Had to tell you guys...
Well, first off, I guess I've been pretty lucky with my Whurlpul LockFlame hotwater heater. It lasted 4 years before burning out its thermocouple!
Last Friday, when there was suddenly no hot water, I hopped on to Google and started searching. I found lots of links; everything from consumer action, to articles about the class action lawsuit, to this thread.
This thread, however, has been by far the most helpful, so thank you all for maintaining it! Because it's such a good source, I felt like I should jump on and post my "fix".
First of all -- before I go in to the explanation -- please remember that (1). I hate this hot water heater and (2). I'm not suggesting other people should do what I did...
Pretty much, the story is the same as everyone else. Pilot wouldn't stay lit. I even clamped the reset button down with a woodworking clamp, to let the thermocouple get good and hot, before turning to "on"... one time the burner caught, and me and my wife rushed up and took showers. Even that time, as soon as the burner turned off and went back to pilot, the pilot went out.
I ran over to Lowes, and bought the only Whirlpool thermocouple they had in stock.
So, I pulled the burner assembly out. One thing worth noting that I haven't seen else where, is that my burner assembly was kind-of stuck, even after I disconnected the four connections to the thermostat (thermocouple, gas, pilot, igniter wire) and the two screws. It turned out, it was kind-of stuck... I think there was a bit of corrosion around the door.
When I got the old thermocouple out, I saw that it had the in-line fuse (as discussed elsewhere). Putting in the new thermocouple was simple, I just tried not to damage it too much as I was threading it.
As I went to finish up and reattach everything, I found that the new thermocouple not only didn't have a in-line fuse, but was RIGHT HAND THREADED (again, a problem other people have had).
I've read other forums where folks have cut and soldered the thermocouple together, but I was so pissed that I did something different: I just brutally screwed it in!
That's right, I mercilessly screwed a right-handed thread in to a left-handed socket. And now it's jammed in there, with the thermocouple contact engaged, and the stupid POS flameluck working, for the moment. I now have the advantage of having a standard thermocouple in there, instead of the one with the extra fuse.
Yes, I have a temper. Yes I plan to have the thing replaced as soon as I can.
Yes, I'm kinda proud of myself for beating it at its own game