Here is an email I got today:
The pilot to my water heater has shut off for no reason. It won't stay lit, even when I attempt to light it. The type is a Kenmore Mixer 6.Please get back to me asap, and tell me if this is a serious problem or if it is a minor detail that can be fixed at home.Thank you for your time,Fernando D.
Probably because of my post on Fixing a Sears Kenmore Water Softner.
Comments
Heater (not verified)
Power miser 6 pilot light
Mon, 2009/10/05 - 01:16Well after searching the net I found that the pilot light isn't getting enough air I opened the door on the front enough to let air in and the pilot light stayed on and the burner lit. I closed the face plate back up and everything shut down. My screen is clear and nothing inside appears to be blocking the air, is there an air inlet on the bottom that could be blocked?
Ruben (not verified)
Flame going out.
Sun, 2011/07/31 - 03:56On newer water heaters there is a glass vial in the combustion chamber. This is located after you take out the burner assembly-it is behind or on top. Look for pieces of glass-really small. When it breaks it shuts a vent door that allows no air inside the chamber. So when you try and light it, there is no oxygen. On mine there is a rod sticking up on base of this chamber. If I put any kind of weight on this rod, it will keep this vent door open.I replaced the thermocouple and am waiting for another glass vial from the manufacturer-free one time only. I still don't know the cause-ventilation is good. I think time causes this vial to break. Whenever the main burner turns on, there is plenty of heat inside this chamber. Every time we use hot water, the main burner turns on after a while. Eventually, the heat is melting the glass vial slowly, causing the door to start closing little by little. Lack of oxygen starts giving problems of pilot light going out once in a while. Then when the glass vial breaks, the vent door shuts completely. You can light the pilot, but when you turn the dial to the ON position, the main burner ignites. but goes out immediately from lack of oxygen. In the chamber clean the filter on bottom and vacuum and check your exhaust vent is not clogged and look for broken glass. This is a racket to buy a new water heater for a simple part that can be replaced or kept open some other way like putting weight on this rod. Be sure you at least replace the thermocouple. Good luck
Anonymous (not verified)
It's made by American Water
Sat, 2009/07/11 - 23:01It's made by American Water Heater IN MEXICO and all their H2O heaters are junk, no matter what name they put on it
Peggy (not verified)
Kenmore Power Miser 9 Water Heater
Sun, 2009/03/22 - 17:03To the others who are having problems with Sears Kenmore Power Miser 9 Hot Water Heaters - Let's Start a Class Action Lawsuit.
I have head Sears Service out here (tomorrow will be the third time) for a two year old water heater.
I barley get 1/4 of a tub of hot water no matter how little or how much I use the hot water.
The last idiot they sent told me I needed to "warm up" the hot water by using it in my sink first!!! Condescending idiot!
To say I am pissed off is putting it mildly.
DO NOT EVER BUY SEARS - EVER!!
Lumpy (not verified)
If the water heater you have
Fri, 2009/05/22 - 17:16If the water heater you have has a sealed combustion chamber you will need to make sure the combustion chamber
is getting air. The screen on the bottom of the chamber (difficult to see) directly under the chamber needs to be brushed
clean so it can get air. No air, no flame! Hope that solves your problem.
Carla (not verified)
Sealed combustion chamber
Sat, 2009/08/01 - 14:17Lumpy or anybody and even a Kenmore repairer reading this sight :-)). I have a Sears Power Miser 6 also. If I can find the filter to clean it, I think that this will do the trick. Where exactly is the filter located. The old heaters used to have vents and a panel you could see.
annette cortes (not verified)
powermiser 9 from sears is a joke, same problem!
Thu, 2009/12/17 - 11:57Getting the runaround from sears.. pilot keeps getting put out because of a defect inside the water heater, there is a drip that hits the pilit almost immediately and there is no one that has any clue what to do other than replace, have been without a decent shower for 9 days, doing the camping thing with a washcloth and coldwater! They want to charge us 45.00 for a permit 350.00 to install and 50.00 to deliver! What a joke! We already paid a licensed plumber to install a year ago when we first purchased!
Anonymous (not verified)
pilot goes out
Mon, 2012/01/30 - 14:55ive been having this problem four two years although my powermiser 9 worked for two years. I finally found that when the heater turned off it blew out the pilot light. I turned the pilot light knob clockwise until the burner flame was reduced. THIS SEEMS TO HAVE STOPPED THE PROBLEM. My guess is that there is a problem with the gas air mixture possibly caused by the orifice or regulator.
Anonymous (not verified)
RE: If the water heater you have
Mon, 2010/08/02 - 16:20I've had a sears tech out and he showed me how to use a vacuum to clean the screen on the bottom. I have to do it about once a month to keep the piece of junk working. If you'd like to make the vacuum attachment it's a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe with a 90 degree elbow with one end cut off. After the tech came out at the tune of $65 to vacuum it, the thermocouple blew. He wanted to charge me $120, but I refused to pay that much for him to run his vacuum, so he didn't guarantee his work. I tried to call sears about the thermocouple, but was frustrated with the operators from another country that barely spoke any English and replaced the thermocouple myself.
There really needs to be a class action about this water heater.
Danielle (not verified)
Sears Model #153330642 Water Heater is Awful!
Wed, 2009/08/12 - 15:41If anyone out there wants/needs to buy this Sears water heater they should look elsewhere. This water heater has been defective since we bought it in September 2008. I called in Oct. 2008 to report my pilot light would not stay lit. The lady on the phone convinced me that I could light it myself if I followed her direction via the phone and avoid the hassle of sending a repair man out to fix it. Well, after 6 such calls in monthly increments we finally insisted that a tech come out and look at this problem. The termocoupler was replaced and the tech told me I needed to cut an additional hole in my cabinet door immediately to allow the tank to breath or I would continue to have this problem.Funny how the water heater before this one did just fine in the same cabinet- WITH NO ADDITIONAL HOLE to breath. What an idiot!
And I learned along the way- the first 6 telephone calls, where I lit the pilot myself and helped them to avoid the expense of sending out a repair person, were never recorded ANYWHERE in their records. So now it looks like the problem JUST STARTED
So why am I writing this warning today? My manufacturer's warranty for labor expires in one month and the tech that was repairing the termocoupler on this absolutely crappy water heater today for the fourth time had the ordasity to ask me to spend more $$$ for an extended warrantee. How do they get away acting like this?
Anyone up to a class action suit? I'm ready!
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