How to light hot water tank?

[Dan S]

I have a Bowen Hot water tank and the procedure in the manual says to turn the knob to pilot and hold to the stop position. I assume this is for the thermo to heat up and ignite the propane. After holding for over a minute, nothing.

Can I simply hold a lighter in the area where the propane enters next to the thermo and manually ignite it?

Thanks,

Dan

[TomW]

Yes.

But does your manual say that the pilot will be electronically ignited?

Tom

[Dan S]

It does not say. It says "....turn to Pilot and hold against stop while lighting pilot burner. Allow pilot to burn aprox 1/2 minute before releasing dial.

[TomW]

Originally Posted by Dan S

..."...turn to Pilot and hold against stop while lighting pilot burner...

No auto-ignition there. Bring your matches.

Tom

[lewster]

You need to wait the 30-60 seconds WITH A FLAME UNDER THE PILOT AND THERMOCOUPLE to allow the thermocouple to heat up and signal the pilot's gas valve that it is OK to remain open. After that, it's up to the thermostat and main gas valve to complete the burner ignition.

I would use a gas igniter like the ones you use for BBQ ignition.

[Excella CM]

The purpose of holding knob is to allow gas to flow to the pilot-by-passing the safety shutoff feature of the main burner control. When you hold the knob over and apply a flame, you should see the pilot light up, if not, you don't have gas coming to the main control. If you have a flame only while you hold the knob, then the pilot generator is defective and the main burner wont light.

[HiHoAgRV]

yup, thats how I do it. It is a lot quicker than waiting to clear all of the air from the lines. Turn the dial to thermo and press down while holding a grill lighter under the thermocouple. After 30 seconds flip the valve to ON and keep the lighter on. It will blow all of the air from the lines and when the gas hits, the burner and the pilot will fire off.
I suspect this is not the recommended proceedure...

[lebolewis]

One extra bit of advice. When you turn the main gas valve to the "Pilot" position, make sure the red pilot button has sufficient clearance to be depressed down about half an inch to turn the gas on to the pilot. If you just look at the mark on the main valve knob, this may not be the case (that is how mine is). Light the pilot with a match or propane lighter. Hold the red pilot button down for about 30 seconds. Release the pilot button and turn the main gas valve knob to the "on" position. The burner should light. If it doesn't, you got a problem of some kind.

[Dan S]

seems to be working fine.

Thanks.

Dan