BeeR Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Only about 5-6 yrs old. Gas doesn't appear to be coming through the line. Turned on gas line and left it open for up to 15-20 mins plus (I've heard you have to leave them open for awhile sometimes after being closed for months as air gets in line) and still no gas coming out. Have gas heat so yes there is gas generally. I can have gas co. come out but cost $35 and if they can't figure it out it still cost $35 so hoping I might be overlooking something. There are no elec switches involved ie on the wall etc, just a gas line right to the fireplace and a knob that turns it off/on. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zooty Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) I turned off the pilot in the spring and couldn't get it relit seems you have to press the on/off/light button in while repeatedly hitting the ignitor Edited November 8, 2011 by Zooty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby's Hubby Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 On the ventless that I have ... there is a knob that you hold in while hitting the ignite button. that knob, if not pushed in, will not feed gas thru the line, even if you have the gas "turned on". be sure you are pushing that in while trying to ignite. It will take me almost 20 minutes of pushing this thing and trying to ignite, just to get the line full of gas, very frustrating. now, if you have the gas turned on, shouldn't you be smelling gas? probably, only if you have the pilot lit will your fireplace feed gas (safety mechanism). traditional fireplaces, like those that can burn real logs or fake but that is NOT ventless, do not have this saftey catch in the knob/ignition system. You should be able to smell gas when that valve is open. If traditional and no gas smell, then you have a problem for the gas company. my hunch is that you have a ventless fireplace log system and that you have to actually have the knob pushed in while igniting for you to really be filling the line with gas. very frustrating but could take you awhile to fill the line with gas due the length between the gas line in the street and your fireplace. Good luck and please err on the side of caution, try not to blow up the neighborhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Thx. Clarifications, it is a gas fireplace put into a traditional real fireplace (ie with chimney) and I don't think the ignite thing works so I have been trying to hold one of those long lighter things in there (which I also use for the gas grill as the POS ignite button doesn't work on that anymore as well) with the gas "on." It does have a round knob you turn to the left to turn on the gas which worked fine when the pilot light was on. You can also push it in and I have tried that numerous times and tried holding it in etc. But no I am still not smelling any gas and pretty sure I won't blow up then neighborhood. I held that thing open for some time but will try to mess with it more today and see if I can get it going. Thx, appreciate the replies. Edited November 8, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbpfan1231 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Only about 5-6 yrs old. Gas doesn't appear to be coming through the line. Turned on gas line and left it open for up to 15-20 mins plus (I've heard you have to leave them open for awhile sometimes after being closed for months as air gets in line) and still no gas coming out. Have gas heat so yes there is gas generally. I can have gas co. come out but cost $35 and if they can't figure it out it still cost $35 so hoping I might be overlooking something. There are no elec switches involved ie on the wall etc, just a gas line right to the fireplace and a knob that turns it off/on. Anyone? Just my opinion but being 5-6 years old is a tad young to be messing around with gas fireplaces!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I don't work on many of logs but what I usually do on logs, water heaters and furnaces that have been off a while is crack open the union fitting just a bit and let the air bleed out the line. It only takes a few seconds or so that way. Be sure to follow the instructions on how to lit it, holding down the button on the valve as you press the ignitor. Other possible causes are: trash in the orifice (the tiny hole the gas comes out of); a stuck gas valve (tap on it but not too hard) or the gas valve is actually off (sometimes on logs the on /off is not clearly marked). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingfootball Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I don't work on many of logs but what I usually do on logs, water heaters and furnaces that have been off a while is crack open the union fitting just a bit and let the air bleed out the line. It only takes a few seconds or so that way. Be sure to follow the instructions on how to lit it, holding down the button on the valve as you press the ignitor. Other possible causes are: trash in the orifice (the tiny hole the gas comes out of); a stuck gas valve (tap on it but not too hard) or the gas valve is actually off (sometimes on logs the on /off is not clearly marked). +1 I deliver LP and have to ignite these things all the time. 1. Breaking the union fitting to get gas up there is good. It doesnt take much, and have a fan to disperse some of the gas from the area. 2. Get some canned air to clean your gas log. Dust can cause lots of problems with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) You seem to think you're talking to someone who knows wth he's doing or actually has the instruction booklet. Anyway I messed more w/this thing and realized the knob was sticking slightly and I could turn it to the right as well as left. Left is normally what you do to turn on the logs, then when it's full left and you want to turn them off, back right (ie to the center). Turned it right (far right) and held it there 5-10 mins. Lo and behold I smelled gas (and it wasn't me). Giving it a few mins to dissipate I came back and did the same and put the lighter under where the pilot is about and waved it all around - no go. What a pisser. Have not given up just yet. Just my opinion but being 5-6 years old is a tad young to be messing around with gas fireplaces!! ...but just about right to be hanging out here Edited November 8, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 You seem to think you're talking to someone who knows wth he's doing or actually has the instruction booklet. Anyway I messed more w/this thing and realized the knob was sticking slightly and I could turn it to the right as well as left. Left is normally what you do to turn on the logs, then when it's full left and you want to turn them off, back right (ie to the center). Turned it right (far right) and held it there 5-10 mins. Lo and behold I smelled gas (and it wasn't me). Giving it a few mins to dissipate I came back and did the same and put the lighter under where the pilot is about and waved it all around - no go. What a pisser. Have not given up just yet. ...but just about right to be hanging out here There should be 3 positions: OFF / Pilot / On. Make sure you are in the Pilot position. Hold down the red button. Liight the Pilot and CONTINUE to hold down the button for about a minute. This gives the thermocoupling time to heat up. The Pilot should now be lit. Now turn the valve to the on position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) The "red button" (ie ignitor button which is actually black - brilliant color choice but anyway) - can't be held down really, or at least I see no point as it's only pushed to light the pilot. I don't think it works anymore but I tried, and then did use a long lighter to get a flame in there, so if there's gas I would think it would light. Again re the gas control knob, Left is "on" (after pilot is lit to light the fireplace), center is off and so I presume right is "pilot position" though it doesn't say. And I held it in to the right and don't smell gas anymore. I'm happy to concede this is operator error just not sure how. I'll give myself another day or 2 of mucking around w/this before crying and uncle and hoping the $35 call for the gas people does the trick. Will suck if he comes out and goes "hmm you got me" though. Edited November 9, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 The "red button" (ie ignitor button which is actually black - brilliant color choice but anyway) - can't be held down really, or at least I see no point as it's only pushed to light the pilot. I don't think it works anymore but I tried, and then did use a long lighter to get a flame in there, so if there's gas I would think it would light. Again re the gas control knob, Left is "on" (after pilot is lit to light the fireplace), center is off and so I presume right is "pilot position" though it doesn't say. And I held it in to the right and don't smell gas anymore. I'm happy to concede this is operator error just not sure how. I'll give myself another day or 2 of mucking around w/this before crying and uncle and hoping the $35 call for the gas people does the trick. Will suck if he comes out and goes "hmm you got me" though. some control knobs have a "groove" in them that lines up with the red (in your case, black) button when in the pilot position. If this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 Again appreciate but I don't think so - there's like a metal box over the assembly of it all and hesitant to try and take that off for fear of something coming apart or getting misaligned etc. I think there's a gas line problem as I've had it in pilot position for awhile now and not smelling or hearing any gas at all. POS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Again appreciate but I don't think so - there's like a metal box over the assembly of it all and hesitant to try and take that off for fear of something coming apart or getting misaligned etc. I think there's a gas line problem as I've had it in pilot position for awhile now and not smelling or hearing any gas at all. POS. I'm not sure I'd waste the $35 to the gas company to come out. All they are going to do is make sure you don't have any gas leaks. They aren't really there to fix your fireplace or diagnose the problem. You'd be better off calling a fireplace company to actually fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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