The case of the thermocouple must firmly contact the frame of the furnace, to complete the circuit.

How much should you tighten a thermocouple?

¼ turn





Proper tightness should be finger tight plus ¼ turn. Inspect thermocouple to ensure that it is fully engaged into pilot bracket.

Should a thermocouple be touching the flame?

The pilot flame should touch the thermocouple at a specific level. If the flame is blue and weak, and barely reaches the thermocouple, it needs to be stronger. If it extends well above the thermocouple, it’s too strong.

How do you install a thermocouple?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: You take the end of this and slide it into that little hole that's left of the pilot tube. And you give it a little bit of a twist. While you push it in. Now.

How do you check if a thermocouple is working?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: First thing that we're going to need is our multimeter and we're gonna put it on the own setting first thing we're gonna do is we're gonna test continuity across the thermocouple.

How do you tighten a thermocouple on a nut?





To adjust the thermocouple, you must tighten the thermocouple nut with a wrench. Take care not to apply too much pressure to the nut — just tighten it slightly. Then try lighting the pilot. If the pilot won’t stay lit, replace the thermocouple with a new one of the same type.

Can I bypass a thermocouple?

Realistically, you have just disabled the thermocouple, but you can also reach in and unclip it from its holding bracket where it meets the pilot light. In most cases it will be held on with a gravity clip, but some are held on with a screw that must be removed with a small screwdriver.

What can go wrong with a thermocouple?

Sudden loss of heat.



A faulty thermocouple will often “cut out” when it’s experiencing problems, meaning that it misinterprets the pilot light’s temperature and shuts off the gas. This can lead to your heater turning off unexpectedly, even though there’s nothing wrong otherwise.

Where is the pilot adjustment screw?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Now I will show you how to adjust the pilot flame the adjustment screw of the pilot flame is behind this cover we can press through this cover. And find the adjustment screw.

Is the thermocouple supposed to be red hot?



When heat is applied to that hot junction, a small millivoltage is created. This develops because of temperature difference between the hot junction and what is called the cold junction. The flame has to envelop the upper 1/2″ to 3/8″ of the thermocouple and the tip should glow a “dull red”.

How do I know if my thermocouple is bad?

After about a minute, when you’re sure the probe has gotten hot, place one lead on the shaft of the thermocouple and the other lead on the connector. If the reading is less than 25 millivolts, the thermocouple is bad and needs to be replaced.

How do I know if my thermocouple is broken?

A worn out thermocouple is one of the most common gas water heater problems. When thermocouples wear out, the pilot light goes out, the burner won’t light, and you will have no hot water.

Does a thermocouple require power?



In contrast to most other methods of temperature measurement, thermocouples are self-powered and require no external power supply.

Where does a thermocouple get its power?

Electricity from Hot Metal! Thermocouples are amazingly simple devices that produce electricity from nothing but hot metal. You’ve likely heard of them before as they’re commonly used used to measure temperature. Take two wires of different metals, then heat them at a point where they’re attached together.

How are thermocouples powered?

Commercial thermocouples are inexpensive, interchangeable, are supplied with standard connectors, and can measure a wide range of temperatures. In contrast to most other methods of temperature measurement, thermocouples are self powered and require no external form of excitation.

Can thermocouple wires touch?

If any of the thermocouple wire came into contact with another conductive material, electrons would escape from the thermocouple and give us inaccurate voltage reading. Touching the wires with each other would also create an open circuit which messes up the output votlage.

How are thermocouple wires joined?



When the two wires of a thermocouple are joined to form a junction, one of them is connected to the body of the thermocouple and measures temperature. It is referred to as the hot or measuring junction. The second junction is attached to the body of a known temperature and is the reference junction or cold junction.

How are thermocouples wired?

A thermocouple is composed of two wires made from dissimilar metals. These two wires are joined to form a temperature measurement junction. Each wire is made of a specific metal or metal alloy.

Can a thermocouple be soldered?

Thermocouple materials are not solderable. It is possible to surround the thermocouple wire (encapsulate it) with solder but you cannot make a metallurgical bond to it. It is important to note that even if you could solder the two wires back together the thermocouple still will not work.

Is it OK to solder thermocouple wires?

You CAN solder the thermocouple wires together with no deleterious effect on the temperature indication AS LONG AS THE ENTIRE SOLDERED JOINT IS AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE DURING MEASUREMENTS.

Do thermocouples need to be welded?



For good thermal contact to a surface, pinch both wires against the surface under a washer using a nut and bolt (or weld both wires onto the surface). Thermocouples for use at lower temperature can be soldered (with difficulty) and may require special solder and paste.