The suggestion to 'bend' the contacts if the bulb breaks, sounds like the old practice of putting a penny under a burned out fuse. It looks like a piece of 1/4" bolt would also replace the bulb. They say to replace the heater under warranty, but I am not sure if YOU having a can of gasoline next to the heater would qualify as a "factory defect" when the FVIR was activated. The FVIR is a safety feature and when your actions cause it to work, it has done its job. It would be a defect if it DID NOT work. American also had a "one time" FVIR system, originally, with a left hand thread thermocouple. You had to replace the entire burner/pilot system when it failed, but no one carried the replacement so you had to get it from American. If you wanted it fast, you paid $40.00 air freight, otherwise you went without hot water for a week. The replacements had a resettable FVIR switch.