HELP! Old Lennox Hearth gas fireplace not working

[geb724]

My daughter recently (December) purchased a home in Merrick NY. There is a gas fireplace in a great room that was an addition to the house made many years ago. I visited her for 6 weeks during December-January and the FP was working fine. It is controlled by a hand held remote control. A few days before I left NY i put it on and I saw the flame but it went out after a few seconds. I used the remote again and it relit and stayed on. Since I have left NY, the unit does NOT even light anymore. New batteries in the remote and still nothing. My son-in-law has been trying to troubleshoot. The model number is KBV-38REN. He has made numerous calls to fireplace stores and they have all said parts are no longer available for that model. I have searched the internet for info/parts/manual for the unit with no luck. At this point I suggested they buy a new gas log set to replace it. One local fireplace store that they spoke to said most of them put out around 50k btu. The KBV-38REN is rated at 24k btu. The person at the store said the bricks might need to be replaced to handle the 50k btu. So my questions are:
1. Does that seem accurate about the bricks?
2. Is there anyway to determine what the bricks are rated for?
3. Anyplace where we could find parts for the unit?
4. Any other suggestions or solutions?

Obviously they want to minimize costs and hopefully will not have to replace the entire setup.

[Sooty]

If it did light and run for days I'd bet it is actually just fine and needs some attention bite the bullet and actually call somebody that knows what they are doing dicking around with it isn't going to work. Yes the brick thing is accurate there are differently rated firebricks and they aren't exactly cheap either. If it's on a remote there is a better than maybe chance that the remote is the problem they are all more or less pieces of junk and in my experience have a lifespan of 5 years if you are lucky. Are the batteries in the receiver new? People always remember the remote batteries but never the receiver batteries. Replace all the batteries and then follow the instructions to resync the remote.

[hearthman]

This is a listed decorative appliance. It is not designed for heating. It cannot be modified unless specifically stated by the mfr. with their approved parts. I know of no mfr. or appliance that has interchangeable burners and components to jump 26 MBH. You cannot indiscriminately replace parts. You need someone qualified to inspect and service this unit. That eliminates who you've spoken with so far.

Simple stuff: Make sure the vent termination is no blocked. As Sooty said, you can focus on the remote but I'd disconnect it and use the integral rocker switch if there is one. Just trace the wires from the TH to TH/TP terminals on the valve to find what all is switching this thing. If they pilot remains lit and its just the burner dropping out that one thing. If the pilot drops out, too that's another. If this is a cold unit that you're lighting the pilot then turning it on and it drops out try this: light the pilot and leave it on for an hour then light the burner. With a cold stack some units can't prime themselves to get the thermosyphon vent going. Make sure your gas shutoff is fully open. The knob must be inline with the gas piping. Make sure the control knob on the valve is all the way counterclockwise to the 'on' position. Make sure the glass is in place and properly latched.

If those things don't solve it, call for service. A tech should measure the inlet and manifold gas pressures, millivolt readings on the valve, valve resistance, switch leg resistance, thermocouple millivolts, etc.

You can go to the National Fireplace Institute to find a tech near you. Lot's of good techs aren't currently certified but this helps. NFI cert. does not guarantee competency but its a start.

HTH

[airhammer]

Def call a tech