Pilot issues

[Zanuvar]

Hello! Just moved into a rental which had a Hearthstone tucson gas stove. Not sure which exact model, but it was installed in the place in 2003. It uses liquid propane as the fuel source.

Since moving in in december, there have been problems with the pilot staying on for reliable heating. This per the landlord was supposed to be the main source of heat for this place. The rental is not well insulted(like, barely so) and on blocks and jacks. We been relying on space heaters a lot since this problem really worsened in January. This entire building is basically 1 room. Only 2 actual small rooms it has is the bathroom and mudroom. Living room is overseen by the upstairs via the loft. So technically the loving room and upstairs are 1 room. Since the kitchen has a wide doorway, it could be considered as part of that room too.

After the gas stove finally stopped having the pilot light at all and stay lit Land lord got the gas guy to come down. They replaced the valve and pilot assembly/thermocoupler. The unit does have a thermostat installed.

The landlord had ordered a part from hearthstone themself for the pilot assembly. Gas guy removed the old, commented about how rusty and decrepid the original bad part was and put in the one the landlord ordered. It had issues going in and he commented about some screw on part was supposed to be a certain size and the new part wasn’t fitting well. (Not sure which it is, but I think it’s where the thermocouple screws on to send it’s voltage to the valve.) It ended up not working and produced a poor flame and otherwise seemed kind of faulty. Gas guy mentioned the part was sized in metric values and not imperial like it’s supposed to be. He had brought along a pilot assembly that was USA made but he remarked when installing it that what was supposed to be a specific size (nut? Screw?) was not what it was supposed to be. I think he said 3/8ths or 3/5ths. Suffice to say he needed an adjustable wrench to tighten it. (And this connection point is where he thinks it continues to be the problem for the pilot. As mentioned farther down.)

It seemed to work fine for a day, Then the pilot goes out again. There are squirrles in this rental that are a problem in the roof. (Yes I know this rental situation is hot garbage, crappy situation and stuck with it for now.) We noticed the pilot dropped when the white thermostat wire shifted from the moving squirrels. We got it lit, few hours later it dropped again but no squirrels this time, so we assumed that since this unit is on blocks and jacks with barely any floor insultion that vibrations from us moving around caused the wire to move and shut it off again. This time we could not get it lit again. Per the landlord this stove was notorious for being difficult to light. Gas guy is called back out which he checks things again, tightens this weird measured part and explains that it keeps dropping because of a poor connection at this point that he was adjusting. He said there was no way the thermostat could be causing this issue.

Since then it worked well for several days, but today the cooking oven caught fire (another pain point of this place). Got that put out and had to open doors, windows, get fans blowing to get the smoke out. This not only let out all the heat but at some point the pilot dropped. We did turn the main principle of the rental unit off while dealing with the oven fire. Not sure if that plays a role since the thermostat would have to get electric I think. We struggled to get the pilot lit again on the hearthstone, and found the button you press to ignite the pilot is loose in the socket that’s supposed to hold it to the gas stove itself. The wires got jiggled slightly when trying to light the pilot at this time and it seemed to get it to light.

A few hours later as it’s time for bed I go to turn the thermostat down about 5 degrees for sleeping. It gets too hot upstairs otherwise. The stove made a huge click, and the pilot dropped again. I been trying to find out why this keeps happening. It shouldn’t be the parts. My mind keeps thinking it’s related to the thermostat or a draft somewhere blowing out the pilot. We put window kits to stop most of the bad ones and keep heat in the place.

I want to make a note too, that when the fire was working “reliably” when it goes to turn on from pilot to fire, it always stalls a bit and then makes a notable Fwoosh and a large plume of fire before settling into the fore spots around the fake logs. I read that this isn’t really a good thing. As for it not starting back, it’s frustrating. The pilot ignites when the knob is set to pilot, it’s held as directed. It just fades out. The fire cone on the thermocouple(the wire that is supposed to sense fire) is blue as it should. It covers it well. Just won’t stay lit.

I am not able or willing to tinker with taking parts out, apart or anything invasive, but if there are things I can check for, or safely adjust or urge the Landlord to make the gas guy check for when he is inevitably called back out, please let me know! I need to get to the bottom of this. 2 little portable heaters is not enough.

 

[DAKSY]

You need to find out what model you have.
There should be a rating plate attached to
the back or the bottom of the unit.
If there isn't one, please post a pic so it
can be researched...

 

[Zanuvar]

Sure thing! I got as many images as I could. If you need others let me know.

 

[DAKSY]

Hearthstone Tucson B-vent.
Gimme a minute to look up the specs.

 

[DAKSY]

Can you get a pic of the thermocouple connection at the valve?