Best patio heater repair tips

Always begin with the simplest causes and work down the list. One of the most common mistakes is to misdiagnosing a pilot with a blockage and drilling a tiny hole to repair the issue! Never drill the pilot light, when the hole has been drilled the burner will probably act like a flame thrower and is a write-off!

First assess the gas cylinder has gas and can be switched on. This may be obvious but it can be hard to calculate how much gas is in the cylinder. Take the LPG hose of the regulator and turn the gas on for 2 to 3 minutes (no longer) outside and away from any naked flame and do not smoke while creating any repairs. If you can smell and hear gas them the cylinder has fuel.

To check whether the ignitor works just shove the piezo red button and put your thumb on the other end. You need to feel a sharp sting and hear it click, or even then the ignitor needs replacing. These are very easy to replace, simply pull on the ignitor lead off the back of the ignitor and unscrew to remove. Replace with a fresh ignitor.

The very first consumable part to wear would be a thermocouple, these will last anywhere between 1 year if you're unlucky and around 6 years depending on the usage of the patio heater, storage and kind. Changing the thermocouple fixes 90% of all shooting issues. An easy method to work out what the components look like and how to repair them is to see a terrace heaters thermocouple on the patio heater to get a match for your type of patio heater.

Next on the consumables list is the electromagnetic valve. If a new thermocouple has not fixed the light problem take a look at the electromagnetic valve. This sits inside the gas control valve and is obtained by unscrewing the bolt that retains the electromagnetic valve in place. When changing always use plumbers tape to reseal joints and before light the burner test using a leakage test. This is done by using a soap solution of one part liquid detergent (washing-up liquid) and one part water. The sterile solution is placed on the joints using a clean spray bottle or fresh paint brush. Turn the LPG gas supply on but don't light the burner. Make sure the security control valve on the burner is in the OFF position. If a leak is present, switch off the LPG gas source. Tighten any fittings and re-test. Continue checking until all leaks and relations are all dispersed according the manufacturer's instructions.

Third consumable component is really a tilt switch. These may cause similar firing problems to mimic a worn thermocouple. Easy to modify on most patio heaters, these are connected via two leads that push on to the tilt switch. Just unclip and swap for a brand new tilt switch. On some models the tilt switch is soldered on via 2 leads, if your patio heater's tilt switch was soldered you will have to adjust so.