Pilot error?

[nickvansant]

My 1976 Argosy 20 has been a champ. While commissioning this past weekend, I found the pilot light to be strange. Instead of getting a nice blue flame at the end of the large, elbow-shaped tube, I'm getting a chaotic orange flame where the air holes are located at the beginning of the tube. It doesn't heat the thermocouple (perhaps thankfully) and consequently won't gun on gas. Have fuel, stove and furnace work fine. Electric operation is good also. Any tips? Clogged pilot tube? Screen is in place. Help.

[rickandsandi]

Have you checked for....



Get some pipe cleaners and clean out the inside of the flow tube. That's the first place I would start.

[nickvansant]

WHOA!!! I'll get some pipe cleaners and a baseball bat. I hate spiders, more than snakes. Is the flow tube this elbow shaped baby I'm looking at?

[lewster]

Nick,

A word of caution......................

When you are cleaning out your LP burner and feed tubes, be especially careul of the tiny little gas orifice at the end of the LP tube attached to the gas valve. This is a precision deilled opening and NOTHING should be put thru it except compressed air and maybe carb cleaner and then air. Anything solid can and probably will deform his hole and require you to get a new one.

[nickvansant]

Have pipe cleaner...will ream.

Wire Palladin
San Francisco

[vinstream]

Many units have an adjustment screw (some where in-line from the regulator to the out flow) that adjusts the gas flow... I find the more gas the more air contact the more orange the flame becomes in color... the less flow the more blue the flame becomes...

[nickvansant]

Thanks Rick and Lew,
Found light,white cobweb(?) below the screen at end of pilot tube. Easily disrupted with fine copper wire. Nice blue pilot flame there now...but still getting flame at vent holes at other end of P.T. Is this bad? Doesn't seem right. There is an orifice just upstream of these holes. Can I go back in and pull the screen off to get more cleaning inside? At what point am I in the market for new tube?

[lewster]

Originally Posted by nickvansant

Thanks Rick and Lew,
Found light,white cobweb(?) below the screen at end of pilot tube. Easily disrupted with fine copper wire. Nice blue pilot flame there now...but still getting flame at vent holes at other end of P.T. Is this bad? Doesn't seem right. There is an orifice just upstream of these holes. Can I go back in and pull the screen off to get more cleaning inside? At what point am I in the market for new tube?

Pull it, clean it and try again. You might be getting some back-flow of LP from the end of the burner supply tube. You also might be out of adjustment at the gas valve (assuming that your valve is adjustable and has a pressure port)

You will need a manometer to read the LP pressure, and the appropriate fitting to attach to the little set screw that covers the threads of the pressure port. You should be reading 11" water guage with 50% of the LP appliances running. The stove and this unit would suffice. You then adjust to 11" and you're good to go!

[Tarheel]

I think there is a thread in here as to how to make a manometer, I copied it at some point but not sure where I put it. when you finally get it clean put 1/2 dog flea collar in the compartment this will keep the spiders and their mites out. Replace twice a year, cheap ones work as good as expensive ones.

[fotochop]

I found a manometer on ebay for around 25 bucks...old style that you fill yourself but works fine..fyi

[nickvansant]

Muchas gracias, Amigos.
She's burnin' true blue and no extraneous flaming. A can of "dust remover" blew out the cobwebs and cleaned the orifice. Su-weet! You guys are the best. I figure if I paid me Airstream prices, it was a $240 job. Of course, who would pay me $85/hr.?

[Goin camping]

Originally Posted by nickvansant

Have pipe cleaner...will ream.

Wire Palladin
San Francisco

Good one!

[lewster]

Originally Posted by nickvansant

Muchas gracias, Amigos.
She's burnin' true blue and no extraneous flaming. A can of "dust remover" blew out the cobwebs and cleaned the orifice. Su-weet! You guys are the best. I figure if I paid me Airstream prices, it was a $240 job. Of course, who would pay me $85/hr.?

Hey! $85 is a good rate!! You should see what they charge in FL and CA .

[richinny]

Originally Posted by lewster

Hey! $85 is a good rate!! You should see what they charge in FL and CA .

...since you mention it, how much? ;-)

[lewster]

Originally Posted by richinny

...since you mention it, how much? ;-)

Depending on who you ask......................$110-135/hour.

[Excella CM]

Let's see Nick. Seven people responed with advice and the job's worth $240. Assuming that, like mine, your own time is worth nothing, then 240/7 comes out to $22 bucks a piece (you can keep the change). You can just send it to me if you like–I'm sure I'll run into the ohter guys sooner or later–save you 6 stamps.