By way of background, the heater is a ventless gas firep;lace made by Perfecta. Specifically it's a Perfecta Four Seasons model. I also want to establish these names for internet search purposes, cause the problem can't just be happening to me. The bottom line is that perfectly functional appliances are trashed by the millions for lack of service options. And most of it is bullshit little fixes, such as I did with comprssed air and some patient wrenching today.
Nice rig. Simple little 3' tall, black firebox that connects to a gas line exactly like stove.
I'm the third owner of it this reliably straightforward space heater. But last November it stopped working. My hard-boiled little hillside cottage became cold and depressing on february nights. And I of course took to bed.
Finally getting around to messing with it, I turned the gas valve back on continuously turned and struck the PEX spark generator but no gas lit up. There was no gas present at the pilot. This is not an encouraging looking machine as far as home repair goes. I have a fair bit of experience installing gas lines and plumbing appliances. I know the norms of safe installation, and I've staked my life on it. But this time I was looking at enclosed, complicated safety controls. I don't feel quite as comfortable messing with those..
The internet offered little in the way of help. Combing pages, I found little but hapless inquiries describing pretty much the same problem I was having. Not one had the least answer. But then one gem of a self-less article was written by a heater repairman. The author had, quite gentleman-like, written an article with hand-drawn illustrations, explaining the source of 90% of gas heater pilot problems. The longer I live, the greater is my warmth for those who humbly offer what they have learned to the rest of us. Free, hope this helps...
Simple diagnosis. The smallest, most crucial part of this simple device, a pilot nozzle in which fuel and air mix, is prone to clogging up with spider webs and dust bunnies. A few shots of air from a compressor can restore the Perfecta to new. And accessability to that knowledge could take tens of thousands of useful steel fireboxes out of scrap vessels to China, where they will be turned around into skyscrapers and bridges over there. This is our poetic American steel, fueled by coke from West Virginia, and cooled by the water of the great lakes. At this moment the U.S. is exporting millions of tons of hard won American product for pennies. Steel is now a precious metal.
I'm juggling here, trying to write a hybrid story. It's one part DIRECTIONS FOR REPAIRING PILOT ON PERFECTA FOUR SEASONS GAS HEATER. Cause that's what I was looking for, but it didn't exist in the universe. So I put in the time and chased that hog all the way to the barn. I hope this can help other people, and stop the sin of throwing away useful stuff. I think we all just have to slow our consumption of new junk. It's never as good as the old junk anyway, except for flat TVs and a few other things.
The industrial American worker is a critically endangered species. Retreated to backyard shops, hotrodders and gearheads. But a wealth of knowledge is stored in the minds of these amazing innovators. The game is fabrication and reverse engineering. You can hack your way out of planned obsolensce and waste. The rest of this post is nuts and bolts.
HOW I FIXED THE PERFECTA FOUR SEASON HEATER
tools needed: Small adjustable wrench, offset phillips screwdriver, small phillips screwdriver, air compressor and
To clean the pilot jet/nozzle and venturi on the Perfecta, you must remove it from the unit. Assuming you have already turned off the gas and disconnected the flexible feedline from the wall, put the unit on a table or saw horses. Don't kill your back trying to wrench down low. Now nice, comfortable and well-lit, looking into the back of the fireplace, you'll see a 5"x5" steel box/control manifold, that has the dials on the front side. Looking from the back, six inches away to its left hangs the pilot jet/PEX igniter/thermo-couple. These have to come off for cleaning and they must all be disconnected from the manifold. Starting with pilot gas feed tube, back off both threaded brass connectors with a small adjustable wrench. The piece of tubing will come away. Keep it in a safe place, remember how it went.
Then, using the same wrench, back off the threaded connector which joins the thermocouple wire to the control manifold. This will also come away, but remember the routing of the heliacal wire. You're going to want to put it back just the way it was. This piece is a safety device and its proper function is vital to the unit. The actual pilot flame heats the thermocouple, until its sensor knows that the pilot flame is present and it's safe to send gas to the main lines. This was how they dealt with accidents from gas appliances spewing out limitless BTUs of gas.
In my internet searching I saw another company was selling the remaining parts for this unit from the now out-of-business original equipment manufacturer. A new thermocouple is $275.
So finally the small black wire which goes to the PEX igniter must be disconnected from the control module in order to get the pilot jet free for air-cleaning. With a small phillips-head screwdriver, remove the single screw securing the plastic control panel face, on the front bottom of the Perfecta unit. With the plastic cover out the way you'll see the terminal connector for this small back wire. Pull it out straight, firmly. It's an automotive solderless terminal.
Okay now you must have in your possession an offset-phillips head screwdriver. That's a short two headed driver that resembles one half of a swastika. It can turn a screw which has absolutely no access from a regular driver. I bought a set at a local hardware store for $3. With patience and a needle-nose vicegrip retaining the nut I finally got the pilot assembly bracket off the flange which holds it in place. I was really, really happy. Because I didn't want to give up on this thing. You can do it.
The three pieces all remain attached to the steel bracket. Take it and put it to the compressed air blower nozzle. First from the back, in the direction gas travels through it. Blast and blast. Then the venturi, which consists of two 1/32nd holes on opposite side of the pilot jet cylinder. Mine was completely full of spiderwebs and dust. It was great to see it blasting out the stuff.
I inspected the business end of the pilot jet, and there was something still lingering in there. It moved with the passing air, but did not dislodge. Fortrunately in my desk drawer I had a straightened out paper clip, and used it to dig the mysterious matter out. To my amazement, I found a mama spider who had elected to nest in the front of my heater's blowtorch pilothead. She was surely killed by carbon dioxide in that spot. Anyway, I got her and her egg sack out. And I was satisfied a far as explaining the unstable, misshapen pilot flame which failed to heat the thermo-couple. Blasted more air through, then went to reassemble. All the pieces go back together in the same order. Your pilot jet and venturi should be spotlessly free of dust. Take time to vacuum out the whole control area. Even wipe it down with a damp cloth.
There's a basic rule of safety concerning gas and electrical connections. Make them right, and make them tight. But don't smoke 'am and go deforming the threads. You'll know when the connector is tight enough. It will stop. Remake all the connections, paying attention to the routing of the wires. When satisfied, reconnect to the gas line and prime the pilot by holding down the switch. You should be in business. If you're nervous about a burst of gas flame, maybe wear a woolie cap and a leather jacket like in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.
Err on the side of safety, but stay independent.
But this vital piece is mandated by safety legislation to be inaccesible to the consumer. Fair enough. There are places for government and regulation. Burning city blocks are not good. However, I would argue that men and women should always be improving their knowledge of how stuff works. At the very least you can have some oversight when repairman come around.
To say it bald as Larry, we have forgotten how to fix stuff, let alone create it, in North America.
It just hooks up to flexible gas line and creates a lot of warmth. But more importantly, it doesn't need an exhaust pipe to the atmosphere. That just saves a lot of work.
