Have you tried cleaning/replacing your thermocouple and still no dice? Have you tried cleaning/replacing the pilot assembly and still nothing? My opinion is that the Rheem Protech Gas Control Valve SP20303B has a design flaw and I'll show you how to work around it.

**Update** — Some people have written and said that this sensor is a safety feature called a non-resetable, high-limit kill switch which goes off if the water heater senses the temperature in the tank it too high. It's possible that this switch is just plain faulty and will trip because of a malfunction or a one-time spike in temperature fluctuation. Who knows? I'm not an engineer. I'm not advocating that you bypass the safety features of any device but this method may be a stop-gap solution to a more permanent fix. Either way, if you are going to replace the gas control valve, it's probably best to avoid this model.

**Update #2**
A big thanks to user Mike, who called Richmond/Rheem and wrote: "I was told the white sensor / fuse that clips into the thermocouple connection fitting is an ECO (Energy Cut-Off device). Simply, the purpose is to prevent scalding. I thought I could get more information from Sit, which is the gas valve manufacturer. After several calls / messages to the US offices (Sit is located in Italy), I haven't received any return calls. However, the Sit website has a product data sheet for the Delta 650 gas valve ([ Ссылка ]). While the data sheet, nor the gas valve schematic, provides any extensive details, it seems the white clip sensor / fuse is factory set to cut off the pilot, if the water temperature inside the tank was to reach 186 degrees F. This is an additional safety precaution to help prevent scalding if the water temperature thermostat fails, then someone turns on the hot water only (no hot and cold water mixing valves at sinks or showers) and the water temperature is near 186 degrees F. My best guess is the white clip sensor is an additional level of safety to avoid potential scalding, or more likely, subsequent litigation."

**Update #3 - Nov. 14, 2022**
Users are saying that Rheem is still sending out new replacement valves. I don't know if these have an improved design or not but if you haven't gotten a replacement yet, get it.

Also, thank you for the kind words many of you have posted.

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