I have a residential 40 gal gas water heater. Honeywell control. Build date on the tank is 2015. Located in the garage with very easy access. It was professionally flushed 1 year ago. But I have no maintenance record before that (only owned the house a year). I'm assuming nothing was done, based on the crap we got in the flush.

It has started giving me issues today. Sometimes the pilot light won't stay on, and of course it won't ignite. The control is giving an error indicating "Gas Control or Valve Failure". I reset it, and it went out again within. I reset again, and it has stayed on this far. No more blinking lights indicating a fault/failure since it has stayed on. App appears normal.

Im researching my options, as I'm assuming it will probably cut out again. Due to medical expenses, my family is on a very tight budget right now, so cost will determine what we do (sadly).

If indeed the controller has gone bad (I think I can figure out how to confirm this with a multimeter), it looks like a new honeywell WV8840B5077 can be had for around $200-275. I feel like I could replace this myself. I've done a few minor water heater parts before, but never a control.

With a 9 year old tank, I'm assuming calling a plumber will result in a push toward a whole new unit. Maybe I'm wrong?

Looks like a 40 gal Rheem would be between $600-900 new. Plus instillation costs, or try to DYI the install if it's not too hard.

Not sure if it's worth it to try and convert to a tankless- those units probably start at $1000 plus a significantly higher install (not sure I feel comfortable converting it myself). Maybe I'm very wrong in this.


Please give me any advice you can to fix/maintain/replace my water heater. Are there other things I can check beside the blinking light indicating a bad Controller? Given that it appears to be (at least temporarily) working again, what can I check or do to help?

I sincerely appreciate any and all advice. Just trying to prepare myself for when this happens again, as I haven't addressed whatever caused the initial issue.

If you're in Houston or even Texas know that a tankless won't work in a power outage.

With garage access on a temperamental unit I'm going diy new every time

EZ to answer this one
Gas doesn't last as long as elelctric that has elements up high from crud to change out EZ, so replace
Gas that isn't flushed 2/yr builds up crud ... in the bottom where gas does all it's biz, so replace
If you are ill, even poor ... this gets worse w/o hot water, so replace
The poor shop around for sales that include installation ala Conn's, so replace knowing that the cheaper it is, the more often it will need to be replaced (many exceptions to this!)
If shopping finds same price for larger tank, then MAYBE this might push replacement a bit more distant
FLUSH FLUSH more often!

Dill-Ag13 said:

---

If you're in Houston or even Texas know that a tankless won't work in a power outage.

With garage access on a temperamental unit I'm going diy new every time

---

Thanks. I'm in North Texas.

I don't believe my current gas water heater would work during a power outage, as it requires power for the control. Sure, there is a reservoir to pull from- but I guess if the outage is short enough for that not to lose all its heat, I'm not worried about having hot water. If it's longer than than, I have a gas stove that works no matter what.

I appreciate the vote for a DIY replacement. I'm thinking it wouldn't be all that hard.

Just to be clear, are you suggesting a replacing the 8 year old heater instead of fixing the controller (if that's really what is wrong), as more cost is likely to accumulate with an older heater?

Appreciate it. I'll do a flush today, hopefully that helps creep me along.
Sounds like I need to start thinking toward replacement.

What brand is the unit ? Some brands had recalls on the Honeywell controller and will send a free replacement. I think whirlpool was one that had it.



Did you try resetting the control ?


https://homeguidecorner.com/honeywell-water-heater-reset-button/

I would replace with a rheem over trying to repair it

cupofjoe04 said:

---

Dill-Ag13 said:

---

If you're in Houston or even Texas know that a tankless won't work in a power outage.

With garage access on a temperamental unit I'm going diy new every time

---

Thanks. I'm in North Texas.

I don't believe my current gas water heater would work during a power outage, as it requires power for the control. Sure, there is a reservoir to pull from- but I guess if the outage is short enough for that not to lose all its heat, I'm not worried about having hot water. If it's longer than than, I have a gas stove that works no matter what.

I appreciate the vote for a DIY replacement. I'm thinking it wouldn't be all that hard.

Just to be clear, are you suggesting a replacing the 8 year old heater instead of fixing the controller (if that's really what is wrong), as more cost is likely to accumulate with an older heater?

---

I promise you DIY is not hard, grab some neighbors to help if needed. I do not find the minor improvements in efficiency with a control board units does not offset the risk of having no hot water in a power outage…. Basically go tankless, max efficiency, or dumb water heater max reliability. Obviously, if you went tankless, that is a much more complex install.

I made an account with Ferguson and got my water heater there versus a big box store.

So what is the price for installation?

I did a DIY 18 years ago with my son helping and it took maybe 90 minutes.

However, I have a few more bucks now so maybe I'll hire somebody.

$600-800 I'd imagine

Yup, our HWH is putting out minimal pressure / volume when hot is selected and good pressure / volume when cold is selected. I purged the system and didn't get much gunk out, but many blue / green chips - probably from a rotted out anode tube. Refilled and the performance is better but still far from normal.

HWH is 15 years old. Time for a new one.

Going for the 50 gal. Tall from Rheem. Will install myself.

675.00 from Home Depot.

10% military discount pretty much covers my tax so 675.00

Will replace the hot and cold water supply tubes for 25 bucks, so 700.00 walk away.

Home Depot wanted 500 bucks to install. Almost the same price as the HWH itself.

All this sound good to you guys?

Thanks and Gig em!

Honeywell gas control valves are notorious for failing early. The plastic temperature sensors on older models are known to breakdown over time causing pin holes that let water leak into the sensor and thus causing the entire unit to prematurely fail. I've had to replace both of mine already after about 10 yrs of use. I replaced with newer Honeywell valves, which now have a metal covering instead of plastic, so hopefully they will last longer than the originals.

Depending on the location of your water heaters, and your handiness with tools, this can be a DIY job. Note you do have to disconnect the gas line going into the valve, so you need to ensure the gas line is turned off and you should double and triple check for gas leaks on your connections. Replacing the valves entails draining the the tanks, and unscrewing the old valve, and then reassembling with the new one. Its pretty straightforward, but you do need to pay attention to the gas connections. There are a few youtube videos for this.

If your water heaters were working fine before the valve failed, I would just replace the valve. Doing this yourself will also make you familiar with draining (and flushing) your tanks, which should be done periodically to prolong the life of the tanks.

Note, I'm pretty sure most gas waterheaters use a thermopile to generate voltage for controlling the gas control valves, so those water heaters should be able to run duing power outages.