<p>We have 2 new gas fireplaces. One was on and then turned itself off. The pilot light is also off, though the pilot light of the other one is still on. What does this mean, magic 8 ball? I tried calling my builder but just got voice mail. Will we die in our sleep of fumes? Or what?</p>
<p>Can’t you put a match near the pilot to relight it? It needs to be fixed now if it’s releasing gas. You should be able to smell it.</p>
<p>bethie - I’d find the gas valve and turn it to the off position. In direct vent fireplaces, there is a red or blue valve under the fireplace. In the meantime, if you don’t smell gas you should be okay.</p>
<p>Sometimes, the pilot light and the fire in my direct vent fireplace in the master just mysteriously goes out too. In fact, I just had it serviced yesterday and they discovered the electrical wires that kept the gas on was loose. In other words, the pilot light and the fire went out because there was no gas to fuel them.</p>
<p>A buildup of natural gas is explosive. Erewhon is correct, you should be able to smell it if the gas in on and the pilot is out, and you should be able to relight it with a match. However, if it is going out on its own regularly, it needs to be looked at.</p>
<p>I have a natural gas fireplace, the pilot goes out all the time, it’s been like that for 10 years, so far so good.</p>
<p>When the pilot light goes out on our gas fireplace (real windy days kill it), the gas then shuts off. If these are new fireplaces, and you don’t smell gas, you’re fine. One HVAC guy told me he never leaves the pilot going, because it does use some amount of gas. H re-lights our pilot light, but I’m too much of a wimp to do it…</p>
<p>This is propane. We don’t smell anything and I have a good sense of smell. I’m not sure I can even open the glass thing to get to where the flame should be.</p>
<p>When I was a kid, everything was fueled by natural gas–the oven, the water heater, the space heaters. I became very sensitive to the smell of natural gas because the pilots were always going out. Once my mother stuck her head in the oven while she tried to relight the pilot (at the back of the oven) with a match, and the gas had already built up to such an extent that the mini-explosion burned off her eyebrows, eyelashes and her bangs.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, Bethie, it won’t build up that fast in your house!</p>
<p>^^^X-posted. I don’t know much about propane, except that I use it when camping.</p>
<p>apmom - I hate relighting the bedroom pilot light because I have to lay on my belly on the cold floor with my arm stuck in a black hole (Lord only knows what sort of critters are in that hole) holding one button down and clicking another at the same time…all the while trying to avoid having the grate slam me in the head.</p>
<p>But with a husband overseas for weeks at a time, I have no choice but to handyman it…lol!!</p>
<p>Well thanks you guys. I can’t open it up. It probably won’t kill us overnight. If it does, mythmom and great lakes mom, you’re inheriting our son. But not his tuition bills. Thanks you guys for responding so fast.</p>
<p>bethie…if the front is sealed with a glass, it may be a direct vent. Do you have a grate along the floor that flips up? If so, look in there (the black hole) and see if you can locate a fuel cut off valve. I think you are fine, but if you turn it off you will have peace of mind.</p>
<p>midmo that happened to me once in West Virginia. My hair and eyebrows were singed and then I went to Cornell Nursing School in NYC and decided I needed a haircut so I went to Vidal Sassoon and the person was so snobby. I mean, a stove had blown up in my face! How am I going to look?</p>
<p>Bethie, Bullet here. We just built a house that also uses propane. Same set-up for the furnace (glass front, no visible sign of a pilot light). Sounds like you have a similar system to mine, where you have an electric ignitor system that automatically turns on and lights the propane on demand (i.e. when the furnace turns on.) We had a similar problem, fan would go on, you would hear the furnace running, but we only got cold air blowing out of the vents, and when you open the front of the furnace it was obvious that the propane wasn’t lit becuase you didn’t see the flames.</p>
<p>Called my HVAC guy in. He looked at the system for 5 mintues and just pressed the reset button on the electric ignition system, then showed me how to troubleshoot this myself for future reference. </p>
<p>My advice: call an HVAC or plumbling / heating guy to come over and reset your system. They can then show you the proper maintanence for your system and how to trouble shoot it. Call your builder first, and if you can’t reach him leave a voice mail saying either he gets his HVAC guy there to fix it and give you this service, or you will be forced to get your own and you’ll see him in small claims court for the costs.</p>
<p>idmom</p>
<p>there WAS a grate along the floor and I turned it off. You guys are unbelievable! Let me know if you have a psychological crisis someday. Or need a good recipe for pies or popovers.</p>
<p>You should totally smell leaking propane, very distinct smell!!</p>
<p>excellent bethie! Hope I didn’t scare you about the critters…invariably, when I have to mess with my fireplace, I run my hand through cobwebs behind that grate and freaaaak out!</p>
<p>Sounds like you were able to locate your gas shut-off valve. That should keep you safe unitl the HVAC guy can get there to resset the electric ignition system. </p>
<p>Propane furnaces use this kind of system because they burn the gas undrr pressure and the flame is hotter. This also causes your ignitor to sometimes trip it’c circuit, causing you to need to reset it.</p>
<p>bethie: will find a way to pay tuition bills. If I can do it for two, I can do it for three. No worries there.</p>
<p>Is it possible you are out of propane? Pilot light cannot stay on if gas is gone.</p>
<p>We leave our pilot light out because it uses too much propane.</p>
<p>Bethie: Thanks for entrusting us with your son. Will get him back and forth to his wonderful school. But you have apparently found the keys to living a long and happy life with a gas fireplace or two, so all should be good. </p>
<p>Gas fireplace is up there on most wanted list for my house. Good for the resale value, right? If there is any resale value after this housing market settles out.</p>