Gas Fireplace Question

[Rissask]

grrrrrrr

So, wayyy back in November, our gas fireplace started acting funny.
It's in our third level living room where we spend much of our time. In winter this room gets really cold, because it has a huge window and while it is at grade/ground level, it's on a cement slab (the fourth level is a half basement). So we are missing it big time- we normally use it as the major heat source for the room, because if we turn the main furnace up too high, the upstairs bedrooms get sweltering hot.

It wasn't coming on when we turned up the thermostat (there is a 'slide' thermostat in the room, and a fan switch , which is always on, and it's working fine. Normally, as soon as you slide up the therm, it would come on immediately.

It was also shutting off before reaching the right temp, then not coming on again...if we take the grill bars off and hit the red button, it would start, but then shut off about ten mintues and not come on again. By December it wasn't working at all, then the pilot light even went off, and so we just left it.

A week ago I got a heating guy to come and he said it was the 'gas valve', a $178 part , and that he would replace the thermocouple at the same time. They came four mornings before they finally did it right, the wrong part was ordered, then it didn't work so they got a different one, then they had a helluva time getting it to work yesterday, then finally they were done. It seemed to be working fine, I paid ($349) and then turned it off, went to work.

We get home last night....it is still not working right! Same problem as in my first paragraph, it won't turn on when you slide the thermostat, not even after a wait, but if you go and hit the red button it starts but then shuts off long before it reaches the right temp.

Any ideas???

Stupid frickin' winter!!

[Maverick69]

Bypass your thermostat and see if it stay on. Just connect the two wires together to make it go . Disconnect them when you want it off. That couldbe the proble. I was betting on thermocouple until I read further down.

[James A.]

Make sure the threads on the transmorgifier aren't stripped.

[roni]

Ginger's husband does gas fireplaces professionally.

Might want to shoot her a PM.

[sctx]

Originally Posted by James A.

Make sure the threads on the transmorgifier aren't stripped.

could be the Pfetzer valve too

[maas1114]

Our gas fireplace is not set on a thermostat, we have a wall switch that we turn on when we want it on, and we have a knob (like a dimmer) that sets the flame level. The fan kicks on when it reaches a certain temp. Ours was acting funny a couple of years ago, and wouldn't stay on.....it just needed to be cleaned. There were actually dead bees inside. (Not sure where they came from though.)

[MWC]

As a fellow writer, I hope you have been consulting your manual! Somebody wrote all that stuff for times just like these.

Did your gas guys clean your system, while they were servicing it? If not, you may need to get in there with some compressed air, like you would use on a computer keyboard.

We have a free-standing, ventless gas stove in our kitchen. If doggy hair or other dust gets sucked into the intake valves, the unit will shut itself off. Even after a good clean, I need to take it through about 6 manual pilot lightings before it will stay on for good.

Check the troubleshooting section of your manual ... or does the manufacturer have a website? Check there, too.

[Daddy B]

Just when you needed it most... it fails you.

[Rissask]

Very funny boys...transmogrifiers and Pfetzer valves, harumph.

Martha- well, the house is 11 years old, and we didn't get a manual for it when we bought it 4 years ago, unfortunately. We didn't get one for the dishwasher either, come to think of it.

And there is no manufacturer name on it anyway, that I can see. Maybe that cleaning with compressed air idea will work, I can try that.

Bypass your thermostat and see if it stay on. Just connect the two wires together to make it go . Disconnect them when you want it off. That couldbe the proble. I was betting on thermocouple until I read further down.

I dunno, I suppose we could do that, Brent- but we don't want to have to, you know? It worked before.Shouldn't they be able to fix it so it works again? It was slick, slide it up, it went on, slide it down, it went off.

It is set to go off when and if it overheats, I wouldn't want to bypass that safety either.
but in case Don wants to try that, being a guy - which wires- the two on the thermostat, or two wires in the fireplace? (We are so going to blow ourselves up.)

It's like it's not getting enough voltage to turn it on, or keep it going or something ....he did say our old gas valve part had been discontinued, and so this one is different.he also said he fixed someones that never worked properly again and they had to manually start it forever after! that sucks.

maas- that was how we kept it going for a bit back in November, and it was pretty dusty,but we already cleaned it really well in there.

I think I will have to phone them and tell him he has to come back because it is still not working right. I will be tough.
I wonder if they replaced that valve unnecessarily??
*not thinking about that, not thinking about that*


wow- you guys rock!

[MMandm]

Originally Posted by sctx

could be the Pfetzer valve too

It's all ball bearings these days. Maybe you boys need a refresher course...HEY!

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by MMandm

It's all ball bearings these days. Maybe you boys need a refresher course...HEY!

ba ba dum

[MMandm]

We have 2 wood-burning fireplaces, so there aren't any switches, unless by switch you mean, "Me splitting and stacking 2-3 cords of wood, followed by dragging the 40-50 lbs of wood required to get a fire going into the house, wretching back while dropping said wood onto one of my appendages, and burning my hand while trying to get the %$#%$ flame going."

[StephenB]

We have a couple of vent free gas heaters. The biggest culprit has been the thermocouple. The reccomendation that you use compressed air to blast the pilot assembly is an excellent idea. Even a little dust can screw the unit up. Some units also have a pilot light adjustment that makes sure the pilot flame is properly hitting the thermocouple. Also, some units have an oxyegen sensor which will shut the unit down if you're not getting a proper flow of fresh air in the room. These sometimes go bad. I don't reccomend bypassing anything! Try opening a window just a crack to see if the unit stays on.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by MMandm

We have 2 wood-burning fireplaces, so there aren't any switches, unless by switch you mean, "Me splitting and stacking 2-3 cords of wood, followed by dragging the 40-50 lbs of wood required to get a fire going into the house, wretching back while dropping said wood onto one of my appendages, and burning my hand while trying to get the %$#%$ flame going."

wow ....that sounds like way too much work for us .....we'd have to cut down all the trees to stay warm here (not many trees on the bald prairie ). People do have wood burning fireplaces here, of course, but they are mostly for show and most people use them pretty rarely.
It sure smells good though.

Stephen- I will try that....it may have an oxygen sensor, he never mentioned that though.

I am going to try cleaning out every trace of dust, etc. if it does nothing, I will call them tonight or Friday and get them back to look at it.

They're gonna love me. There was 2 different guys who came, and both of them said they absolutely HATE gas fireplace calls, because they can be so picky, and they are all different.

[sctx]

Originally Posted by MMandm

It's all ball bearings these days. Maybe you boys need a refresher course...HEY!

buenos dias