Hi all. When were were away on the last half term break a few weeks ago, the gas side of the heater would not stay lit, but thankfully the electric aspect worked so were were just about ok with the at alone.
It would stay lit if I kept the 1-10 adjustment dial depressed, but as soon as I let it rise it would go out soon after. The ignition is fine and the batteries are good.
I decided it must need a clean out behind the cover, but couldn't take the cover off as I need a posi-drive screwdriver to remove a couple of screws on the front first.
Anyway, I got the front off yesterday and gave it all a good wipe down and vacuum. Replaced the front cover and turned the gas on. It seemed to fire up quickly although the pilot kept firing for a short time even after it was lit and running ok. The pilot settled down and the gas fire ran well for over an hour. So it seems that a vacuum did the trick, the I could not see what I had really done to get it going again!?
It wasn't on mains, so I should really see if the gas will continue to run once the electric is also running.
Any thoughts on the above description please? Would hate to be away in it ( as we might for New year) and not have the gas available.
Personally, I'd suspect the thermocouple myself. This detects the pilot is burning and shuts off the supply if the pilot should go out; similar symptom to Nick's problem.
As Michael suggests above, a call to Gary would confirm or otherwise.
As for Nick's comment about being off electric hook-up, the presence of EHU is irrelevant in this instance as you're running the fire on gas only.
not rang me yet? still, I don't see how cleaning it did much but obviously it had some effect?
The thermocouple does seem to be at fault but this is not a fault this fires suffers from? if anything the 'cold' end where it screws into the bottom of the gas valve maybe loose?
I think the clue might be in what you say about ticking off and on now and again once you did get it lit?, perhaps a partly block jet causing a small pilot flame is at the route of the problem?
I will add and general cleaning aside, unless you know exactly what your doing, it's very possible to make things far worse by having a go yourself!
Quote: Originally posted by arc systems on 28/11/2012not rang me yet? still, I don't see how cleaning it did much but obviously it had some effect?
The thermocouple does seem to be at fault but this is not a fault this fires suffers from? if anything the 'cold' end where it screws into the bottom of the gas valve maybe loose?
I think the clue might be in what you say about ticking off and on now and again once you did get it lit?, perhaps a partly block jet causing a small pilot flame is at the route of the problem?
I will add and general cleaning aside, unless you know exactly what your doing, it's very possible to make things far worse by having a go yourself!
Thanks. I have your number on my desk here, likely to call Friday or maybe tomorrow as I'm in the car a lot.
I decided very early on to leave it all well alone as it's not very serviceable to my untrained eye or experience. It really would not stay lit when we were away, but I was running it on electric so that just might have hampered it somehow? As I say it stayed lit after a bit of a splutter after the wipe and light vacuum inside the case, so maybe I did something that helped. Who knows. Itv was quite hairy as we have a dog in there (not in the fire, in the caravan).
How do we go about replacing a part and fitting it if that's what's needed? Do I find a gas dealer near me, will they be able to do it?
Thanks again, much appreciated.
Nick
Also to say that the idea of a partly blocked jet would fit in with the fires behaviour...to my untrained thinking.
Thanks to Gary for spending time on the phone with me going over the possible causes. The gas fire seems to have settled down after a clean out and I'll test it again this weekend a couple of times to ensure it really is sorted! If not Gary's phone will be ringing again ;)
I'd agree with the thermocouple. I have come across thermocouples in the past that seem to spring back to life for a short period if they get a tap so the cleaning may have done the same. You can get universal thermocouples from heating suppliers for a couple of quid.
A weak pilot light could also cause this though as could the thermocouple being out of position so the flame is not heating it properly.
Just been out to the 'van for another play with the first to see if it started and ran well or otherwise.
Here's what I found:
With a new gas cylinder fitted, the pilot ignition sparked up promptly when I pressed down and turned the left hand dial on the fire marked 0-10.
I lifted the dial once it fired up and the pilot ignition flicked a few more times in a random manner. The fire lit up pretty well and I turned the fan on feeling happy enough only for the fire to go out after about a minute:(
So, I have a definite issue that can be repeated. Where do I go from here folks? If it's a DIY job I'll give it a go, bit the unit looked pretty well closed up to me when I took the front off. The 'van has not been serviced for a couple of years so can they address this sort of thing?
Also, are domestic gas engineers usually trained and equipped to sort it?
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Topic: Truma 3002 gas/electric heater concern.
