Family-owned gas fireplace repair serving Colonial Town Center

A pilot starved by a dirty orifice

The pilot runs through a tiny opening called the orifice, or spud. It passes only a small flow of gas, so dust, cobwebs or corrosion can starve it, and the result is a pilot that is weak, lazy or will not light at all.

Several complaints trace back here. A pilot too small to reach the thermopile, an electronic pilot that sparks but will not catch, or a flame rod that never sees enough flame can all start with a partly blocked orifice. One electronic ignition chart asks whether the pilot orifices are blocked, and one owner's manual has the technician clean or replace the orifice spud as needed.

We clean or replace it as the manual for that model describes, keep the pilot air opening clear and recheck the flame pattern afterward. A corroded spud becomes its own estimate line.

The flame sensing rod on an electronic pilot

An electronic pilot proves its flame with a thin metal rod that sits in it. The module reads a small signal through the flame, and if the signal is missing it keeps sparking or shuts the gas off, and it may lock out.

Soot and corrosion on the rod weaken that signal. A manufacturer's yearly service list calls for the rod to be inspected, polished with fine steel wool or replaced, and for the flame sense circuit to be checked for a short between the pilot hood and the rod. One natural vent chart adds a cracked ceramic insulator, loose connections to the module and a pilot flame that does not cover the rod.

For homeowners in Colonial Town Center, those checks come before any module is blamed. A rod that cannot be restored is replaced as the manual directs, which on some models means the whole pilot, and the estimate says which.

Low gas pressure and its causes

When the readings show the fireplace is short of gas, the fault may sit outside the fireplace. One of the manuals we have read adds that supply piping has to be sized to deliver the minimum inlet pressure at full flow, since pipe that is too small causes undue pressure loss.

That manual also warns that excess thread sealant inside a pipe can clog the burner system's valves. Changing that piping is a job for the plumber or qualified gas installer, and our crew does not alter it.

We measure at the appliance, confirm the fireplace side is sound and write the finding on your estimate so the right trade can take it from there. The charts we follow list these causes of low pressure.

• A bent line feeding the appliance
• A restriction in the line
• Low pressure in the supply itself
• A propane tank that has run empty

Gas company or 911 first, then our emergency line

If you smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone out of the house first, then call 911 or the gas company from outside. Do not light anything or touch electrical switches on the way out. That comes before any call to a repair company, including ours.

Once the gas company or fire department has made the home safe, our 24/7 emergency line is there for the fireplace itself. That covers a unit the responders shut off and told you to keep off until it is checked, a fireplace damaged in an incident, or controls that no longer respond.

Our technician starts with the rating plate and with what happened, what the responders did and what was shut off. The fireplace stays off until the cause is found and written on your estimate. For homes in Colonial Town Center, the free inspection and written estimate apply to emergency calls too.