How To Light The Pilot Light

If you have a gas-powered water tank, you need to ensure that the pilot light is lit. If this is not done, you have no chance of getting hot water. If you have one of these systems, and the water won’t heat up, it is a good idea to check on the pilot light and see whether or not it needs to be relit.
This is fairly simple to do yourself, and in this post, we will tell you exactly how you can do that. We do, however, also just want to point out that these are general instructions that will apply to most tanks, but we do recommend reading the manual for yours in this regard before you get started. 
Start off by finding the valve that regulates the gas for your tank. It will be on the outside of the tank, at the point where the gas pipe makes contact with the tank. You will see a knob that can be turned on or off. That means you are in the right place. Make sure that this is off. 
Give it at least five minutes before you start to look for the pilot burner. This will be underneath the tank, and you may have to remove a cover so that you can get proper access to this burner. It is important to make sure that you can see what is going on under there, so use a good flashlight to light the area. 
Go back to the regulator valve and switch it over to pilot. Depress the button and keep it depressed so that gas starts flowing to the pilot burner. With some tanks, the gas to the pilot light is controlled separately, and that is why it is important to read the manual. 
If yours is a separate control, then press that button and keep it down. From here on in the steps depend on what features your burner has. Some have a pilot igniter built in. To light, the pilot with these is a simple matter of depressing the ignition button that is usually placed on the gas valve.
You will know that you have hit the right button when the igniter starts to spark. 
If you have a manual model, you will need to get in there to light it yourself. This can be more safely done by using a barbecue lighter that has a longer neck. You will position the lighter over the flame and then spark it. 
Make sure to keep the knob on the regulator valve depressed for at least a minute. This is so that the flame is able to stay on long enough for the safety sensor on the tank to register that the pilot light has been lit. Now you can slowly release the button. 
The light should stay lit, if it has not, start from the beginning again. If it has, switch the gas valve back to the on position. You should hear something that sounds like “whoomp” when the light is lit, and that means that you are done. 
Screw back the access panel and get back to enjoying your hot water again.

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