Gas fire pit will not stay lit......

tangled in wires

Unfortunatley I have a gas fire place that will not stay lit. Its a pretty terrible design in my opinion, it has no pilot flame just an on off gas valve. The gas valve is controlled by a thermocouple that has no pilot flame so it has to get hot enough to open the gas valve by sitting in the flames. The problem is that this is a pretty huge gas fire place and the flames lift right off the burner especially if their is a breeze. With the way its designed the flames sit way above the thermocouple so it never gets hot enough. The thermocouple works fine if only the flames would actually heat it. I was thinking of maybe building a metal frame around the thermocouple so when the metal heats up it radiates back onto the thermocouple? Does anyone have any ideas how I could get that thermocouple into the flames as when theirs a good draft and a breeze that thermocouple doesn't even get touched by the flame.



Here's what the fireplace looks like only it has a larger chimney. Any help would be great thanks.



[url=https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=gas%20outdoor%20fireplace%20with%20chimney&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Srk1KbwSXeafZM&tbnid=_0P-945_BriIcM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2F<a href="http://www.mumetz.org%2Fconsider-these-points-before-constructing-an-outdoor-fireplace.html&ei=9p1RUp33B4j84APFgYHQCQ&bvm=bv.53537100,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNG0j51AjHx9tG27A6ObIxKXYfchxw&ust=1381166956774764">www.mumetz.org%2Fconsider-these-points-before-constructing-an-outdoor-fireplace.html&ei=9p1RUp33B4j84APFgYHQCQ&bvm=bv.53537100,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNG0j51AjHx9tG27A6ObIxKXYfchxw&ust=1381166956774764</a>]<img src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5gc0xeUhnYX16lSlmNtKwjl1iyk5kvmnbZHh8VSEqsCsFcyh0Eg" width="440" height="293" alt="" />

Tim McElwain

Get in touch with

a fireplace installer in your area or a local gas fireplace insert store and have a professional take a look at the installation. For one thing it is outdoors and will be affected by all kinds of atmospheric influences. You might be better of burning wood!

tangled in wires

wrap a wire around the thermocouple

uh oh Tim I am the local gas and fireplace expert..... not really. on a serious note I have the misfortune of installing and servicing hundreds gas logs. This was the first time I really couldn't fix something and the company I work for would never call someone else.  I Did some asking around and was suggested to wrap a wire around the thermocouple kind of like wrapping copper wire around and aquastat bulb. My only fear is that the thermocouple would then stay hot too long and not snap shut the gas valve if needed on some kind of safety shut down as the wire would stay hot. 



meh its a really poor design this thing . I don't know might just tell the office that I have no idea.

Tim McElwain

This thing does

not sound very safe. I would either put in a pilot retrofit with 100% shut off gas valve or leave it inoperative.

tangled in wires

thanks tim

Thanks Tim agreed. 



That's what I think would be the best answer to this solution.  I will propose this to the office and they can either go with it or find another guy to wrap it in wire.



thank you tim 

Bob Harper

bad application

There was no listing for these appliances until 2008 so many are cobbled together. I've seen some really crazy stuff incorporated into their designs. I would refuse to work on them and only remove them as I have done before. There is so much that can go wrong with them and they do not have a sterling track record. Even with wood, you still have concerns with a wind shift causing flames to shoot 3-5 feet horizontally where they can burn people or ignite nearby combustibles. The listing is ANSI Z21.97-2012 and is now referenced in the IRC and IFGC.