Water Heater Hysterics

A while back we discovered we didn't have any hot water. A quick check of the water heater revealed the pilot light was out.


I tried the lighting procedure a few times and got very frustrated when it didn't work. I then looked up online what might be causing the issue and most sources pointed to the thermocouple. Ours looked pretty fried, but I tested it with a multimeter and it was in the appropriate range.

The burner had quite a bit of debris sitting on it, so I dumped that off, cleaned the pilot light orifice and reinstalled it. That didn't work, so I decided to get a new thermocouple. It was only $10.

Sorry for the lack of focus. Try not to get a headache

With a new thermocouple, the water heater fired right up. Mission accomplished.
This is another project that made me wonder what a "professional" would have charged.