Newbie with Furnace and Pilot Light Questions

[KinCA]

Hi, I just brought home a 2005 Tailgator and have noticed something odd with the furnace. I have the thermostat set to the lowest temp/OFF position but this morning it kicked on and started heating. It ran for about 5 minutes then kicked off.

I never lit a pilot light for the furnace, water heater or the stove. The stove now lights as if it has a pilot lit. Haven't tried the water heater.

Are the pilots somehow automatic? Do I need to be concerned about this? I thought since the appliances are LP that they would all require me to light a pilot before they would work.

Is the heater kicking on randomly normal?

Thank you.

[jsb5717]

Welcome aboard! The furnace and water heater in that era would likely not require a pilot since they have an automatic igniter that kicks on as needed. If your furnace is set to the lowest setting it's possible that it could turn on if it's cold enough for the TStat to demand heat. Perhaps you can post a pic of your TStat. The water heater is the same. There is a switch somewhere that turns it on and off. If it's on then it will automatically ignite and lite to keep the water up to temp as needed.

I'm not sure about your stove. It's very possible that when you turn on a burner that it clicks the igniter. It's manual, not automatic, but built into turning the knob so it sparks as the gas is opened up.

Pics of your stove would be helpful as well.

[KinCA]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

Welcome aboard! The furnace and water heater in that era would likely not require a pilot since they have an automatic igniter that kicks on as needed. If your furnace is set to the lowest setting it's possible that it could turn on if it's cold enough for the TStat to demand heat. Perhaps you can post a pic of your TStat. The water heater is the same. There is a switch somewhere that turns it on and off. If it's on then it will automatically ignite and lite to keep the water up to temp as needed.

I'm not sure about your stove. It's very possible that when you turn on a burner that it clicks the igniter. It's manual, not automatic, but built into turning the knob so it sparks as the gas is opened up.

Pics of your stove would be helpful as well.

Thank you! It was the Tstat, (user error) it wasn't locked into the OFF position, just set to the lowest temp and it was colder than that in the trailer so naturally, it kicked on!