Hello all,
We have a Heatilator "see through" propane fireplace which came in home we recently purchased. It is very difficult to get started and I would like to see if anyone here at the Hearth.com forums has the expertise to show me how I might be able to remedy the situation. I like to think I am a pretty capable DIY guy, but this one has me a bit perplexed.
Model # is GDST5244IL and this unit includes an Intellifire pilot system with a standard wall switch.
The symptoms I'm experiencing are as follows. Upon switching on the fireplace, the pilot lights, but immediately combusts with a small and somewhat unnerving "boom". After the small explosion, the pilot stays lit, but eventually after 1 minute, the pilot extinguishes and the fire never starts.
My workaround currently is to turn the fireplace on, letting this precombustion explosion happen, then immediately turn the switch off for around 10 seconds, then turn it back on at which point the pilot light will relight and the fireplace will subsequently fire properly and burn fine for the evening. It is not exactly reliable with this workaround, but I can almost always eventually get it started after multiple attempts. And once it is started it works great.
My theory is that the main gas valve is leaking very slightly when the unit is off and thus causing a buildup of gas to accumulate in the burner grate which is what causes the initial explosion upon pilot lighting. This theory does not explain why the fireplace doesn't light after the initial explosion as I would expect it to because the pilot is still going for that minute and I would expect it to heat the thermocouple and open the main valve.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I can best address this so that I can have this fireplace working flawlessly? If it is the main valve, are they repairable or would this require new parts?
I realize this may be pretty hard to understand so please post your questions and I will try to clarify anything that does not make sense. I have included links to PDF docs for the fireplace below, but I was unable to find anything like this in their troubleshooting instructions.
GDST5244 Brochure
GDST5244 Install Manual
Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated.
We have a Heatilator "see through" propane fireplace which came in home we recently purchased. It is very difficult to get started and I would like to see if anyone here at the Hearth.com forums has the expertise to show me how I might be able to remedy the situation. I like to think I am a pretty capable DIY guy, but this one has me a bit perplexed.
Model # is GDST5244IL and this unit includes an Intellifire pilot system with a standard wall switch.
The symptoms I'm experiencing are as follows. Upon switching on the fireplace, the pilot lights, but immediately combusts with a small and somewhat unnerving "boom". After the small explosion, the pilot stays lit, but eventually after 1 minute, the pilot extinguishes and the fire never starts.
My workaround currently is to turn the fireplace on, letting this precombustion explosion happen, then immediately turn the switch off for around 10 seconds, then turn it back on at which point the pilot light will relight and the fireplace will subsequently fire properly and burn fine for the evening. It is not exactly reliable with this workaround, but I can almost always eventually get it started after multiple attempts. And once it is started it works great.
My theory is that the main gas valve is leaking very slightly when the unit is off and thus causing a buildup of gas to accumulate in the burner grate which is what causes the initial explosion upon pilot lighting. This theory does not explain why the fireplace doesn't light after the initial explosion as I would expect it to because the pilot is still going for that minute and I would expect it to heat the thermocouple and open the main valve.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I can best address this so that I can have this fireplace working flawlessly? If it is the main valve, are they repairable or would this require new parts?
I realize this may be pretty hard to understand so please post your questions and I will try to clarify anything that does not make sense. I have included links to PDF docs for the fireplace below, but I was unable to find anything like this in their troubleshooting instructions.
GDST5244 Brochure
GDST5244 Install Manual
Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated.