A gas water heater that will not stay lit or never fires usually has a worn ignition part and not a dead tank. In Georgetown, KY the usual suspects are a weak thermocouple on a standing-pilot model, a dirty flame sensor, or a failed igniter on an electronic-ignition model. A thermocouple is a small sensor that tells the gas valve a flame is lit. Swapping a part is repair work, but gas-side work belongs to a licensed plumber.
If you smell gas at any point, stop reading and leave the building. Call the Columbia Gas of Kentucky emergency line or 911 from outside before you call a plumber. Do not flip switches, strike a match or go back in for a phone. The rest of this post explains what a technician checks.
Standing pilot or electronic ignition: how your heater lights
Look at the control area on the front of the tank. The way the burner lights tells you which parts can fail, and which repair applies.
Standing pilot
- A small gas flame burns around the clock beside the main burner.
- A thermocouple or thermopile sits in that flame and holds the gas valve open.
- Typical failures: a weak thermocouple, a clogged pilot tube, a flame blown out by a draft.
- Many of these models do not need household power to light.
Electronic ignition
- No constant flame, because a spark or a glowing element lights the burner on demand.
- A flame sensor confirms the burner lit, or the control shuts the gas off.
- Typical failures: a cracked igniter, a coated sensor rod, a faulty control board.
- Needs household power, and some models flash a status code through a small window.
Symptoms and the part they usually point to
The same symptom can have more than one cause, so treat this table as a way to describe the problem accurately on the phone. It is not a diagnosis.
| What you see | Common cause | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot goes out after a short time | Weak thermocouple, draft, or partly clogged pilot orifice | Licensed plumber. |
| Burner lights, then shuts off in seconds | Dirty or worn flame sensor | Licensed plumber. |
| Clicking or glowing, but no burner flame | Failed igniter, or gas not reaching the burner | Licensed plumber. |
| No lights or sounds at all on a powered model | Tripped breaker, dead outlet, or failed control board | Check the breaker, then call. |
| Yellow, lazy flame or soot around the opening | Poor combustion air or a venting problem | Stop using it and call. |
A yellow flame or soot is a combustion warning, more urgent than a pilot that will not stay lit.
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Why a lit pilot is not an invitation to open the gas control
Relighting a pilot after a short power or gas interruption, using the steps printed on the label, is a routine homeowner task. A pilot that keeps going out is a different story. The safety chain is doing its job by shutting off gas when it cannot prove a flame, and the cause is still unsolved.
Taping a switch, bypassing a sensor or reaching into the gas valve to force the heater to run defeats that protection. Gas fittings can leak in ways your nose will not always catch, and a leak at a valve needs a pressure-tested repair. A heater whose exhaust cannot rise up the vent can push combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, into the room.
A carbon monoxide alarm near sleeping areas is a sensible backup for any home with a fuel-burning appliance.
If you smell gas, the order matters
Leave the building first, with everyone and every pet who can walk out with you. From outside, call the Columbia Gas of Kentucky emergency line or 911. Only after the gas utility has cleared the home should you call a plumber to look at the heater.
Do not use light switches, garage door openers or a landline inside. A plumber cannot repair a gas leak while the house is still filling.
Safe things to check before you call
None of these involve opening a gas component. They give the technician a head start and may save a trip.
- Read the label on the tank for a status or blink code, and write down what it says.
- Check that the breaker or outlet feeding a powered model has not tripped.
- Confirm whether other gas appliances in the home are working normally.
- Note how long the burner stays lit and what color the flame is through the viewing window.
- Look at the floor and base of the tank for water or rust trails.
- Copy the model and serial number from the rating plate.
Repair the part or replace the heater
A thermocouple, igniter or sensor is a small part on a tank that may otherwise be sound. If the tank is leaking, rusted through at the base or badly corroded inside, a new igniter only delays the bigger bill. Our gas heater repair technicians check the tank condition and the venting along with the ignition parts, so the quote covers the real problem.
When the whole unit has run its course, a full heater replacement is the better spend. That path involves a permit, a vent check and a code review of the installation, covered in the local note below.
When to call a licensed plumber
Call as soon as a pilot will not hold, a burner will not light, or you see soot, scorching or a yellow flame. Those are signs the heater is shutting itself down for a reason. We serve Scott County homes from Georgetown and send licensed plumbers to nearby towns, including the Midway service page area.
You can see every town we cover on the Scott County coverage map. We give a clear price before work starts, and we offer same-day appointments when available.
Georgetown, KY local note: gas, venting and permits
In Georgetown, the natural gas franchise belongs to Columbia Gas of Kentucky, per its Public Service Commission tariff filing. If you smell gas, its emergency line is the number to dial from outside the house. Save it in your phone now, or keep a recent gas bill where the whole household can find it.
The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction publishes a homeowner packet for water heaters. It rules out a fuel-fired heater in a bathroom or bedroom unless the model is direct vent, and it asks for the vent to rise at a pitch of at least a quarter inch per foot. If your heater sits in a closet off a bedroom or the vent run sags, ask the plumber to check both points.
Kentucky's plumbing regulation, 815 KAR Chapter 20, treats a new or replacement water heater as permit work, while repairing leaks, cocks and valves needs no permit. Replacing an igniter or thermocouple is repair on a heater already in place. A complete heater swap needs a permit pulled by a master plumber or by an owner-occupant, so ask who is handling it.
Questions readers ask
The most common reasons are a weak thermocouple, a pilot tube that has collected debris, or a draft that blows the flame around. A heater with poor venting can also snuff its own pilot.
Because the cause sits inside the gas path, repeated relighting is not a fix. Have a licensed plumber inspect it.
After a brief outage, the lighting instructions printed on the tank are written for homeowners and you may follow them. If the flame goes out again, if the burner looks wrong, or if you smell gas at any step, stop and call. Do not open the gas control or remove panels.
On an electronic-ignition heater, the flame sensor is a small rod in the burner flame that proves the burner lit. When it is coated or worn, the control reads no flame and shuts off the gas after a few seconds, which looks like a burner that lights and quits.
Replacing a worn part on an existing heater is repair work, and the state does not list repairs to leaks, cocks and valves as permit items. A new or replacement water heater does need a plumbing permit, so ask your plumber how they classify the job.
Get everyone out of the house, then call the Columbia Gas of Kentucky emergency line or 911 from outside. Columbia Gas is the franchise gas utility for the City of Georgetown. Call us afterward, once the utility has cleared the home.
Ask whether the tank itself is sound. A small ignition part on a clean, dry tank is a reasonable repair. Rust at the base, water on the floor or repeated failures make replacement the better value, and our plumbers will price both options before work starts.
Where the local facts come from
According to these primary sources, which this page relies on for local facts, permit rules and published guidelines: