Why wont my fire ignite.

mr_lordi

Hi,Our gas fire in the front room wont light for some reason. The igniter is working when holding down the switch (you can see the spark) And you can hear the noise of gas running but bizarley cant smell it. It is a living flame fire with a slide down switch on the side of the fire. Also it has nt been lit since last year if thats relevant. Any advice before i send out for an engineer is much appreciated. Paul

tony6403

As the fire has not been lit for such a long time , I would try holding the switch down for a longer period to see if the gas then makes its way through.

mr_lordi

Thanks.Held it down for a good minute or so but no ignition. Could smell a tiny trace of gas this time.

ormus

you must hold the switch down long enough for the flame to heat the thermocouple.
the main gas flow (valve) will not operate until the element is red hot. its a fail safe device.

if you release the switch too soon the gas flow is cut off.

mr_lordi

Thanks ormus will try be a little more patient. Only problem i have is there is no flame to warm it up, all i can see is a spark. Paul

ormus

are you sure you are doing it right?
most of em require the user to push down on the switch whilst you turn it, to start the ignition gas flow.

what is the make & model of the fire?

ariba10

Can you see if the spark is in the right place?

They have been known to short circuit and spark, but not where it should.

mr_lordi

There is nothing on the fire to identify it, it was already installed when we moved in. I am definately turning it on ok as we have used it for about four years. Usually to turn it on there is a sliding switch along the top left hand side of the fire. You slide it down from the off position to the ignite position then hold it there until it ignites,you then when lit have to hold it there presumably as you say to warm it up for a minute or two and then slide the switch back up about halfway to the off position. Hope that makes sense. Its Not playing at all tonight.

mr_lordi

ariba10 wrote: »

Can you see if the spark is in the right place?

They have been known to short circuit and spark, but not where it should.

Seems to be sparking in the right area. I just thought i would smell more gas to be honest.

gas4you

Try blowing gently over the pilot assembly towards the spark whilst holding the lever down.

Gas can takes many minutes to come through on a fire like this.

Hintza

Probably could really do with a service. Can you not use a match at least the first time to check everything eseis OK?