Ignitors

Furnace Ignitor failure is a common problem that I see every year and I cant say that its one brand over the other either. The main reason why older gas furnaces (pre 1992) and water heaters go out is the thermocouple. The thermocouple senses the flame of the pilot. If the thermocouple goes bad it senses there is no flame and it shuts off the gas supply to the pilot, and the gas supply to the main gas valve. Great safety feature.