Furnace Pilot Light Flame Sensor

A gas pilot flame sensor is an essential safety component for any gas furnace.

Furnace pilot light flame sensor.

Here i show what a flame sensor is and the symptoms of a gas furnace. A gas furnace s standing pilot in which the flame is lit at all times is sometimes referred to as a pilot light but no matter what you call it its purpose is to serve as a small ignition flame for the gas burner when the thermostat signals for gas to be delivered from the gas valve to the burner it is the standing pilot that ignites the gas flowing to the burners to heat the air in the. The sensor looks fine but i am wondering if replacing it could be the answer. If you have a direct ignition furnace you won t have a pilot light.

For a flame detector or other furnace parts shop grainger today. The pilot light is lit by an electronic spark. The gas valve sends gas to the main burner s which is lit by the pilot light. If that is bad it will continue to try to light the pilot.

A flame sensor lets your furnace know that the pilot was successfully lit. There is a thermocouple the thing that is glowing red in the pilot light that tells the furnace the pilot lit. The pilot light wont stay lit and the furnace wont heat up the house. They are not real expensive but that would be the first thing to replace.

Designed and used in much the same fashion as the larger flame sensor the pilot sensor monitors the presence of the pre ignition pilot flame. Newer furnace units now use a real time pilot mechanism which generates a spark to ignite the furnace flame. Furnace sensor rod fix no heat pilot light on. Most home furnaces also employ a pilot flame sensor as well.

If your furnace burners light and stay lit for a few seconds and then shut off you most likely have a bad or dirty flame sensor. The pilot flame is used to ignite the larger furnace main flame for heating. These units have electronic igniters that light the gas for the burners while the flame sensor makes sure the burners have lighted successfully. If the flame appears to be too small or sputters on and off then the simple solution would be to adjust the size of the flame using a screw that you will see on the pilot light.

Flame sensors are used in furnaces with electronic ignition rather than a standing pilot light and might include an intermittent pilot or a hot surface ignition type. Older furnace units may employ a constant pilot flame for the ignition process.