Can't turn 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

[dalehileman]

I'm not sure what a VisoFlame Tube is though I presume you're able to get the pilot lit but then after 30 seconds when you let up the knob, it goes out, and you're asking whether instead, you should be able while holding it down to turn the knob to ON while it's still lit. However, if that's the case I'm not sure why you'e asking whether the knob should come back up

I have had similar experiences with space heaters and suspect that 30 seconds just isn't long enough to open the thermal valve to the pilot. I also suspect that's the same reason you can't turn it to ON. With my valve--once I have held the knob down long enough, say a minute--when I let go the knob comes back up and the pilot remains lit, whereupon I'm able to turn the knob to ON

Anyhow I'm hoping somebody using your heater can better analyze the difficulty. If all else fails you might try tapping it lightly all round so as to dislodge whatever

EDITED to add: By the sheerest coincidence this morning I was unable to light my home office space heater, with symptoms very similar to yours. I could hear the pilot come on with a faint pop but then as I held the knob down apparently it must have quietly extinguished because as you describe, after letting up and setting to ON still no luck. My first venture was to whack the pilot assembly with the handle of a screwdriver whereupon sure enough a rain of ashes descended. But now--unlike previous attempts over the past decade--I was still unable to successfully ignite the pilot

However I reasoned that my difficulty might be attributed to its not getting sufficient gas so sure enough after turning its adjustment screw 1/2 turn counterclockwise the pilot now comes on with a more resounding hiss and flash whereafter everything was ok and my fingers are just now warming up enough for me to post this PS

In my own defense I should have realized years ago, when I discovered that an entire minute was required, that wasn't because of a slow thermal valve but with the pilot on the verge of extinction it simply took longer to reach the required temp

[dalehileman]

Hi cs, please see edit above

[dalehileman]

Forgive me for bubbling this back up but surely other participants must use a similar heater

Where is everyone