DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi there, I was hoping for some help with my gas fire.
My gas fire cuts out after a few seconds, theres an audible click like a microswitch cutting it off. Suspect possibly a safety cut out. Any suggestions. It used to start after much perseverance and stay on. But last night cut out after around two hours of staying on.

I do apologise, I have scanned some more posts and I have solved my problem, many thanks to htg engineer. His advice regarding using a straw to blow into my pilot worked a treat. Took all of 30 seconds. :D :D :D

the htg.engineer has give you bad advice. :o
when your pilot gets to the stage were it is cutting out your fire is ready for a proper service,the main injector at tha back of the fire is probable
full of dust as well causing the fire to burn with lack of oxygen.
this can be dangerous.
have your fire serviced every 12 months

What a load - so if you get the fire serviced and 3 months later it cuts off - because the pilot is blocked - it needs servicing again ?

The oxy pilot wont stay ignited if there's a lack of oxygen/build up of fumes. So at what point is it dangerous ?

Oxy pilots become blocked with dust, pet hair etc quite easy - even after it has been serviced.

If there's a problem with the way the fire is burning - after cleaning the pilot, eg lack of oxygen - the pilot flame will lift away from the thermocouple. Cutting out the gas fire.

So where's the bad advice ? 99% of the time - it's only the pilot that needs cleaning.

I will give you credit for alot of the posts you have replied to but not this one.
I service fires for a living, you are encouraging Mr DIY to maintian there own fires. When a fire has been fitted from new or has had a proper service, the oxy pilots usually stay in good working order for an average 12 months - 2 years, not "3 months", in that 12 month period alot of dust/pet hair gets drawn into the fire which can cause the fire to burn with more yellow flames i.e less air is mixing with the gas, which then causes more soot.carbon to be formed around the coals etc.
The fire will then be producing more carbon monoxide than it was designed to. If there is any downdraught in the chimney the carbon monoxide will come back into the room and is very dangerous.

If Mr DIY keeps cleaning his oxy pilot with a straw "your advice" he is putting himself and his family in a dangerous position.

When dust /pet hair enters the gasfire it doesnt just make its way to the pilot, it goes throuhtout the fire. This is why every 12 months a gas fire should have a full strip down service to remove dust etc, not only from the pilot but from the main injection and burner etc and is usually followed up with a smoke and spillage test on the chimney.
I have kept this description to a more basic level so people can understand it better.

Phil.

OK - phil.gas - I also work on gas appliances everyday.

As you can see (if you read the posts before judging that people have given bad advice) I didn't reply to g30rgy's post - before I did he said he had found the answer from a post I had made earlier.

Here is that post I made.

Please read

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 3:57 pm Post subject:

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If the pilot keeps going out, get a CORGI registered installer to check it. Oxypilots and vitiation sensing devices cut the gas off to an appliance if carbon monoxide / lack of oxygen is detected. Not to be ignored.

There seems to be abit of dust around the pilot and thermocouple. So the pilot may be blocked.

When the pilot is lit, there should be two flames, one over the burner and the other (smaller one) touching the thermocouple. If you get dust in the pilot assembly then the flame lifts away from the thermocouple.

Between the pilot supply pipe and the pilot burner, there's a brass tail/connector. There'll be a small hole in one side make sure there's no dust blocking this and clean if needed. Then place a bit of tubing or a drinking straw over each pilot holes and blow down it to clean the pilot out.

Then try re-lighting, check the flame is touching the thermocouple.

Remember you need a CORGI registered gas installer to work on gas appliances, do not break or disconnect any gas supplies or fittings or try to change parts yourself.

Also gas appliances should be serviced every 12 months.

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Hope this clears up your problems, regards Htg Engineer

g30rgy wrote:I do apologise, I have scanned some more posts and I have solved my problem, many thanks to htg engineer. His advice regarding using a straw to blow into my pilot worked a treat. Took all of 30 seconds. :D :D :D

I did it by using the straw to into the pilot worked! The flame covered the Sensor and its working like a breeze. Thank you . Now I know to clean this often. Thanks

Sorry to re ignite this thread (sorry) but I have a similar problem. After starting the fire normally the main flame goes out after about 7 seconds. Whilst cleaning the area around the pilot i tried it again with the glass screen removed. This time the flame burned continuously with no problems. Glass put back in and the problem returned. Any ideas from the corgi guys?