I have a Charmglow 300TQ unvented gas fireplace. It worked beautifully until I had the 100 lb bottled gas tank refilled three days ago. I am now having two problems, which I imagine are related:
1) The pilot burns just fine but the flame won't come on by itself when the room temperature drops. This has never been an issue before.
2) I have to turn the flame on manually. It stays lit for 5 to 10 minutes and then the entire heater–both the flame and the pilot–shuts down. It lights again immediately and again, the pilot will stay on but the flame doesn't come on automatically.
I take the fake logs out and clean the pilot assembly (including the nozzle the gas emerges from) every time I refill the tank.
I've done all the troubleshooting steps I can do without a multimeter, but I'm ordering one today so that I can do those steps, too.
One note: If the pilot assembly needs replacing, I'm going to have to do it myself. I'm … let's say financially challenged right now. I can't afford labor to have someone come in. Is this something I'll be able to do myself or am I up the proverbial creek? Anybody have a rough idea of the cost of a pilot assembly? I've looked online but I can't seem to find my model Charmglow anywhere. I suspect it's pretty old since it was here when I bought the house four years ago and the guy who sold me the place didn't leave anything new behind.
I'd be grateful for any input anyone has.
Best Answer
Standard gas log sets are fairly simple. If the gas fireplace shuts off after a few minutes, it's pretty much always going to be a pilot head issue, or a valve issue. Take note that it’s the pilot head, not the thermocouple. The whole assembly is usually replaced, and they usually come at the same price. New models usually come with improved designs.
It is recommended to replace the whole pilot head instead of just the thermocouple. If you're still having issues that the gas fireplace will not stay lit, then the valve needs to be replaced. There are just no other moving parts that can go wrong on this.
One thing you can try gas fireplace shuts off after a few minutes: there's a small screw on your valve that regulates the size of your pilot flame. You can turn that screw to make it bigger. This can be done in case the pilot flame is too small to do its job. Be careful though, sometimes the screw has a spring behind it and will shoot out and you'll have a difficult time finding it. If you mess with the screw, slowly relieve pressure and make sure it's still threaded into the valve.
If this doesn’t resolve the problem, you may want to consider replacing the valve. Here’s a useful article regarding DIY valve replacement. Hope this helps.