Gas Heater - Control knob won't turn

[er23423]

I have a natural gas pool heater. The knob to go from Off/On/Pilot will not turn. It has been stuck on 'On'.
I was able to turn it in the past, but it appears stuck. Yes - I first push it in and then try but no luck.

I called American Home Shield(Warranty company) the tech came out today and left a note saying that there were spiders in the pilot line and it is clogged.
Not sure why he didn't clean it out - waiting on his phone call back.

He was able to turn the knob from 'On' to 'Off' but I can not move it from there. It is stuck.

Is this one issue or two? Should the control knob be able to be turned to Pilot or On even if the line is clogged?
My inexperienced mind thinks the knob would still be able to move but pilot would not light if clogged.

Thanks in advance

 

[danpik]

definitely two different issues. Spiders in the pilot will not cause the control knob to lock up. Does it look like water has been dripping on the valve? Does it push down as it should before you turn it? Sometimes these do turn hard especially in an outdoor situation. I doubt you will hear anything from the waranty tech. These guys are prety much clueless about these things. They will figure out some way of weasiling out of the claim.

 

[er23423]

danpik - thanks for you reply.

After much work jiggling around the knob I was able to get it to move free.

I tried unscrewing the pilot line but it snapped at the fitting. I found the replacement part online and will just replace the pilot line since it is only ~$15.
Should it be as simple as replacing the line by screwing both fittings on each end. One into the control assembly the other in the pilot assembly. It seems like the entire bottom burner assembly will slide out.

Thanks again - I really appreciate the help on this forum.

 

[danpik]

Glad to hear you got it to move. I forgot to add something in my first post...Please do not spray any penetrating oil or any oil of any kind on there to get it to move. Oil can and will damage the seals and ruin the valve.

The pilot line should be easy enough to replace. Yes the burner assembly should come out with no trouble. Clean everything up good and vacuum out the burner chamber before re-assembly.

 

[ps0303]

You never mention what brand/model you are working on. That's always helpful to know.

 

[er23423]

The model is Laars lite 175