Jotul Allagash Won't Stay Lit

[jsharpe2001]

I had a Jotul Allagash installed in Feb 2018. Worked fine that winter, but I've been having problems with the unit since this fall, namely that it won't stay lit if it is not in regular use. The fireplace is at a weekend house. If we go more than a week or so without turning it on, the unit will fire up but then flame sputters out after 10-15 minutes. The installer provided the following explanation: "These gas fireplaces are like luxury cars. They need to be driven occasionally or they don't perform properly." His solution is essentially to pound on the gas valve with a rubber mallet to knock loose any build up and keep gas flowing properly.

I'm looking for some independent verification that this is actually a valid explanation and expected performance of the stove. Needless to say, I'm not happy about spending this much money on something that is so finicky.

Thanks for the help.

Jeff

 

[Millbilly]

I had a Jotul Allagash installed in Feb 2018. Worked fine that winter, but I've been having problems with the unit since this fall, namely that it won't stay lit if it is not in regular use. The fireplace is at a weekend house. If we go more than a week or so without turning it on, the unit will fire up but then flame sputters out after 10-15 minutes. The installer provided the following explanation: "These gas fireplaces are like luxury cars. They need to be driven occasionally or they don't perform properly." His solution is essentially to pound on the gas valve with a rubber mallet to knock loose any build up and keep gas flowing properly.

I'm looking for some independent verification that this is actually a valid explanation and expected performance of the stove. Needless to say, I'm not happy about spending this much money on something that is so finicky.

Thanks for the help.

Jeff

Bvent or direct vent?

 

[jsharpe2001]

Direct vent. Fuel source is propane. Forgot to mention that.

 

[Millbilly]

Hes right in that most things work better when used periodically. But that stove should work better. His explanation is not satisfactory. I would document installation date and when you first brought the problem to their attention for warranty purposes. Sometimes in warm temperatures you will have venting issues. What is your geographic location? What is your venting configuration? And are you running it on a tstat when it is shutting off?

 

[jsharpe2001]

Thanks for the input. House is in NW CT. Not using a tstat to control. Been using continuous pilot instead of the IPI option. The pilot stays lit no problem. Hasn’t used the stove in a couple of weeks and then this past weekend fired it up on a rainy spring morning when it was perhaps 55 F and it shut off about 10 minutes later. Same thing the next day.

So do I contact installer and ask them to replace the valve? Is this just a lemon?

 

[Millbilly]

Tell us about your venting configuration. Pics. Did it behave like this in colder weather?

 

[jsharpe2001]

Direct vent straight through the sidewall of the house and into a snorkel. The installer initially suspected a blockage in the j-tube or venting. We've ruled both of those out. The shut down occurs (has occurred, I should say) regardless of weather conditions. It does appear to be the case that it simply needs to be put into use every week (or maybe every two weeks) or the unit won't stay lit unless you pound on the gas valve to knock loose some sort of blockage in there.

 

[Millbilly]

Snorkel vents can be problematic. I would be worried about that valve failure as soon as your warranty is up. From my experience this problem usually happens when you start the unit not while it is allready running. I really prefer the standing pilot version of this stove.

 

[Heatsource]

clean the flame sensor
check for turbulence around pilot as it heats up, if so suspect venting issue