Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

Me in the foggy west also.....Kanataland...it has been a challange driving in the mornings with the 10 foot sight path in front of you

Just past you out it Stittsville. Fog between Carp Rd. and Scotiabank Place is rediculous for some reason. Must be the 'Carp River' and the fact it was once all swamp land.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

***UPDATE***

So I tested it again this morning. The problem occured again.

I grabbed the VOM, tested it. The voltage when the burner kicked out stayed at 0 volts so it appears the high temp switch is not the culprit.

The standing pilot remains lit.

Waiting for it to cool down, will then pull it apart again and verify air flow however it vents directly out the back of the fireplace. I can see directly through the fireplace and see the light straight thru to the outside and the flame is a strong orange and appears not to be oxygen starved.

One last observation that my wife made is that the flame appears lower on he times it kicks in and out. However, on Thurs night when it didn't happen the light was higher. Not sure if this matters.

I did clean out the plate on top to ensure no restriction. Is there a way to clean the thermocouple? Is this the next suspect problem?

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

A decrease in gas pressure that causes the pilot to get smaller will kick out the main gas valve. The thermopile is not getting enough heat to keep the main valve on. It has to be hot enough to generate the millavolts necessary to activate the gas valve. As for a safety precaution, the adjustment of the gas pressure should be done by a trained professional. You could take some steel wool and clean both the thermocouple and thermopile. Any carbon/soot build up works as and insulation and can prevent proper heat transfer those items. Keep in mind these two items has a critical threshold and their tolerances have got to be pretty near precise. You manual shows the proper alignments and measurements of the pilot light set up.

Also thinking, does the flame die down when your furnace, hot water heater, or any other gas appliance is kicks on? If so, your main pressure regulator on your gas line may have problems. This would be the responsibility of the gas company.

Try cleaning the thermopile and thermocouple. That maybe all thats needed. Keep us posted on the outcome....Good Luck again .....SS

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

thanks SS. When it cools down, I'm gonna clean that stuff up.

No problems with the hot water heater or furnace. I think it's limited to the fireplace.

More to follow....

 

[MikDee]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

Nelson, I have a gas fireplace myself, with a standing pilot and your flame should be blue! If it's orange or yellow it's dirty! After 2 yrs in my new house, the fireplace went out at the beginning of the season? Not knowing what to do I called the builder who without my knowledge, sent over a service guy from the gas company (pretty slick huh? ), who opened it up, and blew out the carbon, & debri, with a can of computer keyboard air, and some minor clean up all around, then I got introduced to a $50 bill! I said, but I didn't call you? the builder did. He didn't want to hear anything, so being happy to have the fireplace going again, and not wanting to make a scene I paid him, and tryed to make a mental note of what he did, for future reference.

Future reference came 2 wks ago when I went to start the fireplace the 1st time this year, I noticed it had a nice pretty bright yellow orange flame, but the fireplace would go out at random times? So, I tackled the job myself, I took the glass off, vacuumed the pilot area, even though I couldn't see anything wrong? Then to top it all off, I took my trusty can of computer compressed air, and sprayed all around the pilot area, then buttoned it up, lit it up finding a nice blue pilot flame, and not a problem since!

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

Thanks MikDee

Well I cleaned the thermocouple and thermopile and gave an extra special cleaning to the rest of the fireplace.

And.... once again, presto.... it went out again

But, I'm still planning on the compressed air you've suggested just to make sure.

However, I also noticed that if I run it from the switch on the fireplace itself it gives me no issue.

Running it from the wall switch, it's intermittent. Soooooooo, I replaced the switch on the wall.

I've run it twice now, and so far, 2 for 2. It works normal and as expected. Too soon to tell, but I'll know in the next few days. Could be as simple as a flaky switch (here's hoping)

More to follow

 

[MikDee]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

Thanks MikDee

Well I cleaned the thermocouple and thermopile and gave an extra special cleaning to the rest of the fireplace.

And.... once again, presto.... it went out again

But, I'm still planning on the compressed air you've suggested just to make sure.

However, I also noticed that if I run it from the switch on the fireplace itself it gives me no issue.

Running it from the wall switch, it's intermittent. Soooooooo, I replaced the switch on the wall.

I've run it twice now, and so far, 2 for 2. It works normal and as expected. Too soon to tell, but I'll know in the next few days. Could be as simple as a flaky switch (here's hoping)

More to follow

Yeah, you want a blue flame on that pilot. The tipoff for me was when going to bed with the yellow/orange colored pilot, I thought I left a nightlight on in the living room? It was the dirty pilot

I had no idea what I was doing, I just vacummed all around the pilot, thermocouple, & thermopile, area,,, then did the same with the compressed air, and presto, a blue pilot!

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

So after 4 days and 6 tests, it appears to be resolved.

The switch on the wall appears to be the culprit. As I've found out from a gas tech who does these around town, using a standard wall switch is fine, but after awhile they build up resistance and cause this problem.

The resistance was around 12millivolts. The tolerance apparently for these in home gas fireplaces is between 0-5millivolts.

So a $2 solution that saved me $200 or more. Almost makes me want to do a happy dance

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

If it is a regular 120 vac wall switch, yes that can be the problem. Millivolts is just too low of a voltage to get lost in some corrosion. Good to hear you got it fixed....

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

If it is a regular 120 vac wall switch, yes that can be the problem. Millivolts is just too low of a voltage to get lost in some corrosion. Good to hear you got it fixed....

Yup, just a regular switch. I appreciate all your help on this one SS

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

Just glad I was able to help .........SS

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Problem with Natural Gas Fireplace

Two final comments.

First, this forum is awesome. Where else can I talk to other folks who loving boating as much as I've learned to love it (only been boating 2 years now and wish I'd done it sooner)

Secondly, my wife wanted me to just call and get her fireplace fixed. After finding and fixing the problem and saving the couple hundred bucks she said...

Are you ready for this?!!! "You were right"

All kidding aside, I'll show her this post to show the helpful and supporting cast that hangs around the iboats online water cooler...

 

[manwithaproblem]

Re: Can't main burner to light

Re: Can't main burner to light

Hey all. Pilot comes on no problem. I turn gas knob to "on" position. I goto my thermostat on the wall and slide it to the right only to hear a clicking noise (of what I believe is the control valve) turning on. But the pilot isn't triggering the main burner. Since I hear the clicking noise of the valve i'm guessing the thermostat is fine. All wiring connections look good. I've vacuumed out the entire pilot are but not sure what to do.

I have a multimeter and not sure what readings are good.