2 Days, No Hot Water!!

We've got a 1996 Reliance 501 gas water heater and yesterday my Husband went out to find the Pilot was out. After following directions on the tank the pilot will not stay lit. 2 different people suggested either the (sorry for spelling) Thermostate or the Thermocouple. We are trying to fix this ourselves but do not have the slightest clue on what to do. Can you please help??

Looking at the controls on the front of heater, you will see a copper wire thats comes off the controller, this screws into it, you have to unscrew it, once unscrewed follow it to the burner below, now the tricky part, the other end slips into a holding clip inside the heater by burner, this will come out, you just need to pull tight on it, long needle nosed pliers will be of help on this, use a good flash light so you see what I'm talking about, 99% of all thermocouples are interchangeable, just buy a new one that is long enough to replace it with, relight as per instruction and you should be back in business.

Thank you. I will show my Husband this tomorrow morning (working nights) and he and I will give it a shot. I will post back tomorrow with how it goes. Again thank you.

Rachel

It is likely the thermocoupler. Appliances that use a standing pilot light use these as a safety device. They fail occasionally, fortunately they are not difficult or costly to replace. They look like a small tube that is mounted so that the end is in the pilot flame. That's what the previous post was describing.