I have a 5 year old built-in natural gas fireplace. It has electronic spark ignition and a wall thermostat. I just tried to start it but noticed that there is no gas reaching the pilot so no flame, so no fire. The igniter sparks and I confirmed that the main and service gas valves are ON. I don't hear gas flowing and I can't smell any gas. Nothing obviously obstructing the pilot opening itself (spider webs, dust, etc.). Is it is possible that the pilot light gas valve is stuck shut? If so, can this be fixed or is the whole gas valve (pilot and main burner) unit shot? How to test this? BTW, there is no "press-and-hold" button on the gas valve; it's all electronic. Thanks!
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Are you sure that it has a pilot light? In my limited experience a pilot light and spark ignition are mutually exclusive.– UkkoCommented Oct 3, 2019 at 20:45
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There are also the type of electronically controlled systems that use hot element ignitors made of silicon carbide that are heated with an electric current ... so no pilot light there either.– Michael Karas ♦Commented Oct 3, 2019 at 21:38
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1 Answer
I also believe you don't have an electronic spark ignition and a pilot. Although I don't have a thermostat, I do have a light switch which will turn on my logs burner. I suspect your thermostat turns on your burner. Suspect that your gas valve does have a pilot and therefore, a push-and-hold requirement to light the pilot because there is a safety thermocouple that must get heated up or the gas stops flowing to prevent an explosion/fire hazard. You may have missed a shut-off valve, so look for that. Otherwise, find the push-and-hold piece of the burner and turn it to the pilot position while pushing it in and light the pilot and hold the button long enough that the flame doesn't go out when you release which means the thermocouple heated up enough to allow gas to flow. Then your thermostat should work the logs/burner. Since you have the added complexity of a thermostat, you need to be sure the thermostat is getting power to operate. Usually, there is going to be a transformer that supplies power to the thermostat.
