Can't Turn Heater Valve From Pilot To "on"

[csledge]

I've got a fairly old pool heater (Teledyne Labs XE) that worked pretty well last year but this year I can't seem to get the pilot lit. It has a General Controls valve and I'm able to turn the valve to Pilot and light the Visoflame tube (pushing down on the valve while lighting).

After holding for 30 seconds, I should be able to continue turning it counter-clockwise to "On" but it seems to be stuck and I can't turn it past Pilot. It almost seems like it's hitting a 'stop' or something that's preventing it from turning. I tried to turn it while pushing it down and not pushing it down.

After pushing the valve and letting go, should it come back up? It may be gunked up because after releasing it, it stays pushed down. I need to grab the valve with pliers and ease it back up to 'release' it (but then the Visoflame tube goes out..).

Thanks for any feedback!

Colin

 

[waste]

Colin, welcome to TFP!!

Sounds like you're doing things right

If the spring that pushes the control knob up is a little gunked up, don't pull up so hard with the pliers.

If you can find the "sweet spot" on pulling up the knob and be able to turn it to "ON", the heater should function normally

However, it sounds like you'll need to replace the "Robert Shaw valve" at some point