Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem

[Bob F]

The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)

My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.

If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.

The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Although your post is from last year, I recently had a problem with my 6-year old GSW water heater with a left-hand thread thermocouple.

I am awaiting a free warranty replacement for the whole assembly minus the burner head but while waiting I substituted a brand new $9 RIGHT-HAND thread thermocouple with a slight modification. Rather than cutting a copper line and splicing things together etc., all I did was slide the threaded piece (part that screws into the control box down a ways from that tip, held the piece with a small pair of vise grips and set it against my bench grinder wheel to wear off the threads, I did this on all sides and was left with a smooth piece, still with the 7/16" hex head though. Next I stuck the end right up into the control unit and while holding it in place, took some strong wire, wrapped a fair amount around the copper line that exits that fitting and then just "tensioned" it up by wrapping the wire up higher near the gas line fitting. The pilot stays lit BUT if you look closely at where the end of that thermocouple screws into the box (the female end left-hand threading), there's a small light blue plastic tab that gets depressed when the lefty is fully screwed in. My jury-rigged thermocouple end has no threads so it can't strip that entry point but it's still doing its job: 1. pushed up as far as it can go. 2. pulled tight with wire and held UPWARD. 3. pressing on what appears to be something of a plastic locking tab that IF not pressed in OR when I did happen to move around the now non-threaded piece and the baby blue-colored tab moved, out went the pilot.

Apologies in that I don't know the terms or names of some parts but I was just so excited that I was able to fix this temporarily until I get my replacement kit. Also, after a few decades of replacing the odd thermocouple in my old furnace, I finally figured out that the reason some of my other ones went was because of a tiny hairline crack at the tip of that pilot. Hard to see at first but I kept a few of the older ones and sanded them a bit to verify that such an issue exists for these cheap parts.

[i***@gmail.com]

Post by a***@gmail.com

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Although your post is from last year, I recently had a problem with my 6-year old GSW water heater with a left-hand thread thermocouple.
I am awaiting a free warranty replacement for the whole assembly minus the burner head but while waiting I substituted a brand new $9 RIGHT-HAND thread thermocouple with a slight modification. Rather than cutting a copper line and splicing things together etc., all I did was slide the threaded piece (part that screws into the control box down a ways from that tip, held the piece with a small pair of vise grips and set it against my bench grinder wheel to wear off the threads, I did this on all sides and was left with a smooth piece, still with the 7/16" hex head though. Next I stuck the end right up into the control unit and while holding it in place, took some strong wire, wrapped a fair amount around the copper line that exits that fitting and then just "tensioned" it up by wrapping the wire up higher near the gas line fitting. The pilot stays lit BUT if you look closely at where the end of that thermocouple screws into the box (the female end left-hand threading), there's a small light blue plastic tab that gets depressed when the lefty is fully screwed in. My jury-rigged thermocouple end has no threads so it can't strip that entry point but it's still doing its job: 1. pushed up as far as it can go. 2. pulled tight with wire and held UPWARD. 3. pressing on what appears to be something of a plastic locking tab that IF not pressed in OR when I did happen to move around the now non-threaded piece and the baby blue-colored tab moved, out went the pilot.
Apologies in that I don't know the terms or names of some parts but I was just so excited that I was able to fix this temporarily until I get my replacement kit. Also, after a few decades of replacing the odd thermocouple in my old furnace, I finally figured out that the reason some of my other ones went was because of a tiny hairline crack at the tip of that pilot. Hard to see at first but I kept a few of the older ones and sanded them a bit to verify that such an issue exists for these cheap parts.

The thermocouple just went out yesterday on my US Craftmaster water heater installed in 2006. After searching all local stores, Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, and Ace Hardware, it is not possible to locate one locally. I then searched the web for a replacement, which did not turn up any results. I could only find the adaptor for $19.99,(made with spade terminals to hook up to the connections), but I could not verify that the female threads were right hand. It did state the male threads were left hand. Either way, I would have to live without hot water until it arrived. Thinking about the temporary solution above, I had an idea on how to fix the problem. I cut the tip off of the old thermocouple with a diagonal cutter so that I could slip off the left hand nut. I then put it in my mill/drill and used an 1/8" end mill to make a slot down to the center hole. I did this centered on one of the hex flats. This allowed me to purchase a standard right hand thermocouple, slide the right hand nut down away from the end, and then insert the left hand nut with the new slit onto the thermocouple wire. It only took 5 minutes to mill the slot and another 15 minutes to install the new thermocouple and reassemble the hot water heater(I already had it all apart). Everything works good now. I could have had it fixed last night had I known how difficult it is to find a left hand thermocouple.

[t***@hcs.k12.nc.us]

I don't understand the cutting method. I will have to have someone cut the left hand threads off. I can't picture how it works or is cut. One person posted a video and the picture is not clear. I am without hot water.

[c***@gmail.com]

Great idea! I couldn't find a left hand thread thermocoupler at any of the plumbing supply stores. I tried this and it works like a charm.

[s***@gmail.com]

Thank you! We were stuck with no one in Vegas area selling a left hand threaded thermocouples..... I cut off the old connector and put it on the new one and worked perfect.... You're idea was a life saver! Thanks again!!!

[Oren]

Post by s***@gmail.com
Thank you! We were stuck with no one in Vegas area selling a left hand threaded thermocouples..... I cut off the old connector and put it on the new one and worked perfect.... You're idea was a life saver! Thanks again!!!

What part of Vegas?

[e***@gmail.com]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for being a lifesaver. I used your advice but the only difference I did was I cut the 'left hand thread piece' on the thermocouple in half. I also used my Dremel as you did. I first only cut half of the 'left hand thread piece' like you did, but I I couldn't get it out of the copper tubing with only half of a cut. So I decided to cut the whole 'left hand thread piece' in half. I then put the two 1/2 pieces of the 'left hand thread' around the new thermocouple and screwed in to the water heater. I did NOT use any glue or adhesive. As long as the new copper tubing from the thermocouple is in the middle, it will keep the size of the 'left hand thread piece' the correct size so you can screw it in the water heater.

Thanks again Bob for your post.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[p***@gmail.com]

Post by e***@gmail.com
Hi Bob,
Thanks for being a lifesaver. I used your advice but the only difference I did was I cut the 'left hand thread piece' on the thermocouple in half. I also used my Dremel as you did. I first only cut half of the 'left hand thread piece' like you did, but I I couldn't get it out of the copper tubing with only half of a cut. So I decided to cut the whole 'left hand thread piece' in half. I then put the two 1/2 pieces of the 'left hand thread' around the new thermocouple and screwed in to the water heater. I did NOT use any glue or adhesive. As long as the new copper tubing from the thermocouple is in the middle, it will keep the size of the 'left hand thread piece' the correct size so you can screw it in the water heater.
Thanks again Bob for your post.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Excellent post !!! I used a dremel and split it half way takes a little work but after about 5 minutes of carefully cutting it worked like charm . Thanks for the help. Whirlpool and left handed threading is a big screw up for that company Ill never buy whirlpool again.

[b***@gmail.com]

Thank you SO much for taking time to post this. My 2006 water heater is 8 months out of warranty and the thermocouple failed. I called Whirlpool and they said it would be something like $35 + shipping for a right-hand adapter. Talk about extortion!

So I bought the $8 universal right-hand thermocouple from Lowe's. Then I went to Harbor Freight for a rotary tool (like a Dremel) and grinding attachment for a whopping $17. Spent over an hour grinding the slot, but it worked flawlessly! I'm sure an actual Dremel would get the job done much faster, but at Lowe's the cheapest one was around $50, and I wanted to stay under the price for the Whirlpool adapter.

The symptoms for me was that the pilot would go out randomly. Sometimes it would remain lit for days, and sometimes it would extinguish within an hour. But relighting it would take 20 - 30 seconds max before the pilot button could be released. I even tested with a voltmeter and had a reading of 26.5 mv. But apparently the voltage would occasionally drop and the safety switch would release.

Again, thanks for the post. No more cold showers :) You made my day!

[4***@gmail.com]

I have an American Water Heater, about 8 years old. Took out the thermocouple a few months back, sanded it, and put it back in and worked fine. At the time, found out about this left-hand thread issue so that was my fix then. Anyway the pilot light went out again recently and tried this fix. I used my rotary tool to cut but realized that only one cut wasn't big enough for the copper tube so I made two more cuts on either side of the original cut. Only then there was enough space for the tube to come out. Sure enough, this worked and I have hot water again! Thanks!

[m***@gmail.com]

Just wanted send a thank you for suggestion it worked perfectly. You a life saver and a genius. Whirlpool customer service is a joke and sucks.

[m***@gmail.com]

Just wanted send a thank you for suggestion it worked perfectly. You a life saver and a genius. Whirlpool customer service is a joke and sucks.

[l***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The Lowe's Hot Water Heater enhancement kit works fine for replacing the infernal LH threaded thermocouple. The only work of caution is to clear the mounting screw holes in the cover gasket before attempting installation. Then mount the door FIRST while everything is loose. Then warp the other stuff into place. Perfect job solves the problem with the pilot light not being lit after main burner goes out. BTW, my thermocouple measured 19 Millivolts (0.019 on the multimeter).
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[r***@gmail.com]

I realize this is an old thread, however someone new may find it like I did.

I had the same problem with left handed threads on my thermocouple. Much research later I learned that they did it for a reason. The left handed thread thermocouple also incorporates a "thermal fuse," which is the overheat protection. It is left handed specifically so you can't put a universal thermocouple on it. If you do so, such as by switching the fitting to the new thermocouple (Which is ingenious, by the way. Very clever.) your water heater may work fine, but you no longer have overheat protection.

Lowes carries the retrofit kit (Water Heater Enhancement Kit) which replaces everything downstream from the control valve, except the burner itself. It adds an adapter for the left handed threads, so that a standard thermocouple will fit, and it also adds a separate thermal switch to provide overheat protection. Also, you can contact the manufacturer. (http://www.americanwaterheater.com/contact.aspx)

I had to contact the manufacturer, because I have the 30 gallon, for which Lowes does not carry the Kit.

Hope this helps, and Good Luck!

[c***@gmail.com]

This was the best advice I have ever gotten. This was an absolute life saver thank you

[o***@gmail.com]

Got home from a family trip only to find no hot water...... Went to Canadian Tire bought a new Thermo Coupler got everything ready found out it was left thread (reverse) what to do googled this took a bit to figure out what and how he was doing this then when I got it BAM!!! took out the drummel and wow this works great. So I got my wife to Video tape it for Youtube so others could see how easy this works. here is the link :

[r***@gmail.com]

I did this exactly like you said. Works perfectly!

[Oren]

Post by r***@gmail.com
I did this exactly like you said. Works perfectly!

...well ain't that special

[Stormin Mormon]

Post by r***@gmail.com
I did this exactly like you said. Works perfectly!

Did you include the step with the chicken
feather?

[Oren]

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 14:08:48 -0400, Stormin Mormon

Post by Stormin Mormon

Post by r***@gmail.com
I did this exactly like you said. Works perfectly!

Did you include the step with the chicken
feather?

What about the "turkey caper". Voodoo (Santeria) followers once
tossed a dead turkey on the steps of our jail for some reason. Maybe
to cast a spell?

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

I may not have read all messages.

Post by Oren
What about the "turkey caper". Voodoo (Santeria) followers once
tossed a dead turkey on the steps of our jail for some reason. Maybe
to cast a spell?

They knew you?

[Stormin Mormon]

Post by Tekkie®
I may not have read all messages.

Many of your posts have this text.
Doesn't encourage us, you keep
reminding us that you give advice
without knowing what the situation.

Doctor: Take this, and have it filled.
Take two of these pills, three times
a day until you've used them all up.
Man: But we're standing in line at the
grocery, and you've not asked me any
medical questions.

.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

[Bob F]

Post by r***@gmail.com
I did this exactly like you said. Works perfectly!

I'm glad it worked for you. Sorry about the riff-raff.

[p***@gmail.com]

I have discovered the same problem as most other people with the left hand thread thermocoupler. Before I try the Gerry rigged solution proposed of cutting the old fitting with a dremel and then fitting it over a new replacement right hand thread unit I would like to know if that solution is still working for those that did it? Thanks. Something has to work as replacing a perfectly good hot water tank when the only problem is the thermocoupler is totally insane.

[p***@gmail.com]

Dear Bob F, I am so-o-o grateful for your ingenious solution to the left threaded thermocoupler. Apparently the kit for converting the heater to the right threaded thermocoupler includes a new valve and burner at a cost of well over $300 Canadian. With freight I was looking at $400. Crazy. For anyone else out there that may encounter the same problem, Amazon has an adapter that slips over the new thermocoupler to mate with the left threads at a cost of $16. Similar solution to yours, Bob but better for someone without a visa and a dremel.

MikeC

[Bob F]

Post by p***@gmail.com
Dear Bob F, I am so-o-o grateful for your ingenious solution to the left threaded thermocoupler. Apparently the kit for converting the heater to the right threaded thermocoupler includes a new valve and burner at a cost of well over $300 Canadian. With freight I was looking at $400. Crazy. For anyone else out there that may encounter the same problem, Amazon has an adapter that slips over the new thermocoupler to mate with the left threads at a cost of $16. Similar solution to yours, Bob but better for someone without a visa and a dremel.
MikeC

It's nice to see this still helping people. It is still working without
problem here, many years later.

[Mikepier]

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I had no idea there are left-handed thread thermocouples. I'll double check my water heater and boiler in case I need to change mine if they should fail.

[Stormin Mormon]

Post by Mikepier
I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I

had no idea there are left-handed thread
thermocouples. I'll double check my water
heater and boiler in case I need to change
mine if they should fail.
Left is right, right is wrong, two's for
girls. (earring code for men.)

Best to check NOW before you get caught in
the cold.


.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

[waterheater]

This is the best solution I could find for the left hand thread problem (as posted earlier in this thread):

American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834

I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[Jon M]

I had the same problem and used the Lowe's kit which was fine except it didn't include the brass burner orifice which you were supposed to transfer from the old manifold. Mine was basically welded on and unremovable after years of use. I searched all around for a replacement online and at local heating and plumbing supply stores. To get a new burner orifice (which is essentially just a brass bolt with a hole down the middle) I had to call whirlpool directly and luckily they made it available. It's NOT on their website that I could find. They overnighted to me for 30 bucks which is an insane price to pay for a little piece of brass but at least I have hot water now.

[s***@sbcglobal.net]

Post by waterheater
American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834
I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Thanks, this post was very helpful!

[s***@hotmail.com]

Hi, where can I just get the left hand to right hand thermocouple adaptor? The part number will be appreciate.

Post by s***@sbcglobal.net

Post by waterheater
American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834
I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Thanks, this post was very helpful!

[f***@gmail.com]

Post by waterheater
American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834
I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834
I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834
I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Thanks! This post was extremely helpful. Plumber came out and quoted $700 to retrofit the thermostat and burner because of left hand design. He said he had to order the parts for tomorrow. He left and I did some research, I cancelled after finding this post. Total repair took me an hour and now my wife is calmed down because we have hot water again and don't have to wait 24hrs. That's priceless.

[Stormin Mormon]

Post by f***@gmail.com

Post by waterheater
American Water Heater Company Gas Enhancement Kit 4040T NG
http://www.lowes.com/pd_242967-135-6911121_0__?productId=3434834
I had to drive an hour to a Lowe's that had the part, but it is worth it to have hot water again. It works perfectly, other than I can't fit my old external cover on now. It includes the adapter to change it from a left hand thread to a right hand and was pretty inexpensive. Apparently American Water Heater Company has some sort of safety detection device built into the left hand thread and this enhancement kit maintains that functionality while changing it to a right had thread.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Thanks! This post was extremely helpful. Plumber came out and quoted $700 to retrofit the thermostat and burner because of left hand design. He said he had to order the parts for tomorrow. He left and I did some research, I cancelled after finding this post. Total repair took me an hour and now my wife is calmed down because we have hot water again and don't have to wait 24hrs. That's priceless.

Once in a while, this list helps someone. And,
that kindness sure helps keep me going.

[j***@gmail.com]

Thank you for the good idea. I also cut a slot and slid the old tube out and new one in and it is working great. Because they pulled this crap I can honestly say when it's time for a new one I will not buy there brand.

[a***@gmail.com]

Just got done cutting the regular threaded nut lengthwise and it slid right off. Reassembled and everything works well! Thanks for the help. The plumbing store was recommending a new water heater because "no one carries those reverse threaded thermocouples anymore." Yea right!

[p***@gmail.com]

I would have kindly told that plumbing store to F off and that they lost a customer and several others (your friends).

[Alphahozer]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!
You saved our Independence Day week!
Did exactly what you said and it worked perfectly!

I wish I knew how to post a pic...

[Bob F]

Post by Alphahozer

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The
stores open on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples,
and as far as I could find out, the manufacturer would sell me a
conversion kit for $31 which would take 10 days to receive. (out of
warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old
thermocouple end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a
1" cutting disc in my dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so
I could slide it off of the tube. I slid the threaded fitting on my
new thermocouple down out of the way, then slipped the slotted one
over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve fitting. It
works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water
heater, you might want to check to see if it has the left hand
thread on the thermocouple. If it does, and it is still in
warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you can get the
conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1
1/2-2 minutes of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light
and stay lit. The new one took about 20 seconds.

Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!
You saved our Independence Day week!
Did exactly what you said and it worked perfectly!
I wish I knew how to post a pic...

You are welcome!

This has surely been my longest actively appreciated post.

Most of us can't get posts with pictures anyway. Put it on tinypic, or some
other picture posting site, then post a url to the pic here if you really want
to.

[f***@hotmail.com]

Post by Bob F

Post by Alphahozer

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The
stores open on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples,
and as far as I could find out, the manufacturer would sell me a
conversion kit for $31 which would take 10 days to receive. (out of
warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old
thermocouple end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a
1" cutting disc in my dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so
I could slide it off of the tube. I slid the threaded fitting on my
new thermocouple down out of the way, then slipped the slotted one
over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve fitting. It
works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water
heater, you might want to check to see if it has the left hand
thread on the thermocouple. If it does, and it is still in
warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you can get the
conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1
1/2-2 minutes of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light
and stay lit. The new one took about 20 seconds.

Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!
You saved our Independence Day week!
Did exactly what you said and it worked perfectly!
I wish I knew how to post a pic...

You are welcome!
This has surely been my longest actively appreciated post.
Most of us can't get posts with pictures anyway. Put it on tinypic, or some
other picture posting site, then post a url to the pic here if you really want
to.

was a great idea saved time and money thanks.

[p***@gmail.com]

Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

[Brent]

Post by p***@gmail.com
Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

Ok smartguy, did you get your little modification inspected and approved by the AHJ?
If not, your insurance company can void your policy and refuse to pay future claims.

[pdid]

Post by Brent

Post by p***@gmail.com
Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

Ok smartguy, did you get your little modification inspected and approved by the AHJ?
If not, your insurance company can void your policy and refuse to pay future claims.

I don't think you understand the issue. Dishonest upselling has nothing to do with the modification.

[pdid]

Post by Brent

Post by p***@gmail.com
Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

Ok smartguy, did you get your little modification inspected and approved by the AHJ?
If not, your insurance company can void your policy and refuse to pay future claims.

And please explain the risk of a failed thermocouple, smart guy? Oh no! The gas might shut off! I think I'm willing to live with that risk and don't see any concern with insurance. I'll not likely need to file a claim because I didn't have hot water for a couple of days.

[s***@hotmail.com]

Post by pdid

Post by Brent

Post by p***@gmail.com
Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

Ok smartguy, did you get your little modification inspected and approved by the AHJ?
If not, your insurance company can void your policy and refuse to pay future claims.

And please explain the risk of a failed thermocouple, smart guy? Oh no! The gas might shut off! I think I'm willing to live with that risk and don't see any concern with insurance. I'll not likely need to file a claim because I didn't have hot water for a couple of days.

I'm just curious as to how many of these dumb @#$%@ are still alive after defeating a safety device. These thermocouples have a thermal protective device built into them!!!!

[s***@hotmail.com]

Post by pdid

Post by Brent

Post by p***@gmail.com
Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

Ok smartguy, did you get your little modification inspected and approved by the AHJ?
If not, your insurance company can void your policy and refuse to pay future claims.

And please explain the risk of a failed thermocouple, smart guy? Oh no! The gas might shut off! I think I'm willing to live with that risk and don't see any concern with insurance. I'll not likely need to file a claim because I didn't have hot water for a couple of days.

Let me recant that, How many of these dumb @#$%@ are still operating under this temporary fix?

[jimmy]

Post by pdid

Post by Brent

Post by p***@gmail.com
Just had the thermocouple go out on my whirlpool water heater, after moving in 5 years ago. I had no idea about the left handed threads, so I was pretty steamed when I got to the last step of screwing it in and it wouldn't thread! Of course, lowes or Home Depot only had universal threaded thermocouples. I was able to use my Drexel to make the cut and put the nut on the new wire, just like you said. Everything works, and we have hot water now instead of having to wait on a part from whirlpool. Thanks for posting this!

Ok smartguy, did you get your little modification inspected and approved by the AHJ?
If not, your insurance company can void your policy and refuse to pay future claims.

And please explain the risk of a failed thermocouple, smart guy? Oh no! The gas might shut off! I think I'm willing to live with that risk and don't see any concern with insurance. I'll not likely need to file a claim because I didn't have hot water for a couple of days.

At first glance, the hack seems safe enough.

But after 37 years in product engineering, I can tell you that seemingly safe engineering changes often turn sour.
If it were my water heater in my house, I'd install the correct part.

[p***@gmail.com]

What is the risk of a thermocoupler failing??? A thermocoupler is designed to be a fail safe. It generates a small voltage if the pilot light is on, which lets the water heater know to allow gas to flow openly. Gas will only flow openly if the pilot light is on to hear the thermocouple. A failed thermocouple will always shut off the gas, so I can't imagine anything else happening to a simple design. If something serious happened to the water heater, it seems like it would not be due to a modification to the thermo couple. Please, anyone, correct me if in wrong.

[trader_4]

Post by p***@gmail.com
What is the risk of a thermocoupler failing??? A thermocoupler is designed to be a fail safe. It generates a small voltage if the pilot light is on, which lets the water heater know to allow gas to flow openly. Gas will only flow openly if the pilot light is on to hear the thermocouple. A failed thermocouple will always shut off the gas, so I can't imagine anything else happening to a simple design. If something serious happened to the water heater, it seems like it would not be due to a modification to the thermo couple. Please, anyone, correct me if in wrong.

I say you have it right. A lot of irrational hysteria going on here:

"I'm just curious as to how many of these dumb @#$%@ are still alive after defeating a safety device. These thermocouples have a thermal protective device built into them!!!! "

Which clearly demonstrates that the poster is clueless. I didn't
see anyone saying to defeat a safety device, only how to mount
a thermocouple that has different threads. Thermal protective device
built in? That's nuts too. They work exactly as you say, generating
a small voltage that the gas valve has to see to allow the gas to
flow. If the thermocouple fails, falls off, then there is no voltage
and the gas will not turn on. It's a failsafe design.

[j***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

I put the old left handed nut in a vise and used a Dremel cutting wheel to cut a slot along its length wide enough to accommodate the copper wire. (Note: the copper wire is reluctant to come out of the slot when the nut is clamped in the vise.) Cleaned up the threads with some light sand paper, applied a small amount of oil and made sure it threaded into the control unit. I then slid the right handed nut down the copper wire on a generic thermocouple and installed the thermocouple with the modified nut. It worked great.

[j***@gmail.com]

Brilliant. Worked perfectly. Thank you.

[P***@unlisted.moo]

Post by j***@gmail.com
Brilliant. Worked perfectly. Thank you.

Great, whatever you are talking about, or to whom ????? ....

[Evan Platt]

Post by P***@unlisted.moo

Post by j***@gmail.com
Brilliant. Worked perfectly. Thank you.

Great, whatever you are talking about, or to whom ????? ....

According to the headers, a post from 2012...

[c***@gmail.com]

Bob F.

Thanks....worked like a champ. I called Whirlpool, The guy told me my unit was 15 years old and they could not locate the my serial number in their system. He suggested a buy a new water heater.

Lets just say I was less than polite.

I used you method to adapt a universal thermal coupler. Thanks again.

[r***@gmail.com]

Bob F, YOU ARE MY HERO!!!! IT WORKED!!

For the others reading this I am going to explain Bob's method a little different if that helps for the less skilled. Snap a picture of the burner assembly before pulling the old thermocouple out to ensure proper installation.


The fitting is left threaded and you will not find this in any of the big box stores or even specialty warehouses. There are two options to dealing with this.

Since being without hot water for a week is not going to fly we need fast results. Go to Zoro parts and order the part and have it take its sweet time arriving while we do Bob's option. It is always nice to have a back up and for 10 bucks its worth it.


Option 1:

Take the thermocouple and secure it in a vice. I don't have one so I used a pair of vice grips and clamped it to a piece of wood. You can always put it on a curb or deck and have someone stand on it if you lack a clamp.

The threaded nut has to be laying flat, not upward. With your dremel tool and metal cut-off disk,begin to cut a channel along the nut until you reach the copper wire. The goal is to create a channel large enough to allow the copper wire to pop in a out easily.

Eventually you will create a "jacket" version so that you can pop it on the side of the new thermocouple. You don't want to go too crazy and carve off half of it. Just enough to have it pop in and out from the side.

Take the modified nut and practice popping it on the side of the old copper wire to ensure it works. ALSO, practice screwing it in the box. You don't want to put it all together and find its messed up.

Purchase a universal thermocouple from Lowes. I bought a "Rheem Gasket Replacement Kit with Thermocouple" because the tip of it looked more like the shape of the dead one. A few bucks more and extra gasket is nice. Total cost is around $18.

Take the new thermocouple and slide its current nut down and pop the modified one on top. Gently screw it in while holding the wire center. It is going to be a little wobbly so it might take a few tries to seat it completely in. Once you see it seated correctly its time to put it all together.

Take it back out and put the new thermocouple in the mount. Be sure to place the tip at the same depth as the previous one or as close as you can. Refer to your snap shot. Not sure if a little bit off is going to mess this up.

After all is assembled perform the normal pilot starting procedures.


Option 2:

If you don't have a dremel, you could use a hacksaw and a lot of patience or buy a cut off disk skinny enough to create that channel if you have a power drill. Take the dead thermocouple with you just to be sure the cut width matches.


All thanks and credit goes to Bob F. We have hot water again and a modified nut that works with those universal thermocouples.

[f***@hotmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[e***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This listing by Bob F is oh so accurate and effective! On 1/2/2017 here in Buffalo, Bob's fix came into play on a non-functioning water heater. The water heater pilot would not stay on due to an aged thermocouple so it was replaced with a new one only to find out that the removed defective thermocouple was indeed reversed thread (lefty tighty). The replacement thermocouple that was installed could not be hooked up as it was regularly threaded or "righty tighty."
Bob's solution with the dremel tool was used and it worked to perfection! The old left tightened fitting was removed from the defective thermocouple with a length wise slot made with a dremel tool. The left tightened fitting was removed and placed above the fitting on the new right tighten replacement thermocouple. The new thermocouple screwed into place into the reversed threaded junction on the hot water heater and hot water was possible once more.
Thank you so much Bob for the solution as everywhere we called no one had any
reverse threaded thermocouples. Kits were available online to adapt right tighten thermocouples to be used in reverse threaded thermocouple heaters, but the costs were jacked up in regards to "adapter kits" that would be sent to you after you doled out the ridiculous quick shipping fees.

Threads turn right, end of story. Anyone designing something the other way round is a fucking idiot (or Muslim) and must be sent into the centre of the sun.

[The Peeler]

On Tue, 03 Jan 2017 00:48:55 -0000, Birdbrain Macaw (now "James Wilkinson"),

Post by James Wilkinson Sword

This listing by Bob F is oh so accurate and effective! On 1/2/2017 here in Buffalo, Bob's fix came into play on a non-functioning water heater. The water heater pilot would not stay on due to an aged thermocouple so it was replaced with a new one only to find out that the removed defective thermocouple was indeed reversed thread (lefty tighty). The replacement thermocouple that was installed could not be hooked up as it was regularly threaded or "righty tighty."
Bob's solution with the dremel tool was used and it worked to perfection! The old left tightened fitting was removed from the defective thermocouple with a length wise slot made with a dremel tool. The left tightened fitting was removed and placed above the fitting on the new right tighten replacement thermocouple. The new thermocouple screwed into place into the reversed threaded junction on the hot water heater and hot water was possible once more.
Thank you so much Bob for the solution as everywhere we called no one had any
reverse threaded thermocouples. Kits were available online to adapt right tighten thermocouples to be used in reverse threaded thermocouple heaters, but the costs were jacked up in regards to "adapter kits" that would be sent to you after you doled out the ridiculous quick shipping fees.

Threads turn right, end of story. Anyone designing something the other
way round is a fucking idiot (or Muslim) and must be sent into the centre
of the sun.

Birdbrain, you must be sent into the nearest loony bin! It's long overdue!

[h***@yahoo.com]

Post by James Wilkinson Sword

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This listing by Bob F is oh so accurate and effective! On 1/2/2017 here in Buffalo, Bob's fix came into play on a non-functioning water heater. The water heater pilot would not stay on due to an aged thermocouple so it was replaced with a new one only to find out that the removed defective thermocouple was indeed reversed thread (lefty tighty). The replacement thermocouple that was installed could not be hooked up as it was regularly threaded or "righty tighty."
Bob's solution with the dremel tool was used and it worked to perfection! The old left tightened fitting was removed from the defective thermocouple with a length wise slot made with a dremel tool. The left tightened fitting was removed and placed above the fitting on the new right tighten replacement thermocouple. The new thermocouple screwed into place into the reversed threaded junction on the hot water heater and hot water was possible once more.
Thank you so much Bob for the solution as everywhere we called no one had any
reverse threaded thermocouples. Kits were available online to adapt right tighten thermocouples to be used in reverse threaded thermocouple heaters, but the costs were jacked up in regards to "adapter kits" that would be sent to you after you doled out the ridiculous quick shipping fees.

Threads turn right, end of story. Anyone designing something the other way round is a fucking idiot (or Muslim) and must be sent into the centre of the sun.
--
If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

those are the best quotes ever!!! I will use the meetings one forever!!!!!!!!!

[n***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Actually, prior to finding this thread, I thought of doing this, but lacked the confidence and tools to do it well. However, after reviewing the repeated successes, I gave it whirl (pun intended).
Took a very hot shower this a.m.

[m***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Thanks for the info i did this a few days ago and it worked great. thanks again

[d***@gmail.com]

Bob....You are the BEST!
Was totally stuck, no solution to be bought on Saturday if ever in this town so I had nothing to lose. Wasn't hard and works perfectly.
Thank you. I owe you a beer.
Doug

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[r***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

I had the same situation. beautiful solution, it worked perfectly thank you!

[j***@gmail.com]

This guy is awsome. Thanks bro

[Oren]

Post by j***@gmail.com
This guy is awsome. Thanks bro

Who dat?

[t***@gmail.com]

Did the split on LH fitting and slipped over new thermocouples worked perfect, thanks

[h***@gmail.com]

Thank you Bob!

Just used my Dremel and did exactly as advised on my John Wood water heater - after I was told that it was just better to replace the whole tank.

Saved myself a good chunk of money!

[h***@yahoo.com]

Worked!!! Happy wife = happy life.

Question....

Is there any danger of malfunction having that gap in the connector?

[Bill]

Post by h***@yahoo.com
Worked!!! Happy wife = happy life.
Question....
Is there any danger of malfunction having that gap in the connector?

If your insurance co catches it they might refuse a claim.

[Uncle Monster]

Post by h***@yahoo.com
Worked!!! Happy wife = happy life.
Question....
Is there any danger of malfunction having that gap in the connector?

If you're referring to the 'keeper' nut, universal thermocouple kits come with a variety of fittings including both left and right hand thread nuts that are slotted so they will slide over the small thermocouple tube then screw into the pilot light assembly to hold the large end of the thermocouple in place. It's been years since I purchased a kit. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

https://www.amazon.com/Spares2go-Universal-Thermocouple-Fixings-900mm/dp/B00S4UQFMU

https://tinyurl.com/ybh7pg6d

[8~{} Uncle Thermo Monster

[a***@gmail.com]

Bob! Late night fix. Worked great. Going to get me by until I can order a new left hand thread thermo.

[Danny D.]

Post by a***@gmail.com
Bob! Late night fix. Worked great. Going to get me by until I
can order a new left hand thread thermo.

I don't know what the suggested fix was as this seems to be an orphan post,
but what I do just about every couple of years with the proprietary
thermocouple of my hot water heaters is I remove it, sand it, return it,
and it works again (for about two years).

I'd replace it with the hardware store type, but mine is a proprietary
shape so it can only be replaced with the original part.

[Bob F]

Post by a***@gmail.com
Bob! Late night fix. Worked great. Going to get me by until I can order a new left hand thread thermo.

Another person replying to a many years old post.

Every year or 2 this post helps someone else. I'm glad I could help.

Proof that usenet is still working, although it is getting harder to
find the grains in all the chaff.

[Mike the old fart]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Was confronted with same problem, and made same conclusion. A simple cut and all worked well. Glad to see others still thinking "Outside the Box"

[t***@gmail.com]

Life saver! Thanks

[d***@gmail.com]

Thanks, did the fix as you explained, my water heater is 3 years out of warranty. As far as i can tell it all works fine. Happy to have this as an option especially on a tank that may not have many more years ahead of it. $10 fix.

[l***@gmail.com]

U rock. Funny how the obvious somtimes is not.

[j***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

You are a genius. You are a hero. Thank you for saving my family from 5 days shipping time for that part.

[k***@oberle.ca]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Bob F. Thank you!

I did this on a John Woods hot water tank. It worked flawlessly.

The stores were telling me to replace my entire burner assembly. They wanted $170 Canada bucks. The new thermocouple was $7. You are my hero.

[Jess Sain]

Post by k***@oberle.ca

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Bob F. Thank you!
I did this on a John Woods hot water tank. It worked flawlessly.
The stores were telling me to replace my entire burner assembly. They wanted $170 Canada bucks. The new thermocouple was $7. You are my hero.

If your house burns down because of your cheapskate hack, your insurance company could refuse to pay the claim.

[Bob F]

Post by Jess Sain

Post by k***@oberle.ca

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Bob F. Thank you!
I did this on a John Woods hot water tank. It worked flawlessly.
The stores were telling me to replace my entire burner assembly. They
wanted $170 Canada bucks. The new thermocouple was $7. You are my hero.

If your house burns down because of your cheapskate hack, your insurance
company could refuse to pay the claim.

It hasn't burned down yet. Sorry to disappoint you.

[Justin cider]

cuz they are a bunch of ripoff scam artists , write john wood a letter telling them how stupid they are dont buy their stuf

[b***@gmail.com]

You saved our weekend & we can now bathe and wash dishes! The guys at the hardware store looked at my husband like he was from Mars when he asked them for a left-handed thermocouple. Had never heard of it. We bought the thermo., discovered it was RH in the parking lot, returned it, and then went back and bought it again after reading your article. We promised the store we wouldn't be back today! It worked! Thanks to you!

[elmo]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

I had the same problem, no one has a simple LH thread thermocouple. Replacement is a pilot and thermocouple unit for about $35, but an hour and a half away, or it can be shipped at additional cost. I followed your lead, cut a slot in the nut lengthwise, put it above the nut on a new thermocouple and it works fine. My water heater is a 16 year old whirlpool, so I hated to sink much more into it. Thanks for the insight.

[Bob F]

Post by elmo

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

I had the same problem, no one has a simple LH thread thermocouple. Replacement is a pilot and thermocouple unit for about $35, but an hour and a half away, or it can be shipped at additional cost. I followed your lead, cut a slot in the nut lengthwise, put it above the nut on a new thermocouple and it works fine. My water heater is a 16 year old whirlpool, so I hated to sink much more into it. Thanks for the insight.

My gift that keeps on giving. That was definitely my most appreciated
usenet post ever, and demonstrates that good posts never die, no matter
how old they get. I again am glad it helped.

[h***@gmail.com]

Awesome fix! Had my water heater back up and running same day. Saved us a week of cold showers, or a new $500 water heater.
THANK YOU!!!
P.S. I was able to perform the same fix with a reciprocating saw, and I am sure a hacksaw would work too.

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[h***@gmail.com]

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

Glad I found this. Yesterday I drove 25 miles to Lowes for a thermocouple that was supposed to be a left hand thread for the specific Whirlpool heater we have. Lucky I checked it before leaving because it was a right hand thread, and they did not have any left hand thread. Only had an open box full kit, that did not seem to have the right parts.

I raised Hell with the Lowes store manager who said they no longer carry this brand and I should look elsewhere. They sell yet not support their product.

And for Whirlpool building in this odd ball feature to force you to get something that I couldn't even find on-line! NEVER WILL BUY WHIRLPOOL brand again! I have sworn not to buy Fuji either after they stuck it to their long time customers using their instant film.

Boycott and bad publicity is the only thing consumers in the USA have to fight back. Other countries have strict laws requiring spare parts for at least the normal life of an appliance. All we have is weak protection for car parts, and nothing for appliances. Large screen TVs in dumps because a small circuit board is no longer...

Anyhow, thanks again for your help. Wish I had the old copper tank with manual pilot water heater. These lasted a lifetime and didn't clutter the countryside with dumps.

[devnull]

Post by h***@gmail.com
And for Whirlpool building in this odd ball feature to force you to get something that I couldn't even find on-line! NEVER WILL BUY WHIRLPOOL brand again!

My experience with Whirlpool products has been great and they are my
go-to company for appliance purchases but I do wonder WTF they were
thinking when they designed an oddball thermocouple fastener system.

Seriously, the design error is so fucking stupid that I think some
engineer must have accidentally specified a left-hand thread and before
you know it the left-handed nut slipped into production.  Of course at
that point, what engineer wants to own that fuckup.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 15 Oct 2018 07:18:11 -0400, devnull

Post by devnull

Post by h***@gmail.com
And for Whirlpool building in this odd ball feature to force you to get something that I couldn't even find on-line! NEVER WILL BUY WHIRLPOOL brand again!

My experience with Whirlpool products has been great and they are my
go-to company for appliance purchases but I do wonder WTF they were
thinking when they designed an oddball thermocouple fastener system.
Seriously, the design error is so fucking stupid that I think some
engineer must have accidentally specified a left-hand thread and before
you know it the left-handed nut slipped into production.  Of course at
that point, what engineer wants to own that fuckup.

Well I haven't seen what you're talking about but if the thread is right
hand at one end and left hand at the other, can't you just put it in
between the pipe and the water heater and turn it to tighten both ends
at once.

If both were right handed, wouldn't you have to eather rotate the pipe
or rotate the water heater and except in a house under construction the
pipe is attached to things.

So it doesn't seem stupid to me, and the only problem seems to be that
they haven't made enough of them or spread them out where you can find
one.

[a***@gmail.com]

I hope this tempered water heater has been retired by now. Because what you did is a hack and defeated the burning chamber overheat prevention feature.

The OEM part Thermocouple has a built-in temperature fuse. While the universal Thermocouple available at home improvement store does not. That's why the manufacturer chose the left-hand thread to prevent universal right-hand thread thermocouple can be used to replace the OEM thermocouple at the first place.

The new Whirl Pool FG model tune-up kit has left to right-hand thread adaptor to work with the original thermostat, and the temperature fuse has been put into a separated piece of hardware. The new assembly kit thus uses the universal right-hand thread Thermocouple.
There are a couple of different models for each size and BTU water heater. Choose the one made for your model.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-Water-Heater-Tune-Up-Kit/3435164

Post by Bob F
The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. The stores open
on the weekend had only right hand thread thermocouples, and as far as I could
find out, the manufacturer would sell me a conversion kit for $31 which would
take 10 days to receive. (out of warrantee)
My solution: I carefully clamped the threaded fitting on my old thermocouple
end-to-end in my vice so one face was up, then used a 1" cutting disc in my
dremel tool to cut a slot into the fitting so I could slide it off of the tube.
I slid the threaded fitting on my new thermocouple down out of the way, then
slipped the slotted one over the tube and carefully screwed it into the valve
fitting. It works perfectly.
If you have a several years old Whirlpool or American Products water heater, you
might want to check to see if it has the left hand thread on the thermocouple.
If it does, and it is still in warrantee, contact the manufacturer now so you
can get the conversion kit for free ahead of the time you really need it.
The early symptom of failure on my thermocouple is that it took 1 1/2-2 minutes
of holding down the pilot light to get it to re-light and stay lit. The new one
took about 20 seconds.

[b***@gmail.com]

I just wanted to say that this fix worked! Cut the bolt, put it on the new thermocoupler and screwed it back in! Thanks so much for sharing your fix. I don't think I would have thought of or tried this otherwise!

[e***@gmail.com]

Your ingenious idea saved my marriage. I have a Dremel and the disc for cutting, and it worked perfectly, cutting the original to slide the new couple into. So glad I saw this post.

I was worried about the "why", and the fact that my original thermocoupler had a strange bulge that was attached to the pilot gas feeder, which the replacement did not have.

So I read all posts in this thread, and a recent one answered that, saying that a safety feature exists that the store-bought universal replacements don't have. Thus the reverse threads.

I used your idea (ingenious), which worked, of course, but only as a temporary fix. I ordered the replacement kit for the whole kaboodal, and will replace when it arrives ($45).

I also find it amazing that a post from 2015 (I think) is still paying dividends to this day. Thanks again.

[a***@gmail.com]

Where did you find a replacement kit?

[j***@gmail.com]

At this point, 8 years after the original post, the plumbing suppliers almost laugh at your left-handed request. But ten minutes with the Dremmel and away we go. Thanks

[j***@gmail.com]

Brilliant! I just did as you instructed would have never thought of it in my own but works perfectly!

[Raalph]

Great MacGuyver! It worked for me too!! Thanks Bob

[Bob F]

Great MacGuyver! It worked for me too!! Thanks Bob!

The gift that keeps on giving.
You are welcome.