Hi everyone,
I realize this heater, as some would say, belongs in a museum. But Id like to get a few more years out of it if I can.
The heater is a Teledyne Laars Series 2 ESC 400k BTU heater running on natural gas. About six months ago the temp dials and the on/off switch were getting flaky - the heater finally stopped working last week. When I opened it up it was clear the wiring needed some TLC. Ive just completed replacing the ignition control unit and the temperature panel along with some other wires that were fairly well melted. After I replaced all the electrical parts (which was almost everything) I tried to fire it up - but no go. All the electrical troubleshooting steps check out, and I can trace all the way to arcing coming off the spark line for the pilot. Turning the furnace switch on brings the sound of the furnace clicking to light itself - everything electrical appears to be good.
So I think I'm down to two parts left that are keeping the heater from firing - the pilot light assembly or the main gas switch. Picture below is of the main gas switch with the main gas line coming in from the left. I was going to pull the pilot line that goes down into the right side of the gas switch but unscrewing the nut brings the line with it, and its going to break (you can already see a twist in the line from my attempts to unscrew the nut). I cant get the pilot line off the switch. Based on other posts I thought if I could get that line off I could tell if Im getting gas there - and that would tell me if the pilot assembly is bad or if the gas switch is bad. But Im stuck.
So lets assume I replace both parts. Here are my questions:
Thanks everyone - the forums are always so helpful! Pic below:
I realize this heater, as some would say, belongs in a museum. But Id like to get a few more years out of it if I can.
The heater is a Teledyne Laars Series 2 ESC 400k BTU heater running on natural gas. About six months ago the temp dials and the on/off switch were getting flaky - the heater finally stopped working last week. When I opened it up it was clear the wiring needed some TLC. Ive just completed replacing the ignition control unit and the temperature panel along with some other wires that were fairly well melted. After I replaced all the electrical parts (which was almost everything) I tried to fire it up - but no go. All the electrical troubleshooting steps check out, and I can trace all the way to arcing coming off the spark line for the pilot. Turning the furnace switch on brings the sound of the furnace clicking to light itself - everything electrical appears to be good.
So I think I'm down to two parts left that are keeping the heater from firing - the pilot light assembly or the main gas switch. Picture below is of the main gas switch with the main gas line coming in from the left. I was going to pull the pilot line that goes down into the right side of the gas switch but unscrewing the nut brings the line with it, and its going to break (you can already see a twist in the line from my attempts to unscrew the nut). I cant get the pilot line off the switch. Based on other posts I thought if I could get that line off I could tell if Im getting gas there - and that would tell me if the pilot assembly is bad or if the gas switch is bad. But Im stuck.
So lets assume I replace both parts. Here are my questions:
- How in the world do I get that main gas line unscrewed from the gas switch? If I unscrew the pipe so it unthreads from the switch the pipe is tightening at the other end where it goes to the main line on the outside of the furnace. That pipe isnt going to do that - how do I get the main gas line out of the switch correctly?
- Any ideas on how to get the pilot line off the switch? That nut should screw off without the line twisting, yes? should I snap the line just above the nut and then re-attach with a slightly shorter line?
- Other ideas Im missing? Any other ways to troubleshoot?
Thanks everyone - the forums are always so helpful! Pic below: