The real problem is the system was likely a Millivolt System. They run the gas valve off of about 500 to 700 millivolts that is produced from a Thermopile that is mounted in the pilot assembly bracket, and provides enough power to keep the Pilot gas valve open and also open the main gas valve on demand too. This type of system will run during a power outage, but if there is a blower fan on the fireplace as well, that will not come on in a power outage, unless it will run on battery backup power. So what happens is that when you just use a regular wall mounted light switch instead of a low voltage switch or a proper millivolt thermostat, the regular wall switch has to much resistance in it's switching mechanism to allow enough millivoltage through to the gas valve to open the main valve, especially after the thermopile wears out, or over time just weaken a bit. Then it wont overcome the resistance in the Wall Switch because remember it is on about 1/2 of a volt. Chances are after about another year another new switch will be needed. Perhaps the heavier resistance in the regular switch causes a problem. If you put a millivolt thermostat on the wall instead, you would likely never have the problem again. HVAC installation contractors just cheap out and use a regular wall switch instead. So if you put in the Millivolt Thermostat, not only will it work great again, but you will now have a thermostat switch instead of just on and off. Now if you have 24 volts controlling the gas valve, instead of only millivolt, then the regular light switch on the wall for control will likely work trouble free for much longer than the millivolt power scenario.
This is a temporary fix. Whats going on is the thermopile is dirty and not creating as much electricity as it should when clean . The white haze build up on the glass also gets deposited on the thermopile. Also where the thermopile connects to the valve dust builds up . since the thermopile only creates a small amount of electricity .750 v , dust particles at the valve connection , white haze build up on the t-pile at the pilot is a big deal in the world of millivolts. Even if there is extra length of wire , minimizing the amount of low volt wire from valve to switch will help a great deal. This is why sometimes the wall switch doesn't work but the switch under the fireplace does. If the pilot wont stay lit , replace your thermocouple . If your fireplace turns on and the flame lifts off the burner a little bit is see through blue and weak looking , you have a venting problem either not enough fresh air or the exhaust is blocked . WARNING IF ANY FIRE IS STARVING ITSELF FROM OXYGEN , NEVER EVER INTRODUCE FRESH AIR WHILE THE FLAME IS ON !!! Sometimes the flame will be so transparent it will appear to be off . And if you were to open the sealed glass while its trying to find oxygen it will for sure get you faster than you can blink your eyes. Direct vent gas fireplace venting is typically a 4 inch vent inside a 7 inch vent or 5inch vent inside a 8 inch vent. the smaller vent is your exhaust and the outer larger diameter is fresh air. Since the exhaust is hot air and is expanding , if any pin holes or leaks occur in the exhaust vent it will get sucked right into the fresh air. Depending on how large the leak is will determine how well your fireplace runs . If the leak is small you will be able to see it in the characteristics of the flame . Burbank Gas Fireplaces Salt Lake City Utah
I don't have a wall switch, just the small black switch on the face of the fireplace. For a couple of years the switch didn't work consistently and now it just doesn't work at all. Do you have any information on replacing that switch?
Question; On mine, Pilot light is on, switch doesn't turn on flame. I bypassed the switch by touching the wires together and still nothing. I am able to turn flame on and off by using the toggle switch that's by the gas valve. Any suggestions?
Clean your sensor at the pilot light . Looking at your pilot and notice which one is sparking . Thats your ignitor. The other probe that is not sparking is your sensor . Get some sand paper fine grit preferably and clean the sensor. If after you clean the sensor and flip the switch and the piot lights up the sensor should recognize the heat within 13 seconds or so if the pilot light is on and you see the ignitor still sparking well past the amount of time it takes to heat up then your sensor is bad . Install a " condensation" switch on all electronic ignition gas fireplaces or IPI units . A condensation switch is nothing more than a pilot light .
Check with your local gas company. I just found out that in my city/province the gas company will come and light a pilot light for free. They will also tell you if the unit is working properly. The won’t fix problems for free, but at least you know what you’re dealing with so you can hire the appropriate professional. Just an FYI, if you don’t want to pay for the natural gas or can’t get the pilot light going, make sure you cover the vent outside or the fireplace inside; especially if you live in an area that gets cold. Cold air from outside can come into the house through the vent. More so if the fireplace is in a basement, because cold air sinks. The pilot light produces just enough heat to keep the air rising and pushing the cold air outside. My dad thought he would save money, and turn off the pilot light on their basement fireplace because he never used it. Winter in Canada is pretty cold. During a visit, I realized that cold air was coming from the fireplace. Of course it was late at night and everyone else was already in bed. I managed to seal the fireplace with a garbage bag and medical tape. There was so much cold air, that you could actually see the air pushing the plastic bag out, but thankfully it was blocked from getting into the house. Needless to say, the next morning the pilot light was relit 🔥. Unless you block off the cold air, you won’t save any money, because your furnace will work harder to warm up the house.
Great Video. Prepping my home for sale and I had a fireplace which would sporadically ... have a delayed start, no start, or normal start. I pulled the switch and connected the wires directly. Started the fire every time. I will change the switch and be done with it. I guess the system is extremely sensitive to resistance...so corrosion or dust on the contacts doesn't get burned off with 120v....and they are not self cleaning (sliding) contacts...so...it's a cheap and easy fix...but likely would be needed again in 5-10 years I imagine. No biggie.
Great video! I started off having issues with the switch working intermittently, but now it doesn’t work at all. I went to a fireplace store and the employee told me that I probably needed a new switch. He suggested that since the voltage was less than a AA battery, I should touch one of the wires to my tongue to see if I felt a tingle. He obviously doesn’t understand the difference between AC and DC voltage. 🙄I’m sure he could tell from the look on my face, that I thought it was a stupid idea! 🤬 I pretty much stopped listening to him after that. Perhaps he has never heard of a multimeter. I’m glad I watched your video. At least now I know what type of switch to get. Thanks again.
To the point !! Wish I had a wall switch, my issue- fireplace switch bottom right worked in A.M and not in afternoon, turned breaker off and again nothing...
find the valve and then look for a secondary switch under the fireplace that may be on or so dirty that the dust has built up so much its completing the Cricut. what happens sometimes is they have multiple wires that are connected to the same switch going to a secondary switch and the spade connectors are touching somewhere acting as is you have the switch on
This is a temporary fix. Whats going on is the thermopile is dirty and not creating as much electricity as it should when clean . The white haze build up on the glass also gets deposited on the thermopile. Also where the thermopile connects to the valve dust builds up . since the thermopile only creates a small amount of electricity .750 v , dust particles at the valve connection , white haze build up on the t-pile at the pilot is a big deal in the world of millivolts. Even if there is extra length of wire , minimizing the amount of low volt wire from valve to switch will help a great deal. This is why sometimes the wall switch doesn't work but the switch under the fireplace does. If the pilot wont stay lit , replace your thermocouple . If your fireplace turns on and the flame lifts off the burner a little bit is see through blue and weak looking , you have a venting problem either not enough fresh air or the exhaust is blocked . WARNING IF ANY FIRE IS STARVING ITSELF FROM OXYGEN , NEVER EVER INTRODUCE FRESH AIR WHILE THE FLAME IS ON !!! Sometimes the flame will be so transparent it will appear to be off . And if you were to open the sealed glass while its trying to find oxygen it will for sure get you faster than you can blink your eyes. Direct vent gas fireplace venting is typically a 4 inch vent inside a 7 inch vent or 5inch vent inside a 8 inch vent. the smaller vent is your exhaust and the outer larger diameter is fresh air. Since the exhaust is hot air and is expanding , if any pin holes or leaks occur in the exhaust vent it will get sucked right into the fresh air. Depending on how large the leak is will determine how well your fireplace runs . If the leak is small you will be able to see it in the characteristics of the flame . Burbank Gas Fireplaces Salt Lake City Utah
Just went to home depot, bought the switch, and now it works. Thank you my friend.
Thank you!! Finally something useful and actually make sense!!!
The real problem is the system was likely a Millivolt System. They run the gas valve off of about 500 to 700 millivolts that is produced from a Thermopile that is mounted in the pilot assembly bracket, and provides enough power to keep the Pilot gas valve open and also open the main gas valve on demand too. This type of system will run during a power outage, but if there is a blower fan on the fireplace as well, that will not come on in a power outage, unless it will run on battery backup power. So what happens is that when you just use a regular wall mounted light switch instead of a low voltage switch or a proper millivolt thermostat, the regular wall switch has to much resistance in it's switching mechanism to allow enough millivoltage through to the gas valve to open the main valve, especially after the thermopile wears out, or over time just weaken a bit. Then it wont overcome the resistance in the Wall Switch because remember it is on about 1/2 of a volt. Chances are after about another year another new switch will be needed. Perhaps the heavier resistance in the regular switch causes a problem. If you put a millivolt thermostat on the wall instead, you would likely never have the problem again. HVAC installation contractors just cheap out and use a regular wall switch instead. So if you put in the Millivolt Thermostat, not only will it work great again, but you will now have a thermostat switch instead of just on and off. Now if you have 24 volts controlling the gas valve, instead of only millivolt, then the regular light switch on the wall for control will likely work trouble free for much longer than the millivolt power scenario.
I can't believe it ,it works for me too thank you very much ❤❤❤❤❤
This is a temporary fix. Whats going on is the thermopile is dirty and not creating as much electricity as it should when clean . The white haze build up on the glass also gets deposited on the thermopile. Also where the thermopile connects to the valve dust builds up . since the thermopile only creates a small amount of electricity .750 v , dust particles at the valve connection , white haze build up on the t-pile at the pilot is a big deal in the world of millivolts. Even if there is extra length of wire , minimizing the amount of low volt wire from valve to switch will help a great deal. This is why sometimes the wall switch doesn't work but the switch under the fireplace does.
If the pilot wont stay lit , replace your thermocouple .
If your fireplace turns on and the flame lifts off the burner a little bit is see through blue and weak looking , you have a venting problem either not enough fresh air or the exhaust is blocked . WARNING IF ANY FIRE IS STARVING ITSELF FROM OXYGEN , NEVER EVER INTRODUCE FRESH AIR WHILE THE FLAME IS ON !!!
Sometimes the flame will be so transparent it will appear to be off . And if you were to open the sealed glass while its trying to find oxygen it will for sure get you faster than you can blink your eyes.
Direct vent gas fireplace venting is typically a 4 inch vent inside a 7 inch vent or 5inch vent inside a 8 inch vent. the smaller vent is your exhaust and the outer larger diameter is fresh air.
Since the exhaust is hot air and is expanding , if any pin holes or leaks occur in the exhaust vent it will get sucked right into the fresh air. Depending on how large the leak is will determine how well your fireplace runs . If the leak is small you will be able to see it in the characteristics of the flame .
Burbank Gas Fireplaces
Salt Lake City Utah
Yes it worked!!! Finally am able to use my fireplace again. Wow so easy
Grazie! Saved me $$$
Believe it or not. The switch was my issue. Thanks for posting!!!
I don't have a wall switch, just the small black switch on the face of the fireplace. For a couple of years the switch didn't work consistently and now it just doesn't work at all. Do you have any information on replacing that switch?
Having some trouble with my gas fireplace. Going to give this a try and hopefully it’s the same problem.
Question; On mine, Pilot light is on, switch doesn't turn on flame. I bypassed the switch by touching the wires together and still nothing. I am able to turn flame on and off by using the toggle switch that's by the gas valve. Any suggestions?
Is there a way to convert to thermostat?
I try to do everything that you explained and still wont star pilot does but no flame can you device me
Could you give me the exact toggle switch at Amazon. Picture too small
I have an electric start fireplace, no pilot, is this still likely to be the issue? It's works intermittently which is part of the annoyance.
I have the same issue
Clean your sensor at the pilot light . Looking at your pilot and notice which one is sparking .
Thats your ignitor. The other probe that is not sparking is your sensor . Get some sand paper fine grit preferably and clean the sensor. If after you clean the sensor and flip the switch and the piot lights up the sensor should recognize the heat within 13 seconds or so if the pilot light is on and you see the ignitor still sparking well past the amount of time it takes to heat up then your sensor is bad .
Install a " condensation" switch on all electronic ignition gas fireplaces or IPI units . A condensation switch is nothing more than a pilot light .
Thanks for the tip. it was the switch, changed it and it works perfectly.
Was the switch bad in a new house?
Thanks man, short and sweet!
What if the pilot light is out?
Check with your local gas company. I just found out that in my city/province the gas company will come and light a pilot light for free. They will also tell you if the unit is working properly. The won’t fix problems for free, but at least you know what you’re dealing with so you can hire the appropriate professional.
Just an FYI, if you don’t want to pay for the natural gas or can’t get the pilot light going, make sure you cover the vent outside or the fireplace inside; especially if you live in an area that gets cold. Cold air from outside can come into the house through the vent. More so if the fireplace is in a basement, because cold air sinks. The pilot light produces just enough heat to keep the air rising and pushing the cold air outside. My dad thought he would save money, and turn off the pilot light on their basement fireplace because he never used it. Winter in Canada is pretty cold. During a visit, I realized that cold air was coming from the fireplace. Of course it was late at night and everyone else was already in bed. I managed to seal the fireplace with a garbage bag and medical tape. There was so much cold air, that you could actually see the air pushing the plastic bag out, but thankfully it was blocked from getting into the house. Needless to say, the next morning the pilot light was relit 🔥. Unless you block off the cold air, you won’t save any money, because your furnace will work harder to warm up the house.
Great Video. Prepping my home for sale and I had a fireplace which would sporadically ... have a delayed start, no start, or normal start. I pulled the switch and connected the wires directly. Started the fire every time. I will change the switch and be done with it. I guess the system is extremely sensitive to resistance...so corrosion or dust on the contacts doesn't get burned off with 120v....and they are not self cleaning (sliding) contacts...so...it's a cheap and easy fix...but likely would be needed again in 5-10 years I imagine. No biggie.
I've replaced the switch and it still doesn't work. Pilot is lite!
I sometimes get fireplace going with on off switch. If i'm lucky enough it will start, but after a few minutes goes back to pilot only. Stumped?
❤ I will definitely do this...
Great video!
I started off having issues with the switch working intermittently, but now it doesn’t work at all. I went to a fireplace store and the employee told me that I probably needed a new switch. He suggested that since the voltage was less than a AA battery, I should touch one of the wires to my tongue to see if I felt a tingle. He obviously doesn’t understand the difference between AC and DC voltage. 🙄I’m sure he could tell from the look on my face, that I thought it was a stupid idea! 🤬 I pretty much stopped listening to him after that. Perhaps he has never heard of a multimeter.
I’m glad I watched your video. At least now I know what type of switch to get.
Thanks again.
This worked for me!
link to the switch? Is it a regular wall switch or special for low voltage?
Fixed my problem. Should have tried this first!
To the point !! Wish I had a wall switch, my issue- fireplace switch bottom right worked in A.M and not in afternoon, turned breaker off and again nothing...
Damn... perhaps a failed fan motor in your case
Tks all❤
Going to try this..Hope I can do it..🤞
Worked perfectly! Told by a handyman that I needed a new igniter. Then I saw your video, thankfully!! Great video and very well explained.
Glad it helped
What if the fireplave stays on and doesn’t turn off?
find the valve and then look for a secondary switch under the fireplace that may be on or so dirty that the dust has built up so much its completing the Cricut. what happens sometimes is they have multiple wires that are connected to the same switch going to a secondary switch and the spade connectors are touching somewhere acting as is you have the switch on
this did not fix it. any other suggestions?
Same
Same
Same
Probably the thermopile
This is a temporary fix. Whats going on is the thermopile is dirty and not creating as much electricity as it should when clean . The white haze build up on the glass also gets deposited on the thermopile. Also where the thermopile connects to the valve dust builds up . since the thermopile only creates a small amount of electricity .750 v , dust particles at the valve connection , white haze build up on the t-pile at the pilot is a big deal in the world of millivolts. Even if there is extra length of wire , minimizing the amount of low volt wire from valve to switch will help a great deal. This is why sometimes the wall switch doesn't work but the switch under the fireplace does.
If the pilot wont stay lit , replace your thermocouple .
If your fireplace turns on and the flame lifts off the burner a little bit is see through blue and weak looking , you have a venting problem either not enough fresh air or the exhaust is blocked . WARNING IF ANY FIRE IS STARVING ITSELF FROM OXYGEN , NEVER EVER INTRODUCE FRESH AIR WHILE THE FLAME IS ON !!!
Sometimes the flame will be so transparent it will appear to be off . And if you were to open the sealed glass while its trying to find oxygen it will for sure get you faster than you can blink your eyes.
Direct vent gas fireplace venting is typically a 4 inch vent inside a 7 inch vent or 5inch vent inside a 8 inch vent. the smaller vent is your exhaust and the outer larger diameter is fresh air.
Since the exhaust is hot air and is expanding , if any pin holes or leaks occur in the exhaust vent it will get sucked right into the fresh air. Depending on how large the leak is will determine how well your fireplace runs . If the leak is small you will be able to see it in the characteristics of the flame .
Burbank Gas Fireplaces
Salt Lake City Utah
life saver!