Water-heating apparatus, comprising a combustible gas burner and:
- a main burner (9), having a flame configured to heat water in a storage tank of the apparatus,
- a pilot burner (10), which is configured to generate a pilot flame for igniting the main burner (9),
- a valve assembly (11), which comprises a main valve (13), arranged on a main pipe (14) which supplies combustible gas to the main burner (9), and a pilot valve (15), which has a shutter (17) and is arranged on said main pipe (14), upstream of said main valve (13), which supplies gas to the pilot burner (10), a pilot pipe (19) branching off from a portion (14a) of the main pipe (14) that is interposed between said pilot valve and said main valve in order to supply the gas to the pilot burner (10),
- a magnetic thermoelectric safety assembly (20) with a manual actuating, comprising a thermocouple device (21) that holds the pilot valve (15) open in the presence of a flame in the pilot burner (10), and a button member (22), which is mounted on a rod (23) that is slidingly guided in the valve assembly (11) and is operatively associated with the shutter (17) of the pilot valve (15) in such a manner that, after pressure has been exerted on the button (22), said rod (23) is moved in a sliding direction until the rod (23) interferes with the shutter (17) of the pilot valve (15) in order to open said pilot valve, thereby allowing for the passage of gas, and
- an electrical ignition member (25) configured to generate sparks for igniting the pilot flame in the pilot burner (10), said ignition member (25) being supplied with power by a source of electrical power via an electrical connection circuit (29), a switch device (30) being provided in the circuit (29) in order to open or close said electrical circuit, said switch device (30) configured to be switched by the button member (22) so as to close the electrical circuit when said button member is pressed in order to carry out actuation of the magnetic assembly (20) so as to open the passage of gas through the pilot valve (15) towards the pilot burner (10) and to cause the pilot flame to be ignited by the sparks generated by the ignition member (25).