Raypak 206A natural gas heater won't fire up

[scowar]

Purchased in May 2014. Electronic ignition. No issues with this thing ever until I tried to fire it up for the first time this year. Went through all startup functions like it normally does, however during the "spark" readout phase it just continually goes through the 3 even clicks I guess you'd call it...couple seconds break....3 even clicks....couple seconds break...on and on. Normally it fires up after the first 3 clicks. Anyway after about 90 seconds of it doing this over and over I get a readout that says "Ignition failure - no pilot sensed". That doesn't stop it from continuing to go through the clicks, it continues to try until I turn the unit off. I'm fairly certain the unit is getting gas. I bled the line from the house to the sediment trap so I know there's gas to that point, which is about a foot away from the unit. I emailed Raypak and a rep wrote back with the following short reply "Most probably needs the pilot cleaned but this must be done by a qualified gas service company". Before I spend the money on a service call, is it that difficult to clean the pilot and does that sound like it could be the issue? It has a Honeywell electronic gas ignition valve if that matters.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[ps0303]

Look under inside to see if the pilot lit or not. Be careful though. If the pilot isn't lit you could try lighting the unit with a long BBQ lighter while it's in the spark mode. Sometimes after they have sat over the winter it needs a jump start per say. But be careful and don't hold the lighter there very long or it could signal the gas valve to open thinking the pilot is lit. If that doesn't do it then I guess you might need the pilot cleaned.

 

[scowar]

Strange...was vacuuming the pool late last evening and decided to turn the heater on just to see what happens (expecting the same issue of course) and voila, it turned on no problem first try as if nothing was ever wrong. Maybe the gas hadn't actually made it that extra foot or so from the shut off valve near the trap to the actual pilot the day before. I shut the gas valves at both the meter and near the unit itself when I winterize it. Anyway, thanks for the reply Paul.

 

[iceflow]

I have a 407A that on a couple of occasions over the last 6 years has failed to ignite. If yours is similar, and you have checked that the pilot doesn't light as per PS0303 post, you can clean the pilot assy as follows. Make sure the gas is completely off at the valve and main supply before doing anything. Disconnect the pilot metal tube that runs from the gas control switch to the burner tray. There are two Philips head screws that hold the igniter assy to the burner tray. One of the screws should have a ground wire attached. Remove the igniter assy, might take a bit of jiggling around. I used a spark plug wire brush to clean the igniter and pilot tube 'mesh'. Check the gap between the igniter and pilot mesh as per the manual. I’d go gentle with it as I’m not sure how resilient these igniters are.
Inside the pilot tube is a small brass insert that has the tiniest of holes for the pilot gas feed. From the 'mesh' end of the pilot tube, push the brass insert out using a long piece of wire, note which way the insert goes back. Clean the insert up and make sure that hole is clear. I've used isopropyl and a single strand of 14AWG and or similar to pass through that hole. Reassemble everything, make sure the ground lead is not in the exhaust line of fire from the burners. Re-attach the pilot tube, I always do a soapy bubble test when I put the gas supply back on and also when she fires up. If all looks safe give her a go. If in doubt about anything, turn off the gas and call a pro. The manuals are available from Raypak or INYO pools as a pdf download. I’ve found them very useful. Hope this helps.