Sometimes when we go out to perform repairs on a gas appliance (logs, insert, or fireplace), we can’t get the appliance fixed on our first visit, or we replace a component and discover a new problem. We understand the confusion and frustration that can result from this. Unfortunately, this situation is sometimes unavoidable, for the following reasons:
First, although there are some common problems and parts among gas appliances, there are many, many different brands and systems out there, as well as a great number of proprietary parts. It would be impossible for our technicians to train on every brand and understand how each and every unit is put together. Additionally, many manufacturers will not provide tech support or their proprietary parts to dealers who do not sell their products. While we will work on brands we don’t sell, we cannot guarantee that we can solve your problem in one service call.
Second, even a fairly basic freestanding log set is quite a complex appliance, with several parts that have to work together to give you the lovely flame you’re looking for. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to diagnose which specific component is the problem in any given situation. For example, it may be that your wall switch has failed, but that your pilot assembly is also malfunctioning. However, since the wall switch won’t work, we have no way of diagnosing the faulty pilot assembly. Fixing one problem can sometimes reveal a second, deeper problem, which now needs to be addressed. For comparison, imagine a severe muscle sprain concealing tendon damage or a hairline fracture. The problems are related, but it’s much harder for a doctor to diagnose the underlying injury until the inflammation is addressed. Once we’ve solved the problem of the faulty wall switch, the malfunctioning pilot assembly shows up; it looks as if a new problem is happening, but it’s just that we had no way of knowing about it before.
Our technicians also sometimes encounter the dreaded Intermittent Fault, where a component of your hearth appliance has malfunctioned half the time you’ve been using it, and just happens to be working during our service call (this writer once had a similar problem with her computer, where errors would suddenly resolve themselves the second her computer-savvy friend sat down to take a look, only to reappear as soon as the friend had gone home). This is part of why we try to get as much information as possible when we’re scheduling your appointment; if we can describe the problem, and let the service technician know it’s only intermittent, that gives them additional ideas of what to look for, even if they can’t re-create the malfunction during their visit. Sometimes, though, the source of the problem eludes even our certified technicians, and we require more than one visit to fully resolve the issue.