# Gas Fireplace won't stay lit



## Jim1971 (Nov 28, 2013)

Hi,
I am new to this forum, so I hope I give all the required information.
We have a newly installed (3 weeks)  Mendota Full View 46 on propane.
It was working fine, until yesterday when I went to light it ... it lit up and the flames went down to off and the pilot went out too.   The pilot relit itself, and when I tried today it is still doing the above.
It is not unusually cold nor is it windy.  Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim


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## webbie (Nov 28, 2013)

Relit itself? Doesn't your unit require you to light it?

If it's electronic ignition, that's a whole ball of wax in itself. But if it is standing pilot, there are a couple possibilities....everything from a bad regular or regulator setting on the tank to kinks in the line to a bad thermopile, etc.

Very little chance it relates to weather - unless the LP tank is undersized and getting iced up because it's not designed to deliver the BTU required.


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## xtrordinair (Nov 29, 2013)

is the unit an IPI system or standing pilot


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## altmartion (Nov 29, 2013)

how long was the pilot out? from what I see in the spec sheet it is intermittent pilot. is it on a thermostat? is it the stat cycling? that's kind of what it sounds like. jump it out and see if it works correctly, if so the stat is most likely to blame


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## altmartion (Nov 29, 2013)

actually you should call the installer first.


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## xtrordinair (Nov 29, 2013)

sounds more like a problem with the flame sensor not maintaining rectification


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## DAKSY (Dec 1, 2013)

+1 on the flame rectification. Either that or the ground wire is loose...


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## xtrordinair (Dec 1, 2013)

DAKSY said:


> +1 on the flame rectification. Either that or the ground wire is loose...


good call daksy i have not seen to many loose or bad ground wires in the field but its possible


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## altmartion (Dec 1, 2013)

xtrordinair said:


> good call daksy i have not seen to many loose or bad ground wires in the field but its possible


it's fairly common in hvac. expansion and contraction of the metals will loosen grounds and other connections. it doesn't help that they sometimes come loose from the factory either. and normally they don't get checked. I am guilty sometimes too.
 revers polarity is a common problem. it will do exactly as the op is experiencing. but does that unit require line voltage?


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## xtrordinair (Dec 1, 2013)

it has line voltage for the control module for the fan and a possible accent light as well as the transformer to convert it to about 3volts dc .the system is designed to be able to run on batteries when theres a power outage except the light and fans of coarse.


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## altmartion (Dec 1, 2013)

xtrordinair said:


> it has line voltage for the control module for the fan and a possible accent light as well as the transformer to convert it to about 3volts dc .the system is designed to be able to run on batteries when theres a power outage except the light and fans of coarse.


usually polarity issues show immediately though. not to say it can't happen, lord knows how, but some things are unexplainable. unless someone has done some rewiring in the circuit or panel I would pretty much rule it out. gotta be something simple.


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## xtrordinair (Dec 1, 2013)

the biggest problem i run into is techs that have been there before me and they dont really know much about how these more modern fireplace control systems work so they just start throwing parts at it, especially when theres just venting/draft issues causing it to act up.


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## altmartion (Dec 1, 2013)

xtrordinair said:


> the biggest problem i run into is techs that have been there before me and they dont really know much about how these more modern fireplace control systems work so they just start throwing parts at it, especially when theres just venting/draft issues causing it to act up.


i'll be the first to admit, I don't know much about these. I do consider myself good at diagnostics. while they are not the same exactly, they are the same in principle. one thing I refuse to do even when I started 20+ years ago, I will not just throw parts at it. I will take the time to dig into the part that I think is the issue. most any part can be tested. yes, some are not worth it like a thermocouple but you still need a reading before you change it. I do however seem to follow some parts changers though. lol


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## Heatsource (Dec 2, 2013)

xtrordinair said:


> good call daksy i have not seen to many loose or bad ground wires in the field but its possible



+3 on flame sensor.
or venting issue pulling flame away from the sensor.(check for turbulence)
also, lots of grounding issues\
Monesson technical just told me that the ignitor wire being bundled with the flame sensor can cause frequent drop outs and re-lightings...


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