Gas Fireplace Troubleshooting- Ignitor

My Lopi Radiant gas fireplace insert has been installed for 4 years now. Every year I do multiple cleanings on the blower motor fins but this is the first time I have needed to do this extensive of troubleshooting.

If you hear high pitch buzzing or grinding when the blower motor turns on then this is the tall tale sign that the fins need to be cleaned free of the dust accumulation.

  • I have found that using a soft bristle paint brush is the easiest way to clean the blower motor fins.

If the fire place flames will not turn on or they are intermittently on and quickly turn off then you could have a clog. This was my first time having this issue with my Lopi Radiant fireplace and the Travis Industries professional repair guide didn’t cover two of these basic troubleshooting areas.

Issue:

  • The pilot light appears with flame but burners will not turn on. The control board goes into lock out mode.
  • Burners light but immediately turn off- lock out mode
  • Burners will ignite but only with front sealed glass off.

These issues are a result of one of a few possibilities. I will cover the most overlooked and easiest to fix issues

#1. Clogged gas line

#2. Clogged air intake or exhaust

#3. A bad flame sensor or thermocouple

Clogged Gas Supply

ALWAYS START WITH INSPECTING THE PILOT LIGHT FLAME

With the logs removed look closely at the pilot assembly flame!!!

The flame should be flowing forcefully out from under the pilot hood. If the flame is coming from the holes in the pipe fitting and not the pilot hood then there is a clog that needs to be removed. For me this clog was a dead spider which required me to remove the pilot hood.

For this I removed the burners using a 1/4” bit socket wrench. Then a 7/16” wrench to remove the pilot hood. There is a removable sleeve inside of the pilot hood fitting that needs to be pulled out to expose and remove any clog. This reducer prevents clogs from moving down further into the gas supply line.

Failure to identify a gas supply line clog can result in permanent damage to the pilot assembly unit.

Ventilation

Once out on the roof and at the chimney flue remove the cap and identify the air intake vs exhaust. Some caps are threaded twist off and others are held in place with sheet metal screws. Look for signs of wasp nest or birds nests.

You will need a size appropriate nylon bristle flue cleaner. Lopi radiant medium is a 3” diameter flue. Gain access to the attachment points of the flue. The lower portion of the flue will need to be removed to clean out any nests that may have dropped down into the flue.

This is only accessible by removing any fascia sheet metal surround pieces that cover the opening of the fireplace.

Bad Thermocouple or Flame Sensor

First Identify if your ignitor assembly uses a flame sensor or a thermocouple/thermopile.

The Lopi Repair Guide does address how to troubleshoot this issue for TNR flame Sensor.

#1 turn gas supply line off

#2. Using the AC on your auto ranging multi-meter place one lead on the sensor and the other on ground. Turn the unit on. If the sensor has continuity you will get a reading of 50+ volts when sparking. If no voltage or nominal (single digit) then there is no continuity on the sensor.

Other Possible Causes

Bad Gas valve solenoid

For this it is possible to do a gas valve continuity test and lastly you may need to call a service tech to do a gas pressure test.

Lopi Fireplace Repair technician guide.pdfDownload