Propane Thermocouple How Do They Work?

I suspect the safety Thermocouple doesn't work.

How can you tell if the thermocouple or combination gas valve doesn't work.

My thoughts are: If I heat up the thermocouple with an independent heat source (Propane torch) and it gets cherry red, but see no physical movement on the other end, the thermocouple has died.

Any comments?

Pete in Post Falls

Just about everybody was absolutely right!

I've learned through asking this question that Thermocouples "Generate" about 30 millivolts when heat is applied (I measured it with a Digital Multimeter, Dissimilar metals, or magic doesn't matter, if I can measure it that's close enough), which goes to 0 volts when cooled.

Unfortunately, my old one (and my new one!) put out over 30 millivolts. I suspect my combination valve is bad, Thermocouple works and the pilot when I push the "Red" button is Blue and is concentrated to the Thermocouple, but the pilot goes out when I let the red button go.

I'm gonna see what a valve costs at an RV place.

If I don't post in a couple of weeks, I tried to fix it myself! :)

Thanks again for y'alls help. You're a great gang!

Pete in Post Falls

Don't let yourself git sidetracked into "how it works" type discussions. Most important is to just replace the thing and hope for the best!

Good luck, IHank