Empire furnace help!

[Iambjm]

I have an empire furnace in my wheelhouse that is only 4 years old, last year it wouldn't light so I took it to an RV dealer he replaced the piezo igniter and my regulator. The dang thing won't light again. Any ideas about what could be wrong?

[Iceboat2]

Can you light the pilot light? If so, this happen to us and we replace the thermostat...works like a charm.

[Boss Hogg]

This happened to me also. Tried everything I knew. Nothing worked until I replaced the regulator. The new regulator had a larger opening for the gas.

[pikechaser]

Pilot doesn't light? or pilot lit & burner wont come on? If pilot wont stay lit, could be gas pressure problem, thermopile, dirty pilot. You could change the thermopile yourself. They can be bought at some hardware stores, fireplace dealers, etc.. Im sure you could find a video of it on youtube. Checking gas pressure's requires special tools.

[Iambjm]

Yes, pilot comes on but won't stay lit. After a couple hours of trying last night it finally stayed lit.

[Iambjm]

This happened to me also. Tried everything I knew. Nothing worked until I replaced the regulator. The new regulator had a larger opening for the gas.

The regulator is brand new and I only seem to have this problem when it is really cold.

[Walleyehooker]

The pilot tube may have rust or bugs in it and may need to be cleaned out with a torch tip cleaner. Happens a lot when these sit for long periods with out being used. If it is plugged a little the flame wont reach or heat the thermal couple enough to stay lit. You can also heat the thermal couple with a torch a little and see if the pilot stays lit after that.

[two cups]

You can try this. Turn off both tanks, disconnect gas lines from both tanks. Go in the fish house and turn on the gas stove for a little while. Turn stove burners back off and reconnect the gas lines to the tank. Then the tank you want on, open the valve VERY slowly. When the valve is open go back in the house and try the furnace again. This might work for you. Good luck

[B-man715]

If it only happens when it is cold out, gas pressure is very likely the problem.

Sounds like the thermocouple functions fine from your description (problem is only with the pilot light itself, right?)

Since you already replaced the big regulator, start with the small things.

Is your propane tank over half full?

If so, have you tried a different tank?

Does your stove work (full flame) when the furnace acts up?

If you answer yes to all of the above questions, I would agree that the pilot tube itself is clogged, OR the small regulator on the furnace itself is faulty or has moisture/ice in it.

Do you have a water trap installed under the furnace? (a vertical tee with a small pipe and a plug)

Hope this helps

Edit: I thought about for another minute (another small thing).....K.I.S.S. ......Since it did eventually work..... Have you tried lighting the pilot with a flame (match/lighter) instead of the piezo? (Remove the little glass window) If it lights fine doing that, the culprit is the piezo (even though it is new. If it is arching, it may be doing so in just the wrong spot and may need adjusting).

Even simpler, was this the first time you used it this year? Or has it worked recently for you?

[Smoker]

If the pilot goes out after holding the nob down for up to a minute it is the thermopile that is bad. It is like the sensor for the pilot

[B-man715]

Yes, pilot comes on but won't stay lit. After a couple hours of trying last night it finally stayed lit.

I missed this post about it lighting.

If it only happens when it's cold I would think pilot flame isn't tall enough to warm the thermocouple, or the thermocouple could be dirty.

[Iambjm]

I want to thank everyone who offered suggestions on my propane problem, I took the front cover off sat down in front of it with the manual and decided that maybe I should have someone a little bit more professional look at it for me. Because truthfully a lot of this is Greek to me and I feel nervous messing around with a heater. It has been working good since the night I finally got it started.