Space heater's pilot light keeps a going out

   Space heater

ODS (oxygen depletion system) gas safety heaters/fireplaces. The most common problem with these is the pilot flame does not keep the safety thermocouple hot enough to hold the safety magnet open, thus shutting down the fire in just a short time.

I use a product called rustbuster to squirt through the pilot burner into the ODS chamber(a small chamber with flap just behind the pilot light) to remove tiny spider webs, dust, etc, that gets tangled up in the burner over the warmer months when the system is not in use. After making sure the ODS pilot chamber is cleared of these obstructions you move the control knob to the PILOT position press down on the knob and let the gas flow out of the pilot,,, snap down the red ignitor rapidly a dozen or more times till that flame light up. Hold down on that control knob till the tip of the safety thermocouple gets hot enough to generate electricity and hold the safety magnet in, allowing the pilot to stay lit. Next, move the control knob to ON position. in about 20 seconds the flame should come on.

You will know the heater is working properly if the pilot flame is a long pretty blue color (2 inchs) The beauty of this system is when the oxygen content of the home or room gets low, the chamber will lower the pilot flame and the safety will snap closed the main gas and no more fire.

When any dust or cobwebs get into it, it tends to quit after only a short while. That is why I flush the chamber from the pilot end with rust buster. Shop air will work, but rustbuster is best because it has a nice telescoping spout you can use to reach the pilot burner opening. You can get it at any hardware store for a cupla bucks.you never want to resize the pilot hole to make the flame bigger OOPS! doing so will cause you to have to purchase a new ODS pilot burner assembly.

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