Heatnglo 6000 GLX - Main Burner Issue

[Bdeweese]

i have a hng 6000 glx (NG) that has worked great for the past 6 years or so. Recently, its slow to light the main burner - and when it does light - only the left rear burner (log) lights. The unit is an ipi model with 3 burners. The pilot light looks fine - lights right away and stays on fine. 2 of the burners are rear logs (left rear and right rear), each with its own supply/orifice. The 3rd burner is built in to the base of the unit. Flame only comes out of the left rear log currently - nothing from any of the other burners.

I've pulled and inspected the 2 orifices supplying the rear logs - both are clear. The fact that the left log is getting flame means gas is at least getting that far. I also checked and cleaned both logs and they're fine as well.

Does anyone know if this gas valve/control is able to direct gas to each of the logs independently - or is it an all or nothing situation? If it's all or nothing it would seem to me that the presence of gas in the left log suggests that the gas valve is ok? Perhaps there's a blockage somewhere in a line and/or just not enough gas is getting there to drive both logs?

Hoping there might be someone whose had this same situation and might be able to point me in the right direction.

Thanks! Bob

 

[DAKSY]

You checked the burner orifices, but did you pull them off & look into the burner tube behind them?
Try running a Q-tip or a pipe cleaner inside them & swirling it a round. I'd say you're dealing with spider's nests.

 

[Bdeweese]

Thanks Daksy. I forgot to mention it, but I did that as well. Read that in a previous post - used the qtip method. No change. I haven't pulled any lines yet. But it still perplexes me how the gas is getting to one burner and not the other. The 2 orifices are right next to each other. Maybe the blockage is further in and out of reach of my qtip?

The 2 orifices come straight up out of a square metal box - a few inches apart from each other. There's a supply line that runs from the valve that seems to connect to that box from underneath.

 

[Bdeweese]

The other thing that occurs to me is there's no gas getting to the 3rd burner either. The unit has a heat management setting that allows me to turn off the rear main logs and only run the center burner built in to the bottom. When I turn that on the rear log goes out - but the 3rd burner does not come on. It should be on all of the time but is never on.

 

[DAKSY]

Have you pulled the burner pan & checked behind THAT burner orifice?
IIRC, the rear "Flame-out-of-Logs" feature is controlled by a solenoid.
That solenoid is powered by a 9v battery. Have you replaced it?
It might be too weak to power the solenoid completely..
Should be a cradle underneath the burner that holds it.

 

[Bdeweese]

Thx Daksy! It does have that solenoid - appears to be mounted to the manifold that contains the 2 orifices coming out for the rear logs. When I turn the heat mgt on and off there's a loud click and the left log turns on and off accordingly. It doesn't appear to have a battery, but rather there is a dc adapter that runs from it to the main control module, which is powered by ac. That solenoid appears to be working just fine.

That said - I may be focusing on the wrong burner. As I study the unit, the left log is in close proximity to the pilot - close enough to ignite that left log with gas supplied to it. The right log however, is not close enough to the pilot or the left log to be ignited. It appears that it's ignited by the main burner built in to the brick base of the unit. It has gas supply holes that start near the pilot flame and extend over to the right log and center, etc. So I think the real culprit is the main burner. As long as it's not firing there's no way to ignite that right rear log no matter what's going on with the left.

There is an air shutter between that rear manifold and the built in to base center main burner. I also found some dead stink bugs (big problem around here) near that area and the rear manifold. I'm wondering if some got in somewhere and blocked something?

I think if I solve the main center burner problem I solve the rear right log problem at the same time ...

Need to figure out where the blockage is and how to get to it and clear it. None of that is easy to get to.

 

[Bdeweese]

That would also suggest to me that there's another orifice going to the main burner that could be the culprit. However, I'm not sure how to get to it. There are 4 sheet metal screws that appear to hold the main brick bottom to the fireplace box. I pulled those but can't figure out how to lift up the base. I suspect with all of the stuff attached underneath there are other things I need to do. On the other hand, it seems to me they'd design it to make any orifices easily serviceable? So maybe I'm overlooking something obvious.

 

[Bdeweese]

Ok - I'm pretty sure I've identified and resolved the issue - but had to leave before got it all put together. I located 2 more screws that were holding the bottom refractory in place. Once removed I lifted that out and found the orifice to the (3rd) main burner. Sure enough - spider nest in that orifice!! Cleaned that out and vacuumed up everything else.

Once put back together I'm confident we'lol be back in business, but will post here to confirm!

Thanks for all of the help Daksy

 

[DAKSY]

Ok - I'm pretty sure I've identified and resolved the issue - but had to leave before got it all put together. I located 2 more screws that were holding the bottom refractory in place. Once removed I lifted that out and found the orifice to the (3rd) main burner. Sure enough - spider nest in that orifice!! Cleaned that out and vacuumed up everything else.

Once put back together I'm confident we'lol be back in business, but will post here to confirm!

Thanks for all of the help Daksy

Glad to help.

 

[Bdeweese]

Got it all put back together and it's working perfectly!! Thanks again

 

[tbar23]

I know this thread is a little old, but I have a similar gas fireplace (Heatnglo 6000TRI LP). My trouble has been very small and very blue flames - but I get flame out of all holes. I took the glass off and vacuumed everything, but I didn't fully understand how to clean the various orifices.
Bdeweese - I suspect I have the same problem you do.
The manual only shows two screws to separate the main burner plate / refractory piece from the fireplace box. I removed those and the main brick bottom didn't budge.
It sounds as if I'm about four screws shy. Any advice on where to find them? Does the main brick bottom easily lift out once they are removed?

DAKSY - you've got some great suggestions sprinkled through this forum - thank you. My newbie question - can the various burner orifices usually be cleaned without removing the supply lines from underneath?
It sounds as if this "main" orifice requires the bottom brick portion be removed, but the others can be serviced from above?

 

[DAKSY]

You do not need to remove ANY gas lines - just the burner orifices.
Your TRI has one "Flame out of Log," correct?
If you lift that log straight up, you will see the burner orifice for that particular burner.
A 1/2" box wrench will remove it. If there is a spider's nest, it will be in the gas
line UNDER that orifice.
The burner pan MUST be removed to access the main burner orifice.
There are slots in the pan on the left & right sides. At the extreme ends, the slots are larger & rounded.
The retaining screws are under those rounded ends.
Once the screws are removed, the burner has to be lifted & pulled towards the front of the unit,
in order to disengage the air shutter from the burner tube.
Be careful when you remove & replace the orifice. The air shutter is marked LP on one
side & NG on the other & you need to make sure it remains correctly positioned for your fuel type.
Reverse the steps to reassemble, & make sure your air shutter is set completely open (for LP).
If it needs to be slightly closed after burning for 20 minutes or so, in order to "yellow" the flames,
there is a wing nut on a stud the goes through the top of the valve cavity that can be loosened for
adjustment purposes.

 

[tbar23]

Yep, my TRI has one "Flame out of Log" ... gas enters log and splits to each side.
That being said, I get weak flames coming out of the log and coming out of all of the holes in the base.

When I did my cleaning, I did not remove the orifice to check the line underneath - definitely on the to-do list.

I know exactly the slots you speak of (and the two screws). It sounds as if Bdeweese found four more screws - just model differences, I guess??

I definitely removed the two screws you mention, but I did not exert much effort pulling forwards while lifting as it wasn't clear that I had removed everything necessary to free up that base. I'll give it another try.

Thank you!

 

[tbar23]

I finally made progress on this issue. On the verge of breaking down and just buying a new fireplace, I decided to drill the main burner orifice. With LP, the stock orifice is a #54, and I happened to have a 1/16" drill bit handy (which sits between #52 and #53). Wow, what a difference - I finally have a fireplace that looks and feels like a fireplace! I wish I had done this a year ago!
I think I'm going to drill the log orifice out to #65.
I would love to find a source for the stock orifices, so I can have a collection on hand and drill a few out to different sizes to experiment. That said, I'm thrilled with the new results!