Jotul GF3 BV - pilot won't stay lit, tried everything I can think of

[hoopsta1423]

Take a plastic handled screwdriver &
give the valve a couple of sharp raps.
You don't hafta bash it, just rap it.
The electromagnets for gas flow to the
pilot hood may be stuck. If that doesn't work,
I guess your valve may be the culprit.
Until last winter I had only seen ONE gas
valve fail. Then I saw two in two weeks.
Both on 9 year-old Regency U39s...

Thanks for the tip, I did try tapping it a few times without luck.

It dawned on me that I could take my propane torch for sweating copper pipe and see if I could get the new TC to a higher output. Well that worked and I can get the TC up past 30mV fairly easily so the TC does seem good? The tip of the TC did start to glow red though

Is it possible that the gas pressure to my stove isn't enough to heat the TC high enough? I don't know why that would have changed in the past 2 weeks

Or is it is a sign of a bad TC that I need that much heat (glowing red tip) to get 30mV output?

 

[DAKSY]

Did you CHECK your gas pressure?
Did you try turning up the pilot?
The end of the TC will glow red after it's
in the pilot flame for a time...
I actually don't know what to point you
to investigate.

 

[hoopsta1423]

Did you CHECK your gas pressure?
Did you try turning up the pilot?
The end of the TC will glow red after it's
in the pilot flame for a time...
I actually don't know what to point you
to investigate.

Good news: I can get the pilot to stay lit
Bad news: I can only do it while heating the TC using that propane torch (so i light the pilot per the instructions, then heat the TC more using the torch, then I can let go of the pilot and it'll stay on until a few seconds after I move the torch away from the TC)

Does this point towards bad gas pressure? I'm curious what would have changed in the couple weeks that I had this turned off

I don't have the means of properly checking gas pressure at the moment unfortunately

 

[DAKSY]

Until you get a manometer & check the pressure
\I can't tell you whether or not it's good.
Again, did you try to turn the pilot up?
Brass screw on the front of the valve.

 

[hoopsta1423]

Until you get a manometer & check the pressure
\I can't tell you whether or not it's good.
Again, did you try to turn the pilot up?
Brass screw on the front of the valve.

Thanks for the help, I'll look into finding a manometer to check the pressures

I did try to turn the pilot up without any luck

 

[DavidJM]

I realize this is a bit old but, I found it as I was trying to troubleshoot my Lillehammer with the same issue. Mine is 13 years old but probably only has 15 hours of running time on it so it's virtually brand new. Today, I had a gas appliance technician here and he spent a lot of time on it checking the thermocouple and everything else. His conclusion was that it was a venting issue but couldn't pinpoint the exact problem or provide a solution. He suggested that I get the pilot light lit for an hour or so to warm things up to promote venting before lighting the main flame. That didn't work.

So, tonight, I lit the main flame but kept it at its lowest setting. The flames appeared to be affected by a light air movement. Instead of a gentle, vertical flame, they sort of blew to one side, toward the left ( facing the glass ). I turned the flame up to see if it would overcome that, it still went out after a few minutes. But, it did seem to be affected by some sort of air movement. That made me have confidence that it may indeed be some sort of venting issue.

Next, I removed the stove top and unlatched the two catches up top that hold the glass in place. I relit the stove. It's still burning just fine and this is now half an hour or more later. It hasn't burned that long for as long as I can remember. Something in me tells me that this is indeed a venting problem but I can't explain exactly what or why.

 

[DAKSY]

Is your Lillihamer BVent or Direct Vent?

 

[DavidJM]

I'm not positive but I think it's a B-vent. If I touch the chimney, it's warm, but not hot. From my understanding of how they are made, the chimney would be cool(er) if it was direct vent.

 

[DAKSY]

What does it say on the rating plate?

 

[DAKSY]

Post a pic of the stove, venting & vent cap, please.
Those will help

 

[DavidJM]

Post a pic of the stove, venting & vent cap, please.
Those will help

I just found the manual and it a Jotul GF200 DV II Lillehammer. Direct Vent.

 

[DAKSY]

OK. Thanks. You said in your earlier post that the
flame moved off the burner. We call that "Ghosting."
Reattach the glass.
Relight your stove & watch the pilot flame. Is it agitated?
Does it disappear off the thermocouple & thermopile just
before the flames ghost?