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I've asked this question before. Now I've posted some pictures as I can't figure out where I should clean. I don't smell propane. I tired lighting manually with a lighter and nothing. I know to turn the valve on, rotate the wheel to pilot. Push in and try igniter. It worked fine 6 months ago.

Any suggestions?pilot

control

valve

David
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  • Did you (or anybody else) turn off the gas valve on the supply? – Tester101 Jan 11 '16 at 19:38
  • I did close the valve when I shut off the pilot light originally. It was open when I attempted to light the pilot light. – David Jan 11 '16 at 19:41
  • I mean if you dont smell gas.. then there is no gas to light. Usually you press the knob in to allow pilot gas to run, and that is accompanied by a faint "hissing noise" for acoustic detection. If you neither hear hissing or smell gas near the pilot when presseing the knob inwards (pilot position) then the pilot valve is knackered or a valve is closed. Open valve position is when the knob is aligned with the pipe, `closed when its crossed, like in your last picture.` Cant you get a gas man in for a service? – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 18:42
  • I could. But if the hole where propane comes out of got jammed by something. I would prefer to fix it on my own then pay the service fee. Unless there is nothing I can do at which point I'll have no choice. – David Jan 16 '16 at 18:50
  • Yea I get it... but what could have caused the hole to get plugged up like that? I mean you can go old school and blow into the inlet, while pressing the pilot and feel if you exhale. Do you use gas bottle gas? or domestic gas pipes? Sometimes in cheap gas bottles it may be very oily.. but i seriously doubt gas on its own will cause a clog like this. By the way, why is that yellow knob crossed on the pipe? It should be aligned with the valve (parallel) – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 18:53
  • Other posts have said a spider could have made its way into the hole. It's just for the picture. When I attempt to light it's parallel. Fireplace ha attached to a large propane tank outside the house. – David Jan 16 '16 at 18:56
  • Spider? hehehehehheheheh. No, never, especially if you use it frequently. It sounds like a broken valve or somebody put glue into the pilot hole to deliberately sabotage the fireplace. Donno, maybe wife wants a new one? If you want DIY then try and find places you can unscrew the gas line on the fireplace, and inspect if pressure comes out, bit by bit. I dont want to suggest using gas because that is dangerous, attaching a rubber house to the inlet and just use your lungs. There is nothing but a valve stopping air flow so it should be easy to blow through or not easy. – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:00
  • example, unmount the house AFTER the valve, blow into it. If its clear then the pipe system is clean. Its a valve problem. – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:02
  • Also, you can use a lighter on the wire next to the pilot to simulate gas burning. The wire expands and opens the valve fully, which should technically allow you to start the fire completely. But I suspect that wont even work as the valve must be stuck inside the control. Also disconnect any electricity. It looks like is a mains powered igniter system. – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:03
  • I blew air into the pilot holes and now I smell propane!! But it won't light still. Is it normal for there to be a air draft in the fireplace? It's seems the cold air draft is putting out the flame. – David Jan 16 '16 at 19:10
  • Yea its normal for a draft.. but not gale streght. Once the chimney heats up the draft is gone and you should have an inlet of air somewhere in the room to prevent negative pressure, which could gas dangerous gasses coming back down the chimney. So, maybe it was spider, dammit, really? So there is gas, I mean it should light now. – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:12
  • Yeah. I smell the gas and still not lighting manually with a lighter. Would removing the glass cause the draft to be stronger and not allow the flame to stay on? – David Jan 16 '16 at 19:16
  • Yea possibly removing the glass causes a bigger draft.. but try doing that blow trick again, maybe there is not "enough" gas comming out. It should light even with a decent draft... – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:19
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    It works!! I blew into the hole again and this time you can really hear the gas coming Thanks for your help. – David Jan 16 '16 at 19:31
  • Wooohooo! Must have been an oil clog then. Usually build of oil will turn into grease, and that is enough to clog the pipe. You may want to consider fitting a gas deoiler thing next to your tank. – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:32
  • Made a simple answer based on our discussion – Piotr Kula Jan 16 '16 at 19:39
  • It's bad form to ask the [same question](http://diy.stackexchange.com/q/81872/33) multiple times. More details can be added to the original question, using the edit feature. Editing the question will also bump it on the front page, so it should get attention again. – Tester101 Jan 16 '16 at 20:31
  • Sorry about that. I didn't know it would be bumped up. Should I erase the old one? – David Jan 16 '16 at 20:32
  • The yellow gas valve in the picture is in the closed position –  Jan 16 '16 at 18:58

3 Answers3

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Blow into the gas pilot to unclog it.

Its definitely not a spider that crawled into it but possibly grease build up. You may want to consider fitting a gas oil filter for your system.

enter image description here

Piotr Kula
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If the gas main to the fireplace is on it should provide gas even if the thermocouple is bad. It is possible moisture in the line has plugged the small orifice or spiders have built a nest in that area. These are the things I usually find. The pilot is a very small flow I usually can’t hear them. Have you tried lighting with a match or lighter?

Ed Beal
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  • No, I haven't tried to light it with a match or lighter, I guess I can give it a try. But if I'm not smelling gas (it's propane), maybe it's plugged up as you said. Any advice on how to clean the line? – David Jan 11 '16 at 19:49
  • the propane orifice usually in the regulator is a small disk with a very tiny hole, a fine wire pushed through the hole usually will clean it out if some crud gets in it. Most of the orifices I have worked on are brass. dont use a drill bit ir be really rough because if you enlarge the hole it will flow two much propane. – Ed Beal Jan 11 '16 at 21:18
  • on a fireplace it may be at the end of the line to the pilot. some are a disk on the outlet of the regulator, some look like a brass bolt when you look at it it will be very small hole, smaller than a paperclip size for propane I usually found a wire brush and pulled one of the wires out with pliers and used that to clear the ??? out of the hole. – Ed Beal Jan 11 '16 at 21:34
  • I will try to give it a clean, thanks for the reply. – David Jan 13 '16 at 19:10
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I've discovered that when lighting a gas fueled appliance (water heater) that have a button-type valve that first must be pressed down it doesn't always lite on the first try This is especially true if the shut-off valve at the tank has been off for awhile. The gas line needs to fill and the line pressure is only 2 psi.

With the dial on "pilot" push and hold the button for several seconds. Now try to lite it while still pressing the button. It may take several attempts.

ojait
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  • thanks for the reply, I've actually tried this several times. I've held the pilot position pushed in for over 30 seconds and nothing. – David Jan 13 '16 at 19:10