I woke up two mornings ago to water that was colder than usual, so.. I naturally went to check the water heater and the pilot was out, the pilot light has never went out in the 4 years- almost 5 I've owned it. I turned it back on and all was fine until that night, I noticed a high pitched squealing noise like pressure escaping a tiny hole.. I was pretty tired so I waited until the next morning to check it out. When I went back to finally find the source of the noise the next morning, I noticed it was louder than it was that night. I turned the pilot light off first thing, and the noise immediately stopped. As soon as I press the ignition to turn it back on the noise starts again and doesn't stop until the pilot is off.
I have no idea what could be causing it, is it normal ageing or is there a cause for concern? I've pretty much left it like that the past few days and the intensity of the sound hasn't changed but it's becoming annoying real fast.
Best Answer
It sounds like either a dirty pilot light or your the flame may be getting into your air venturi. I would have the burner pulled and clean both the pilot burner and main burner including venturi tube.