe. It is usually 1/8" in its thickness.