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
Anonymousstewart (not verified)
FVIR WATER HEATERS
Mon, 2010/04/19 - 23:44All FVIR water heaters need preventive maintance. The air intake screen should be cleaned every 6 months. Use a water heater vacuum brush. this tool will do the job without having to remove the burner assemble .
Anonymous (not verified)
my shit just went out also. I
Sun, 2009/05/31 - 05:48my shit just went out also. I just bought it a couple of years ago, i will never by another sears water heater again.
oscarintexas (not verified)
kenmore water heater
Wed, 2009/07/29 - 11:24I have a barely three year old water heater powermiser 6. I found the pilot out one day, relit it,and a few dayslater out again. The temperature outside has been in the 100s. and I imagine hotter in the water heater closet. After reading all of these posts about how difficult it is to get a thermocoupler for this sears appliance, i will just clean it out as best I can. I have had other sears products such as a garage door opener which failed after 16 months.I agree that sears products are poor and the idea is just to get you to buy warranty plans which you still pay for service calls anyway. If any one has pics of those vent areas to clean, id appreciate them. In the future,i will ask contractors what they recommend. NO MORE SEARS!
Anonymous (not verified)
pilot outage on sears water heaters
Tue, 2008/01/08 - 23:36you must keep the screen clean & in place & also clean the flame arrestor under the burner,the goverment demanded that all water heaters be made this way,they are protecting us so when we are playing with gasoline around our water heaters it wont ignite the vapors,but your furnace probebly will//look at all the controls on todays cars whether you want them or not
Vicki (not verified)
Power Miser 12
Wed, 2008/01/09 - 17:50I have the same problem (the pilot light won't stay lit). We have also tried to contact Sears (which by the way is in Singapore). We had to call at least 2-3 times until we could get someone to speak good enough English that we could understand. We tried to go back to the store where we bought the WH but they were no help either. They dont stock any parts and forget trying to call them. You will be routed through Singapore before being routed to the Sears 1 mile away.
They sent out a service tech at a cost of $65 just to walk through our door. He cleaned the lint screen located beneath the water heater. The service tech had to have a special tool made (from pvc pipe) just so he could vacuum it. The pilot light stayed on for 3 hours before shuting down once again. We have had to light the pilot every 2-3 hours. What really stinks is we have to get up at 3am if we want a hot shower by 6am. We have 5 people in our house and we can only get 2-3 showers before we have to light the pilot light again - then wait until it warms up. I can't believe that Sears can be proud of a product that is of such poor design. We will never, never, never buy another sears product. Sad thing is they are still selling them with pride!!!!!
Anonymous (not verified)
It's not just Sears, all the big box stores suck!!!!!
Wed, 2008/07/23 - 03:34I've had the same problems with mine that I've been reading you all have. I went to the store to buy a new thermocouple and they had the Kenmore Powermiser 6 that I have on sale..... This was not Sears, it was Orchard Supply Hardware!......
After reading all the posts here, and looking at the time I've put in already (including wasted time on the phone with Sears) I agree, it's time to look elsewhere for these products and give them the same run-around they give us. Bring on the suit!!!!!!
Anonymous (not verified)
Our's is going back to OSH tonight!
Sat, 2008/08/23 - 21:11Less than one week after purchase, all the same problems. There is no lint and there is good air flow. These are LEMONS!
Economizer 6
Sears was here three days after purchase, re-lit it and it went out about an hour later after the tech left. They can't come back until Aug 30. If we can get it to re-light it lasts from one to five minutes then cuts completely off. After reading all these posts it is pretty clear there are serious issues with these units.
Back in the box, back in the car and back to OSH for a refund.
What a waste of time!
Anonymous (not verified)
whirlpool water heaters have
Fri, 2008/02/08 - 02:37whirlpool water heaters have the same trouble as the sears and the trouble is no or low air intake and it over heating. the thermal fuse is installed in the center of the thermal couple so if the water heater should get starved for air it tends to build up heat because it can not vent well and the 220 deg C fuse in the center of the thermal couple dies ...as a test you could cut the tube on each side of the fuse in the center of the thermal couple and re solder the thing back up ...be sure to connect the center wire only to the center wire and the tube to the tube; a short peace of wire to jump across the part of the tube that has been cut away will do fine if you wanted to put back the safety part you would need to add the above 220 deg cut out switch or safety fuse)be sure that the aresstor is truly clean ... this would at least get it up and running till you can get the new parts sent to you ..please do remember that this is not be a legal fix and should not be left as a fix this is a test but will make it work if the gas valve is good.
Master plumber mark (not verified)
tampering with your thermocoupling is stupid......
Sat, 2008/02/23 - 23:24you really should not rig up your gas hot water heater like you have stated you have done... tampering with the thermocoupling to disconnect the high limit sensor in it could cause you serious harm... You could burn your house down, or blow up the water heater, or create carbon monoxide in your home..or it could overheat and scald someone........ you dont know what you are doing. and it is really not worth the risk....... I suggest you simply buy a better brand of water heater..like RHEEM or BRADFORD WHITE..
flgman (not verified)
Power Miser 12 - a big piece of junk!
Wed, 2008/02/20 - 15:57Purchased and had professional installation of my power miser 12 in march 2006 to replace a very old Kenmore water heater. About 3 months after installation, the unit's pilot light kept going out multiple times/day. Service call and the technician replaced the thermocouple. A few months later and started the same problem again, but it was infrequent, so I lived with it. In late 2007 the pilot light gets worse and needs to be lit every hour. Service call again and this time the tech tells me that the unit is not properly vented and tells me to order a special vent kit for this unit. You call sears and they immediately knew what I was talking about and rushed the kit out for free (this should immediately alert you that they know there is a problem). They tell me that the kit is an easy self install and requires only 15 minutes. It arrives with a small instruction packet that is very difficult to understand and appears to be incomplete. I try to install it only to have my utility room (where the water heater lives) start to stink of fumes, so I immediately shut it off and replace with the old flue pipe. Two days later, upon turing on the water heater for the fifth or sixth time that day, I notice that there is hot water leaking around the base of the water heater. Now it leaks too! If they don't replace this unit on the next service call, this will be the absolute last Kenmore appliance I ever buy. STAY AWAY FROM KENMORE WATER HEATERS!!!
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