Actually sat down and read the manual, which suggested that cleaning the pilot light’s supply pipe and orifice could be an annual requirement what with spiders and whatnot. That got my attention – I mean it was unlikely to be spiders, since I started having trouble halfway through the winter when the fire was always going – but you never know when you’re going to get some oily propane that can certainly do a number on an orifice. I’ve seen that before.
The pilot flame seemed fine to me but the manual specifically said that it must cover the top of the thermopile. And y’know…
…it wasn’t really doing that. So I got out my line wrenches, removed the gas pipe to the pilot, cleaned the orifice – which rather startlingly fell on the floor when I removed the pipe, I was wondering how I would get to it – as much as I could without a specific set of orifice rods, put it all back together, and…
…now the flame covered the top of the thermopile. I gave it a few minutes to heat up proper, and rather than check millivolts I cranked the thermostat up to 90o and turned it on. And the heater lit right up.
A gradually clogging orifice from a bottle of dodgy propane would explain why the heater became undependable before it just stopped working entirely. So have I fixed it? Well, it started. I can hope. I have set the thermostat for 70o, which the bedroom temperature will fall below during the night. If the heater wastes a lot of propane overnight, I fixed it.
Knocking on wood…
Congratulations, you may indeed have found the issue. But now you have me worried about my new water heater, the old one died after 24 years (it had a 9 year warranty, so I am not upset in the least).
What has me worried is the ALL modern gas appliances now have this damned “thermopile” type ignition/control while the old one had a pilot light that required a match to light and basically NEVER failed so long as there was gas flowing to the appliance.
My early years were in a place that had constant power outages, so owning and maintaining gas mantle lanterns and “Primus” camp stoves was a regular occurrence. Those had to be cleaned FREQUENTLY as the kerosene used to feed them was very poor quality and coked/clogged up fast. No desire to return to the era, but the way things are going, who knows.
Stay warm Joel
So now you might not get a “one dog night” any time soon, eh?
Oh my god !! You read the manual ?? The super secret manual !! How dare you !!
Read the manual? The days of being able to NOT read a manual are done and buried.
The EPA and other Gubmint agencies have forced all things to be so complex that you can’t get them running let alone use them without reading a 290 page manual.
Terrapod put his finger on it. If this thing behaved the way I expected it to, that is the way every pilot-lit heater I ever dealt with before did, there would never have been any problem. As it is, the best I can say is that it was a learning experience.
By the way, it appears that I fixed it. Worked fine through the night.
Problem solved, great!
Good, that whole “lying in bed overnight and freezing” thing isn’t a good way to live. I’ve got to say I’m in agreement that the days of considering manuals as “the manufacture’s recommended suggestions on how something should be assembled/cared for” are a thing of the past. Here’s hoping that the fix holds.
Is it a thermopile, or thermocouple?
Not sure if there was ever clarification.
Also, there’s a separate, different size orifice to use with LP gas. New furnaces will have a small brown envelope with the conversion kit.
Not certain about the history, but good to know about the separate, specific orifices.
It’s a thermopile. The thermocouple allows the pilot flame to stay lit. The thermopile allows the main gas valve to open, I have no idea why. I never worked on anything that uses them before now, I didn’t even know what they were.
Ahh. Makes sense.
They both produce micro-volts. Thermocouple can hold the pilot valve open. Additional power produced by the thermopile would be required to open and close the main gas valve.
“ Additional power produced by the thermopile would be required to open and close the main gas valve.”. And they generate electricity using no moving parts, and provide wonderful inherent safety because if the flame goes out (for whatever reason) they stop making power, so the gas valve snaps shut, turning off the gas. No explosion = GOOD!