We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

pilot light won't light.

Gas boiler has been of for a couple of months as the flat was not being used, cooker works fine though, I've just tried lighting the boiler but it won't light, no smell of gas at all, so I'm thinking there may be air in the gas line, as the boiler was only serviced about 6 months ago, I have tried holding the pilot in for ages (an hour at least) but still no gas, do I need to hold it in for longer or is there something else I can try? cheers.
«1

Comments

  • Avoriaz
    Avoriaz Posts: 39,110 Forumite
    Is there a gas tap that is turned off somewhere on the gas pipe supplying the boiler?

    That is one possibility.


    Take great care with gas.
  • sniggings
    sniggings Posts: 5,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    no, nothing turned off, I have just noticed a faint light now, not sure how long it's been there but gas is getting though, but the light goes out as soon as I let go of the pilot button, it's just too weak to stay alight, so I'm guessing it's full of air with a weak amount of gas mixed in, I've held it again for about an hour, does this sound like it's just a matter of keeping it pressed in until the feed is 100% gas and no more air?
  • daveyjp
    daveyjp Posts: 14,101 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    More likely to be a carbonised pilot jet.
  • sniggings
    sniggings Posts: 5,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    daveyjp wrote: »
    More likely to be a carbonised pilot jet.

    is anything I can do about that or is it a call out job?
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    sniggings wrote: »
    is anything I can do about that or is it a call out job?
    It'll be a call out job. If you don't know what you are doing with gas then it can be quite dangerous if you go taking it apart to fix yourself. It could be a seized gas valve. Replacing a fuse is fine, pressing the reset button is fine, changing the wall thermostat is fine, changing the external programmer is fine...but anything to do with the gas side you should leave to a qualified and certified gas professional.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • sniggings
    sniggings Posts: 5,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    so is air in the line not an option? as I have just had a service only 6 months ago.
  • no air isn't your problem if the pilot is that small & weak
    I'm only here while I wait for Corrie to start.

    You get no BS from me & if I think you are wrong I WILL tell you.
  • sniggings
    sniggings Posts: 5,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    guess not then, just seems strange it was fine after the service, then off for a couple of months then a problem, was only thinking it was air in the line as that is what came up on my Google searches :o
  • unless you have a small leak & the gas was turned off at the meter there should be no way for air to get into the gas supply, think of a tap just because you don't switch the tap on you still have water as soon as you turn it on, but even if you had air in there it would have gone by you pressing the button for an hour (although i'm not sure how your managed to keep that pressed in for that amount of time)
    I'm only here while I wait for Corrie to start.

    You get no BS from me & if I think you are wrong I WILL tell you.
  • sniggings
    sniggings Posts: 5,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    unless you have a small leak & the gas was turned off at the meter there should be no way for air to get into the gas supply, think of a tap just because you don't switch the tap on you still have water as soon as you turn it on, but even if you had air in there it would have gone by you pressing the button for an hour (although i'm not sure how your managed to keep that pressed in for that amount of time)

    it wasn't easy I can tell you :mad: it wasn't continuous, just stopped now and again to change hands.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 247.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 603.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.3K Life & Family
  • 261.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.