UPDATE: A minute after shooting this video I found the culprit. A loose TH terminal connection. Meter probing was fine, but internal connection was dodgy. Works fine now.
I have two pilot lights in my house here in the UK. Using my smart meter I have deduced that they use about 150W worth of gas each. Between them that's 7.2kWhr per day which at today's prices is costing me £270 per year if I leave them both lit throughout the year. At today's prices over a lifetime of say 20 years a central heating unit pilot light therefore uses £2,700 worth of gas. Modern gas heaters don't use pilot lights for obvious reasons.
I was about to suggest a spider inside the valve. I had a spider in my gas fireplace and had to have someone come out, take it all apart, and remove the spider. When they first arrived they saw the tiny flame and immediately said it was a spider. Apparently, spiders are attracted to the smell of natural gas, especially in damp weather.
During my sister's last remodel she supplemented her gas room heater with a wall-mounted ethanol fire. The ethanol flame yields mainly CO2 and water, with the increased humidity greatly increasing the room comfort relative to the amount of ethanol consumed and thermal heat produced. The gas heater is still there, but with the gas off (no pilot), available if needed, seeing maybe 2 hours of use over the course of the year. Edit: She also added an automatic flue damper above the gas heater, so when it was off, no room air was lost up the exhaust vent. That alone made a huge difference to her home's heat loss rate.
We are not allowed to purchase or replace such things in the UK as you need to be a CORGI engineer. It is very frustrating as they simply fire the ‘parts cannon’.
Yep not even your own equipment in the UK after multiple deaths in a guest house was the last straw. So if you end up in hospital and it was from carbon monoxide poisoning it will get reported and you will get a fine.
I believe that a " Corgi" engineer is responsible for the safe servicing of die cast models, gas safety now comes under the control of a registered " Gas Safe" engineer.😏
One consideration with these is they need to vent their exhausted gases outside, through a pipe. Water flows downhill and gas flows uphill, so condensation can block the pipe and the pressure switch will lock it out
@4:10 you mention that thermocouple function is to turn option fan on/off. This is incorrect. The thermocouple controls the gas valve to enable gas flow to the pilot. The thermocouple generates a small voltage (about 30mv when hot) to the gas control valve. If thermocouple is bad, the pilot will not remain on.
I'd say gas valves will work similarly as pneumatic valves. You are switching tiny pilot valve with low power and it allows for pressurized gas to open big valve :)
Fake logs may contain asbestos, though the modern ones can be glass fibre cement, but the ones that last the longest are asbestos fibre blended with clay, then fired to lightly bond them.
Are you sure the thermocouple is used to control the fan? The way it is positioned it would produce almost the same output whether or not the fan is running. Usually these are to disable the gas if the pilot flame has gone out, otherwise your house would slowly fill with unburnt gas.
Dave thermocouple or thermopile is there to shut the gas off when the flame goes out. It holds the solenoid open for the pilot nothing else. If pilot trips the whole valve shuts off. 24V or AC opens the main burner solenoid. Get a gas engineer to check its safe. Your family life depends on gas safety.
The thermopile generates a low voltage but have a very low resistance and is capable to supply a large Current. That's what makes it working. That's why all connections must be perfect in this very low resistance circuit.
Interesting... I have a remote controlled gas burner in my fireplace with the ceramic fake logs, but it uses a 9V battery to drive the remote and the actual burner control. These burners are really nice in a brick fireplace - same visual effect, excellent heating.... :)
I don't want to come off as a wank/yank just wondering, Isn't it a little early for a gas fireplace in Aus / Nz area this time of year? Merry Christmas to you and your Family.
What is the thermopile voltage while failing to activate the solenoid? EDIT: I just read that it is fixed. I still wonder if the voltage would be too low during activation due to the dodgy TH terminal.
![Kozy Heat TroubleShooting [Full] (ProFlame 2)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xYcJvpY8Pdw/mqdefault.jpg)
UPDATE: A minute after shooting this video I found the culprit. A loose TH terminal connection. Meter probing was fine, but internal connection was dodgy. Works fine now.
It was visible in the video when you probed the terminal and the screw head rotated slightly ;-)
@@donondre7314 Yep, sure enough! 2:24
@@donondre7314 That's the screw Dave loosened before making this video. #conspiracy
I was going to suggest looking for corroded contacts, loose contacts & crimps, etc. Seen them many times as issues in old appliances.
@@donondre7314 Came here to post the same thing, but I see plenty of other people also noticed it
I have two pilot lights in my house here in the UK. Using my smart meter I have deduced that they use about 150W worth of gas each. Between them that's 7.2kWhr per day which at today's prices is costing me £270 per year if I leave them both lit throughout the year.
At today's prices over a lifetime of say 20 years a central heating unit pilot light therefore uses £2,700 worth of gas. Modern gas heaters don't use pilot lights for obvious reasons.
Yeah, @2:25 you could see that upper screw spin around.
I'm from Argentina and as a southern hemisphere inhabitant I can't help but wonder why do you need to have this fireplace working right now 😆
He uses it to cook koalas.
It’s only 20C in Sydney! Dave is a risk of freezing to death!
I was thinking the exact same thing
Isn't it summer in Australia right now?
@@Fluxkompressor Its supposed to be 🥶 I have had the central heating on here today in Melbourne!
I was about to suggest a spider inside the valve. I had a spider in my gas fireplace and had to have someone come out, take it all apart, and remove the spider. When they first arrived they saw the tiny flame and immediately said it was a spider. Apparently, spiders are attracted to the smell of natural gas, especially in damp weather.
Well that's a giant pain.
In all seriousness, I never knew a modern gas fireplace would be so interesting.
I never knew a modern gas fireplace would look so old-fashioned.
During my sister's last remodel she supplemented her gas room heater with a wall-mounted ethanol fire. The ethanol flame yields mainly CO2 and water, with the increased humidity greatly increasing the room comfort relative to the amount of ethanol consumed and thermal heat produced. The gas heater is still there, but with the gas off (no pilot), available if needed, seeing maybe 2 hours of use over the course of the year.
Edit: She also added an automatic flue damper above the gas heater, so when it was off, no room air was lost up the exhaust vent. That alone made a huge difference to her home's heat loss rate.
Pilot light using barely any gas at all? That looks like quite a lot to me.
I think you'll find the pilot flame uses considerable gas, especially with the eco tax crap added into the price.
We are not allowed to purchase or replace such things in the UK as you need to be a CORGI engineer. It is very frustrating as they simply fire the ‘parts cannon’.
Yep not even your own equipment in the UK after multiple deaths in a guest house was the last straw.
So if you end up in hospital and it was from carbon monoxide poisoning it will get reported and you will get a fine.
I believe that a " Corgi" engineer is responsible for the safe servicing of die cast models, gas safety now comes under the control of a registered " Gas Safe" engineer.😏
One consideration with these is they need to vent their exhausted gases outside, through a pipe. Water flows downhill and gas flows uphill, so condensation can block the pipe and the pressure switch will lock it out
I am surprised you can do useful work with 500mV. Must have a few amps behind it.
Maybe a video of how it is used will be very informative.
@4:10 you mention that thermocouple function is to turn option fan on/off. This is incorrect.
The thermocouple controls the gas valve to enable gas flow to the pilot.
The thermocouple generates a small voltage (about 30mv when hot) to the gas control valve.
If thermocouple is bad, the pilot will not remain on.
I'd say gas valves will work similarly as pneumatic valves. You are switching tiny pilot valve with low power and it allows for pressurized gas to open big valve :)
Something like Darlington circuit
Have you had the unit checked every 12months for CO levels around the heater?
My piles don’t generate any voltage they just itch 😁
Just be glad they don’t come with a pilot light! 😉
Fake logs may contain asbestos, though the modern ones can be glass fibre cement, but the ones that last the longest are asbestos fibre blended with clay, then fired to lightly bond them.
Most asbestos is harmless.
@@Okurka.And not everything must be inherently safe. Sometimes "leave the asbestos fake coal alone and don't grind it up" is safe enough.
dont worry you won't get cancer from looking at asbestos, altho you wish
Asbestos was banned here from like the 1980s or something. Greatly doubt its asbestos as the unit is less than 10yo.
@@EEVblog2 But made in PRC, where they still mine and use it. Yes likely glass wool or ceramic, but there are still plenty of cases of it being used.
Are you sure the thermocouple is used to control the fan? The way it is positioned it would produce almost the same output whether or not the fan is running. Usually these are to disable the gas if the pilot flame has gone out, otherwise your house would slowly fill with unburnt gas.
Dave thermocouple or thermopile is there to shut the gas off when the flame goes out. It holds the solenoid open for the pilot nothing else. If pilot trips the whole valve shuts off. 24V or AC opens the main burner solenoid. Get a gas engineer to check its safe. Your family life depends on gas safety.
The thermopile generates a low voltage but have a very low resistance and is capable to supply a large Current.
That's what makes it working.
That's why all connections must be perfect in this very low resistance circuit.
Could do with that fireplace here now, first big snow of the winter here in N.E. Scotland. LOL!
Where does your gas come from?
@@EEVblog2 45% from North Sea, 2% from Russia, and the rest from global LNG markets apparently.
Interesting... I have a remote controlled gas burner in my fireplace with the ceramic fake logs, but it uses a 9V battery to drive the remote and the actual burner control. These burners are really nice in a brick fireplace - same visual effect, excellent heating.... :)
It's that pesky loose terminal screw, wasn't it?! It rotated slightly when you were probing.
I don't want to come off as a wank/yank just wondering, Isn't it a little early for a gas fireplace in Aus / Nz area this time of year? Merry Christmas to you and your Family.
Not where this one is located, still cold enough.
@@EEVblog2 thank you for the reply. glad you figured out the issue.
What is the thermopile voltage while failing to activate the solenoid? EDIT: I just read that it is fixed. I still wonder if the voltage would be too low during activation due to the dodgy TH terminal.
that one is a flame sensor it sounds like a terminal problem maybe a bad connection
Where is this located ? I mean do you really need a fireplace in Australia right now ?
This might be your oddest video yet. XD
I’m guessing you’re doing preventive/early corrective maintenance, so that when you NEED that fireplace, it’ll be ready…
Isn't it summer down under?
isn't it supposed to be summer where you live?
Isnt it a little hot for that...
Very interesting
I got gas
Gas discharge tube was actually my nickname in college ;)
@@christopherjackson2157 Now it's 'old fart'?
@@Okurka. lol :)
Thermopile... Obviously a pile of thermos.
1st