Fred: We met in the ABS problem thread. Just picked prius up today. Yippie. So, I'm Not sure If I'm posting this in correct place but I'm trying to follow your suggestion about posting my fireplace question in a different thread. Here was post: "Anyway, Thanks for the help. Now,,, if only someone could help me with my indoor fireplace insert. Pilot working but not lighting big burner. Double hooded pilot is lighting; I've cleaned the flame sensor with steel wool but still not lighting. Grrrrr....service wait is 3 weeks. Yes, I've learned my lesson to check fire place earlier in the season before service schedules fill up. Anyway, Thanks for the help." And your response send to Fred with Pic of controls. Did this find the right Fred? Here are the pic.
I'm not Fred, but I did pick up, from somewhere, long ago, that the grounding of the metal surfaces near the pilot flame and sensor rod is just as important as the cleanliness of the sensor rod itself. I probably picked that up from reading an article like this one: Flame Rectification Explained | HVAC Know It All The flame is detected thanks to the flame making an ionized path for current to flow between the sensor rod and nearby grounded metal. From your photos, I'm not totally sure I can guess the design of your burner. I see two rods bent toward the hooded pilot burner. I'm not sure if they're both for flame sensing, or for ignition, or something else. Is there a standing pilot (when the hooded pilot flame is off)? Or is the hooded pilot ignited by a spark? Anyway, the troubleshooting ideas in the article above might help. I don't know that there really is any Fred. This forum is his house of pancakes, but I think that's just for it to have a name.
