How To Relight A Furnace Pilot Light

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Learn everything you need to know about furnace pilot lights including what they are, how they work, and how to relight a furnace pilot light!
As the heart of your home’s heating system, the furnace plays a crucial role in ensuring your living spaces remain warm and comfortable, especially during the colder months. Understanding the intricacies of your furnace, particularly the pilot light, is essential for maintaining a consistent and efficient heating system. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the importance of furnace pilot lights, delve into common reasons they might go out, and provide detailed instructions on how to relight a furnace pilot light. Additionally, we’ll discuss when it’s time to call in the professionals, specifically highlighting the expertise of Cornel’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning.

What Is a Furnace Pilot Light?

The pilot light is a small flame that ignites the main burner in your furnace. It’s a critical component that ensures the gas released into the furnace is promptly ignited, preventing gas buildups and ensuring smooth and efficient operation. Keeping this tiny yet mighty flame alive is pivotal for the seamless performance of your heating system.

Reasons Your Furnace Pilot Light Went Out

Several factors can lead to your pilot light extinguishing, each impacting the efficiency and safety of your furnace operation. Understanding these causes is crucial:
  • Sudden drafts that can blow the light out
  • A dirty pilot orifice restricting gas flow
  • A malfunctioning thermocouple prevents the light from staying lit

How to Relight A Furnace Pilot Light

Relighting your furnace’s pilot light might seem daunting, but with the right guidance, it’s a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step approach:
  1. Safety First: Ensure the furnace switch is turned off locate the pilot light assembly and reset the switch.
  2. Access the Pilot Light: Remove the furnace cover to access the pilot light assembly.
  3. Turn the Knob to ‘Pilot’: Find the gas valve and turn the knob to the ‘Pilot’ position.
  4. Ignite the Pilot Light: While holding down the reset button, use a long match or lighter to ignite the pilot light.
  5. Observe and Test: Once the pilot light is lit, hold the reset button for about a minute. Then, turn the knob to the ‘On’ position and observe if the main burner ignites.

Professional Furnace Repair & Maintenance

If you’ve followed the steps above and your furnace’s pilot light won’t stay lit or you’re experiencing other issues with your heating system, it’s time to call in the experts. Cornel’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning possesses the necessary experience and expertise to diagnose and resolve any furnace-related issues. Trusting a professional ensures your heating system is not only fixed efficiently but also adheres to safety standards. It is common to notice a burning smell when you start up a furnace, learn more about that in another blog: Why Does My Furnace Smell Like Burning?

Keep Your Pilot Light Lit

Understanding how to relight your furnace pilot light is an essential skill for homeowners, contributing to the overall efficiency and safety of your heating system. Remember, while some issues can be resolved with a bit of DIY spirit, others require the touch of a professional. For any complex or persistent furnace problems, contact us at Cornel’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning for reliable and expert service. Check out our Google Reviews!

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Services

License Number: CCB#226109

Receive A Callback In
10 Minutes or less!

(During business hours Mon-Fri 6am-7pm)

  • Avatar Michael Grimaud ★★★★★ a week ago
    Overall great experience with Cornel's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning. It first started with an inspection of my old units which were getting … view more close to 20 years old and I could tell they might be losing steam. Don came out to look over everything and pointed out that the AC unit was running colder than expected which meant the furnace was probably not in the best shape either. Sure enough he inspected the furnace and found more problems. Don was informative, kind, and very helpful. He pointed us towards David who help spec out what a new set of units would like and provided prompt estimates and answered any questions I had. Due to circumstances David was able to coordinate a next day install of the new units and maintained great response times and updates during the whole process. During the install I met Jace and Victor. Jace was the lead technician on the install but both he and Victor were meticulous in their work and got the job done with no issues. The next day and after some consideration I decided to replace my higher end filter system with a Media filter and David was helpful enough to coordinate Jace to come back out the following week and quickly switch out the filter system. I would recommend Cornel's to anyone looking for a team of high quality technicians who take pride in their work and deliver on their promises.
  • Avatar russell smith ★★★★★ 2 months ago
    Cornel's did a nice job of replacing our old hot water heater. It had been part of a geothermal ground source heating system installed when we built … view more the house in 1997. The hot water function of the system had been isolated to run separately a number of years ago, but now the tank was giving out.
    There were some details at first for the plumbers to understand what was involved in fully separating a new heater from the old system. We also wanted a heater that was a bit more than just a standard stock model. Once that was understood so they could write a quote, things got underway.
    Brendan arrived the next day pretty much as scheduled. Very nice, caring for the situation, we had a review of the work while looking at the existing equipment. From that point, I left him to do his work. I believe it was about 3 hours later that he was done. It all looked so much better, and it's been running just fine.
    After Brendan was done, we sat in the kitchen and discussed any minor details. He was very nice and reassuring about how everything seemed just fine, and to be sure and contact them if anything did come up. We paid the bill, and he was on his way.
  • Avatar Tony Middleton ★★★★★ 6 months ago
    I just wanted to thank Jake & Colby of Cornel's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning. They did such an amazing job for us today. Completely … view more replaced our water heater in just 2 hours. They were very polite, knowledgeable and just plain good guys. 5 stars for sure.

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