HVAC Contractors

Lighting the Pilot Light

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Lighting the pilot light in your furnace is something you can do yourself by following the instructions below. However, always read through and follow the manufacturer's instructions for your furnace.

What You Will Need

What to Do

• Turn your thermostat to a warm temperature, 75 degrees or higher, in order to make the heat turn on.
• Once you are at the furnace, you will need to find the pilot valve. It is shaped like a box and is near the gas burners. It will also have a knob that will say "pilot," "on" and "off." You will need to turn it to off and then wait 3-5 minutes for the gas to clear.
• Now you can find the pilot, which is located right near the gas burner tube assembly in the furnace.
• If your pilot has a red reset button, then turn the gas valve from off to pilot. Follow the same step even if you do not have the red button.
• Light the match and place it at the pilot while you hold the red button down or depress the knob for 30-50 seconds. The pilot light should be on now.
• Slowly release the button or knob and turn the gas valve from pilot to on.
• The burners should all be ignited.
• If the burners did not ignite, then try these steps again.

If your pilot light is still not functioning properly, try troubleshooting the pilot light problem.