Hello All,
I have gas water heater installed at my rented apartment. The model number is Bayard 10 BF.
While the heater works as usual, I noticed that a small flame (probably called the Pilot Flame) continuously lit in the heater. Even if I did not use any hot water for 7-8 hours, the flame is still lit.
Is it normal? Can I switch off the flame to save gas on bill?
Thanks.
yep, this will save you money, after you used the hot water you need, blow out the pilot light, then when you need to use the hot water again, go relight it.
You'd need to light it an hour before you want the hot water.
It may not be that straightforward. When you switch off the pilot lamp, there is a chance that air gets in the gas supply pipes and/or the gas pipe within the heater itself. In that case the lamp will not reignite unless the air is bleed out of the pipes and gas comes in contact with the starter. Some modern heater allow for automatic bleeding of air and ignition of the pilot lamp. If not, it could be an expensive exercise, as you might need a plumber to do it for you. Just be aware of the issues and your options.
Yes, we have an old gas heater in our place and it is super painful to relight. Be careful.
A pilot light is a tiny flame, that's correct. The pilot light touches the thermocouple, which creates a tiny voltage that allows the gas to continue flowing. When the temperature of the hot water tank drops too low, gas flows to the burner, the pilot light ignites the burner and heats your water. (Similiar principle with instantaneous. When the pressure in the hot water line drops, it assumes the hot water tap is on and starts heating.) If your thermocouple dies, the pilot light will not stay lit. And you'll end up with cold water.
The pilot light itself doesn't heat the water, as I said, it just ignites the burner. The pilot light uses SUCH a small amount of gas.
You'll also find a pilot light in central heater units as well.
Mind you, starting a pilot light that has gone out, as an absolute nightmare. As stated above, air in the gas line is the worst.
TL;DR: Yes turning off the pilot light will save you a money, at the expense of convenience, and the stress of relighting the pilot while it's cold outside, starting to rain and the missus is breathing down your neck.
We had an on demand gas system that was in our external laundry, the #%$^%^&^ pilot light kept blowing out and it was a pain to have to go outside to relight it on cold winter mornings. The older style systems usually have some magic way of reigniting them which is usually a pain as well.
We rented one place where there was no piped hot water around the house, every outlet had it's own hot water system - one above the sink in the kitchen, one above the basin in the bathroom and one for the shower/bath. We kept expecting the one for the bath to blow up, it sounded like a jet engine everytime we used it.
Keeps the water heated.
Only uses a tiny amount of gas. You'd save less than 5c a day by switching it off.
And the rest….
Last time I checked the pilot light used about 12MJ of gas per day. A MJ of gas with Origin energy Victoria Multinet (my supplier) including GST (Peak usage under 98.6301MJ/day) 2.4365c/MJ. Multiplying the two together costs about 30c/day. Then multiply by 365 days means the pilot light costs $107 per year. Not tiny any more.
I do admit though the hassle in having to relight the pilot every time you want hot water is a nuisance and it's worth just leaving it on.
I know this post is for hot water pilot lights - but for gas fireplaces, my research indicates that it's about $10 per month just for the pilot. This is more expensive than a hot water pilot light as the fireplace pilot requires more energy to fire.
This is why I prefer to combine instant and storage systems for hot water - I've got mine so gas boosts the solar HWS on demand. Costs $125 in gas for 12 months hot water - rain, hail and shine.
I've got a solar/battery/inverter setup so another $125 in gas for cooking and my total energy bill for the three of us is $250 P/A. All installed for under $1500 by using second hand panels and doing the work myself.
Hello All,
Thanks for your overwhelming responses and sincere suggestions.
I wont switch off the pilot light, you helped me make my decision.
Thanks.
Nirmal
Totally normal. If you turn it off you'll have to restart it every time you want some hot water.