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Problem with Williams 2509612 Ceramic Mid-Size Heater

Patio heater won't stay lit

Our patio heater lights and starts heating up, but after 1 -3 minutes it shuts down. The tank is full of propane.

Posted by avatar on Oct 03, 2007

    • By avatarGuest Feb 14, 2009

    • Ya, me too. A Costco heater with the granite tray, I can get it lit and keep it lit by using duck tape around the pressure nob pressed half way down, problem now is a high yellow flame on one side, any idea's?

    • By avatarGOODGRIFF Dec 26, 2008

    • I have the same problem. I purchased my Nexgrill patio heater (Model PTH-105 3G) in Oct 2008 and have had nothing but problems. It worked OK for the first few uses and then it starting cutting off after a few minutes - a loud switch sound and then it cuts off. I restarted and it workd for a couple minutes, then cuts off. I called Nexgrill and they sent me a new pilot assembly/thermocoupler. I replaced the unit and I used it one time -Thanksgiving party - it worked great. Didn't use it again until Christmas Eve - having a cigar with the boys and find I have a new problem - real bummer. The pilot lights fine (bright and strong) but as soon as I release the nob the gas goes out. If I hold the nob in it burns fine, once I relase it shuts down. I called Nexgen again and the first rep told me to move the thermocoupler to 11 o'clock position. I opened it up and found it already in this position but I moved a little further left... no good - SOS problem. I called back and they said they were going to send me a mercury switch - no clue what this is. Any ideas? I'm ready to throw this thing in the dumpster. I purchased it from BBQ Galores liquidation sale and have nowhere to return this piece of **** to get my money back.

    • By avatarGuest Dec 20, 2008

    • I can't get mine to light it appears the has is not getting to the pilot switch any one have the same problem?

    • By avatarschinkj Nov 27, 2008

    • I have the same problem with two that I bought from The Home Depot.  I tried bypassing the safety valve and it worked.  However, I still can not keep them running at full heat, I need to turn it down to medium heat and they stay lit all night.  Could that be the thermostat?  It looks like such a simple mechanism inside, its hard to imagine it being so advanced.  I thought by splicing together the black wire and bypassing the safety valve, I wouldn't have the problem anymore.  What was I bypassing?    

    • By avatarprairiemoon Sep 17, 2008

    • My brand new (3 years ago) Fire Sense Patio Heater has never stayed lit for more than 7 minutes. I was blaming it on my high altitude (7500 ft), but am finally frustrated enough that I want to find a solution. Is it a faulty thermocouple and if so where would I find a replacement?

    • By avatarcyclemenow Sep 17, 2008

    • I just purchased the Nexgrill Outdoor Patio Heater Model 920-0010 from
      Costco. It started up and was lit with no problem, but after a few
      minutes it went off spontaneously (just as described by everybody
      else). If I turn it completely off, want 30 seconds, and then relight
      it, it stayed lit for a shorter amount of time. This continued until
      it simply would not stay on for more than 3 seconds. I did notice that
      after it went off, I could push the knob in, and see the flame return.
      The problem is that I also hear the clicking of the igniter. Then I
      noticed that if I press the knob in halfway, the flame returns, but
      there is no clicking. My solution at the time was to use duct tape to
      keep the knob partially pressed. It worked for the one evening.

      The solution of bypassing the thermocouple seems dangerous. I like
      the idea that the heater shuts off the gas if the flame goes out. Is
      it that all these thermocouples are faulty, and need to be replaced?



    • By avatarGuest Aug 10, 2008

    • I have a Fire Sense patio heater. It started to act as above, lit but only stayed on a few minutes, but now the pilot ignites but the burner will not come on. The burner and pilot all seem to be clean and open. 

    • By avatardavec1231 Aug 07, 2008

    • Had the same 5 minute problem. Went out like clockwork. I tried the bypass of the black switch connected to the valve in the back. Pulled the wires off the switch marked with 973, connected them with some spare copper wires and now the heater works like a charm.... in August.

    • By avatarjnj86 Jun 03, 2008

    • I have the Nexgrill patio heater from Costco, item # 219841, model # 920-0010. It's the one that is brownish in color and has the granite drink tray. It worked great for about 3 weeks, but now it won't stay lit. Pilot lights fine and the heater will run for about a minute or two, then it makes a click sound and shuts off. LP tank is new and full, also tried a new full tank from my BBQ. I'm going to return it to Costco.

    • By avatarGuest Jun 02, 2008

    • I also have a costco heater run 5 minutes shuts off

    • By avatardpb1 May 25, 2008

    • My Costco Kirkland does the same thing. After about 5 min it just shuts off. It comes back on after I turn to pilot & then on only to shut off again after 3 to 4 min. Does anybody know what the problem is ?

      Thanks

    • By avatarBunko May 17, 2008

    • The propane stove on my boat will not stay lit, despite full fuel tanks. It will light with a weak flame, continue burning for 3 - 5 minutes, then go out. I'm considering change out of the regulator but would like to confirm this is the problem before I do.

    • By avatarwoddsy Mar 16, 2008

    • Changed wiring to bypass the black box and still not staying lit for more than 2 - 3 minutes

    • By avatarick5521 Feb 23, 2008

    • I have no idea what brand but should have similar operation. It's propane. Pilot stays lit when knob is held in then for a minute will continue to stay lit, the pilot light is really high. After the sensor gets hot the pilot light goes out and all the gas shuts off. It looks like someone tried the black wire bypass switch but it's still doing it. Looking for what the best part is I should use. It's a patio heater that stands up with a deflector dish on top.

    • By avatardnotfresh Feb 16, 2008

    • does annyone know how to convert this heater to use natural gas?? I know one has to change a filament or soemthing Please help

    • By avatarGuest Feb 16, 2008

    • I have 4 kirkland patio heaters with the same problem(s), really two different ones are described in the posts. The first is getting them to light. It takes a long time and is hit or miss on whether the pilot light will stay lit even after holding the knob in for a long time. I have found that I can usually go ahead wiggle-twist the knob around past the stopping point and get the large burner to light without waiting for the pilot to warm so long, and then the large burner heats everything up and it will then work. However, the 2nd problem mentioned (two of mine are this way), I can't fix. The burners light and run for a minute or so fine, and then simply turn off. I can relight and go through the same drill over and over. I assume it is a defective thermocouple, anyone know the answer, where to get parts?

    • By avatarJmathes1 Jan 15, 2008

    • The pilot lights fine but so long as I keep the knob depresssed but as soon as I release the knob the flame goes out. How do I fix this?

      This is on SPC35

    • By avatarGuest Dec 30, 2007

    • After my patio heater starts, it shuts off in about 5 min.  It's a charmglow copper patio heater.  I do have to push in the pilot for 3 +/- min before it stays on.

    • By avatarccowie Dec 08, 2007

    • The pilot lights fine but so long as I keep the knob depresssed but as soon as I release the knob to turn it in the on direction the flame goes out.  How do I fix this?

    • By avatarjunior1 Dec 05, 2007

    • My All Pro SPS-85 will only stay light if the start button stays depressed. It will run all day like that, but as soon as the button is not held in, it will go out

    • By avatarrymeezy Dec 02, 2007

    • i am having the same problem. my heater is shutting off after 2-3 minutes and it's extremely difficult to light the pilot light every time. i hold the pilot knob/button down but the gas/feed continues to shut down when i release the start
      button. After about 30-40 attempts i can usually get it to stay on and the heater will turn on and start to fire up but will shut itself off after 2-3 minutes.

    • By avatarccurtis Nov 22, 2007

    • I have exactly the same problem with a Kirkland patio heater from Costco and am having a hard time finding replacement parts. Any ideas would be welcome.

    • By avatarGuest Nov 04, 2007

    • Hello: Yes, my Vanguard propane heater loses its pilot flame as soon as I release the pilot button.

Solutions (22)

Best Solution

I had this same problem - here's how I fixed it...

First: Never modify the safety features of your heater as has been suggested elsewhere on this forum. Modification of these features may allow the heater to work, but greatly compromises the safety of anyone near the heater.

The problem with the heater shutting off is most likely due to not enough gas flowing through the pilot orifice (this orifice is almost as small as the diameter of a human hair). When this happens, the pilot flame does not burn vigorously enough to activate the thermocouple. Hence, the thermocouple shuts off the gas and the burner goes out - usually you'll hear one "click" when this happens.

This is a maintence thing - meaning you may have to do this as a seasonal activity.

Here we go....
(1) Shut off the gas at the tank - or remove the tank entirely.
(2) Remove the screws that hold the burner shield and top shroud from the unit - set it aside.
(3) Remove the control knob - it just pulls straight off.
(4) Remove the panel immediately behind the knob you just took off. This will expose the gas valve assembly.
(5) Remove the cover that encloses the bottom of the pilot light/igniter (assembly). This will expose the bottom of the pilot assembly.
(6) Remove the screw holding the pilot assembly - there is a small hex nut on top, but under the burner that you'll have to hold to prevent it from turning. This will free the pilot assembly allowing you to gently pull it out of the pilot assembly housing. DON"T pull hard or you may break the gas line or thermocouple.
(7) Remove the hex nut that attaches the gas line to the pilot assembly and gently pull the gas line out. At this point, to ensure you have gas flowing through the pilot gas line, you may want to re-attach the gas tank, turn it on, gently move the gas line as far away from the spark ignitor as possible, temporarily replace the control knob, and turn the knob to the "Pilot" position & push it in. DO NOT DO THIS ANYWHERE NEAR AN OPEN FLAME OR A LIGHTED CIGARETTE! You should be able to hear a hissing sound as the gas flows. If you do not hear it, the problem may be with your gas valve, and if that's the case, I'm sorry this procedure likely won't solve the problem.
(8) Remove the pilot light tube (orifice) from the mounting bracket. There's a hex nut on the back side that holds it in. Be careful not to damage the hex nut or the threads. You'll need a pair of pliers (to hold the bracket) and an adjustable wrench for the hex nut. Make note of the orientation of the pilot burner diverter so you can put it back together the same way it came apart.
(9) Using a blast of compressed air, blow air through the pilot orifice. You should be able to see just a very (and I mean very) small pin-point of light through the pilot burner. If not, use a single strand of very fine wire - like one strand from a 18 gauge braided electrical wire - and run it through the pilot orifice. Carbon build-up can clog this orifice - which can prevent the pilot from burning vigorously enough to heat up the thermocouple. Cleaning it out periodically will likely solve the problem.

Put everything back together in reverse order as noted above - making sure your gas fittings are tight and don't leak. Once it's all back together, light the pilot flame as normal and once the thermocouple heats up, the heater should work like a charm.

    • By avatarrandy_sonlar Dec 18, 2010

    • The heaterdude is giving you correct answer. This is not rocket science and performed easily as he described above. The key is: If the pilot is yellow and not blue, the orifice is restricted, clean it out as he did above. I used the small gauge wire and cleaned mine, and used compressed air and blew the pilot burner. (It looked clean at first, but blowing it out produced a lot of dirt and material.) Another thing I have learned over the years buying things; ask the place where you are buying stuff if they stock replacement parts. Home Depot and Lowes sells outdoor heaters, but no thermocouples. Yes you can get them online; however, when you want to use something, you need it now; not in 3-4 days.

make/model??

    • By avatarTHOMAS MIERZWA Nov 04, 2007

    • the millivolt generator is at fault or its sensing bulb is not far enough into the flame. does it shut down when you release the start button?

Disconnect the wires from the black sensor mounted on the control valve assembly connect them together to by pass the defective sensor your unit should work unless clogged

If the pilot lights but in turning knob to the on position the unit goes out, then this is caused by a blockage in the pilot. Bugs and spiders get into the pilot assembly, venturi tube and burner ports causing the unit to either not light or poor performance. Disassemble and clean the Pilot light assemble especially the venturi tube. COMPLETELY disassemble the venturi tube, it has an insert where the gas line is connected and you cant get to it unless you disconnect the gas line.

  • By Author imagedenccie Dec 07, 2007

    • By avatarbuilt97 Mar 20, 2011

    • Denccie is correct. I had previously done what denccie says and it worked. At least for the Kirkland heater.

Often the thermocouple is coated with carbon from the propane flame. I have found that if I sand the thermocouple or use a small tooth file, the heater will work properly. All you have to do is remove dome and the screen around the burner without having to take the whole unit apart.

However, the solution has turned out to be short lived and I have the same starting issues again after a few uses. I am planning to try the method of disconnecting the wires from the safety switch and by-passing the safety feature. I hate doing this, but the design is just poor. You don't see dozens of people here with issues about starting their propane grill because the grill does not have this terrible design.

    • By avatarTodd Podoll Jan 29, 2009

    • I went ahead and tried the bypass method. I pulled the two wires that go into the black safety switch and I wired them together. It has been two months now and it works great. This seems to be the only solution. I am very careful not to leave it burning unattended. Basically, it has the same safety features now as my gas grill.



      The flame height appears a little low, but I think that is due to the cold tank and gas. We will see this summer.

I had the same problem with my Costco/Nexgrill patio heater. (I purchased my unit about 5 years ago... it worked great until last winter.)

I tried to clean/blow out the lines and orifaces... no luck.
I tried to jump the black (tip-over) sensor... no luck.

During my attempts, I noticed exactly what was happening: occasionally, the pilot light flame was flickering too far away from the sensor-bulb. Thus, the thermocouple turned off the heater as it was tricked into thinking that the pilot light was out. (Perhaps my problem was due to not having enough gas pressure? Perhaps the pilot light lines/orifaces are more restricted due to corrosion? Perhaps a breeze was blowing just right?)

So, with pliers, I gently squeezed the pilot light and the sensor-bulb a bit closer. Now, the pilot light is always very close to the sensor bulb and the patio heater no longer shutoff after a few minutes! Success!

(Note, to "squeeze" the pilot light and sensor-bulb together, I removed the top of the heater and the front control panel that covers the pilot light and control knob. Then I removed the bracket that holds the pilot light and sensor-bulb together so that I had excellent access. Perhaps you don't need to disassemble it as much as I did... but I already had it disassembled to clean it and to jump the black sensor. Just be careful not to crush the pilot light or damage the sensor-bulb.)

  • By Author imagedmard Feb 21, 2009

My (bought at Costco) Nexgrill Patio Heater 920-0010 had the same problem. It worked fine all last winter but this year the pilot would light and stay lit, then the burners would light and stay lit for 30-60 seconds. I would then hear a loud "click" and all would shut off. Was driving me nuts.

I just fixed this problem by blowing out the pilot light area with compressed air. Doing so changed my pilot light flame from a "relaxed" yellow to an "angry" blue jet & this has fixed the problem...back to cigars & bevs on the patio!

I followed steps 1-4 from the Nexgrill trouleshooting site:

http://www.nexgrill.net/trouble/p1.5.html

Good luck!

  • By Author imageWide5 Nov 25, 2008

    • By avatarpoway pat Jul 11, 2010

    • After reading all of the solutioins posted here, I decided that this one made most sense in my case. I executed all six steps in addition to blowing out all of the orifices on the main burner. This worked so well that not only does my pilot have the strong blue flame and stays lit but my entire heater puts out more even heat. I also did my second heater that was not giving me problems and it too gave more uniform heat. Each heater took about 10 minutes so I will make this a regular maintenance item.

I had a number of similar problems of intermittent and inconsistent burn performance that went away after replacing the propane regulator. You can get a Char-broil brand regulator from home depot for $16. Prior attempts to fix the heaters by replacing the thermostat and/or cleaning the valves were unsuccessful.

My husband fixed our Nexgrill Patio Heater serial no: 920-0010 by pushing the thermocoupler closer to the flame and turning the pilot light up. It worked like a charm! We have no more problems with it turning itself off after a few minutes.

Most of the problems people are seeing with these are the venturi on the pilot light (that's lower down on the pilot mechanism with some holes to let the air mix in) or else a bad thermocouple.  If you have some canned air, stick it in the hole for the air inlets on the lower part of the pilot. On Charmglow heaters, this may be behind the control panel, which you have to loosen or remove to get to.  When you press the gas valve to light, you should hear hissing. If you don't the pilot is still blocked.
The thermocouple is a slightly bigger issue, you might have to replace it, but it's a pretty common part for gas heaters.

I feel for you...I also have two heaters by the same company and have just discovered the same problem a few months ago.   I don't think it is a matter of the tank being purged as was suggested by someone else.  I have several other units that use propane tanks and the other devices work fine with the supposed "unpurged" tanks.  Don't buy that, although that was my first inclination.  Costco does have a great return policy, but unfortunately, they are past one year.

    • By avatarcommon sense Jul 24, 2008


    • Nexgrill Outdoor Patio Heater Model 920-0010 bought at Costco
      Talking with Nexgrill tech. dept. as I am writing this.  My problem is similar in that after having the pilot light lit for a minute and then turn the control knob to fire up the burners, the pilot light fades away and then the burners shut off. They suggest it may be the thermocoupling.  The best way, they say, to check to see if it may be defective is to unscrew the thermocoupling from the lower cone cylinder and hold a lighter to the thermocoupler while you turn on the burner (of course you should probably have a lighter for both the burner and the thermocoupler).  The thermocoupler should sense the heat and therefore keep the flow of propane going to the main burner.  If the main burners shut off, most likely the thermocoupler is bad.  I have had great success with Nexgrill's tech. dept.  They are very helpful, keep a good log of your discussions and send out the parts you need, even if you are past the one year warranty period.  I like the Heater but find that any propane device is fraught with issues such as corrosion, leaks, thermocouplers going bad and of course, air not purged from tanks!  Pain in the A----!!
      Good luck!


COSTCO Patio Heater. Pilot dims as the ignition for furnace ignites. This leaving to small of a pilot which shortens away from the thermocouple, thus extinguishing the gas output. Also to note there is a red flame in the fire bowl the main furnace section of the heater where it should be only blue in color. Indicating a low output from the regulator.
I know of the problem of cold weather effecting the out put of the propane gas, thus the reason campers sleep with there propane at high altitudes. And the regulator is supposedly non-adjustable due to government intervention, (Just as they tried to make it so on Gasoline carburetors’ for Automobiles. As a mechanic you could not adjust the Dwell on the Carburetor unless you drilled out the government required aluminum cap to adjust it.) Thus the same problem lies here.
The regulator is not able to adjust to all optimum levels (as you would if burning Oxy- acetylene which is adjusted by the coloration of the flame). With a plethora of reasons behind it, and a government cap preventing you from fixing the problem unless you go out to buy a new regulator because drilling out the cap is beyond government controls, purchasing a new regulator can fix it.

I tapped my All Pro SPC-30 on the concrete floor a couple of times...........works like a champ now!

  • By Author imagehalzie Dec 27, 2007

    • By avatarbehrmanlm66 Jan 17, 2012

    • I used my hand to bang around the valve and ignitor sections and the pilot stayed lit. Guessing it dislodged whatever was blocking the gas flow. Glad I tried the easiest solution first!

If the pilot lights, and stays on, then the main burner lights..... but then everything goes out. You probably have a bad regulator, try replacing the regulator.

You are better off returning them to CostCo. NexGrill appears to be ducking any calls that come into the call center as mentioned above. I even threatened to call the California Attorney Generals office with no response. My theory is that they are taking the money and running. If it is within a year of purchase, take it back to CostCo, AS IS, and they will refund your money. I purchased 2 heaters in October of 2007 and had nothing but problems with them from day one! Best advice would be to stay away from this company at all costs.

  • By Author imageGuest Apr 30, 2008

Is to disconnect the two wires from the the little black saftey switch and connect them together there for the safty switch is bad you should get a new one but it works

  • By Author imageGuest Feb 10, 2008

Is to disconnect the two wires from the the little black saftey switch and connect them together there for the safty switch is bad you should get a new one but it works

  • By Author imageGuest Feb 10, 2008

Here's a source for a possible solution for ccurtis.
The manual for my Kirkland modle pth-106ss-3g lists contact information the distributor, Nexgrill Industries as follows:
Phone: 800.913.8999
Fax: 909.598.7699
Address: 280 Machlin Court; City of Industry, CA 91789
Hours: 8AM - 5PM PST

As far as Arstoll's original problem, it sorta sounds to me like the propane tank wasn't properly purged prior to its first filling.

Hope this helps!

JukeFox

    • By avatarJuke Fox Dec 22, 2007

    • Update for ccurtis:



      Nexgrill's customer service email address: customerservice@nexgrill.com

    • By avatarrbfoam Nov 25, 2010

    • I have had my PTH106A-SS I bought from Costco for 7 years now

Used the solution given on this link, cleaning out the pilot with compressed air.Works great now! I can hear the pilot flame. thanks Wide5
Scotthttp://www.nexgrill.net/trouble/p1.5.html

Run as fast as you can from any product sold under the name NEXGRILL INDUSTRIES AND INFINITY GLOW. Their products have defects and they are not being held accountable for these defects. The will string you along saying they will ship parts out to you for replacement but you have to pay the shipping. Seriously! Google PROPANE HEATERS and they actually have "You Tube" video's, created by the manufacturer themselves, explaining how to fix the problems. Issues that they should be fixing. They have no concern for the consumers safety, relying on the consumers to replace hoses, valves, pilot lights, on - off switches, etc. for a product that works on GAS AND FIRE! Even though I purchase this item at Costo a few years back, Cosco will still give me a credit. Run my friend, RUN!

where the control nob is u need to pull the nob off then take the 2 screws out pull the panel off then when u light it look at your flame and c if the flame is hitting the little bulb type tube that is to the right of the pilot the flame has to heat the thermacouple up in order for the thing to stay lit u might have to turn the pilot hood a little to git the flame to hit the thermacouple

I was able to fix this problem on my Nexgrill PTH-106SS-3G by replacing the regulator. Fortunately I could pull the regulator from my gas grill to test my theory. I am on my patio at 9:00 PM basking in the warmth of my now functioning heater as I write this. I couldn't have done it without all the information I found on FixYa.

    • By avatarbryan swilley Nov 13, 2010

    • Couldn't keep my PTH-106-3g lite for more than 7-10 minutes until the gas valve closed. Tried bypassing the safety switch by connecting 2 white wire together, has same burn time. After researching the issue here and calling Nexgill tech support. I narrowed the problem down to the thermocouple by calling theheaterguys.com they sent me a new thermocouple for $16.00 vers $34.00 from Nexgrill. The new thermocouple doesn't have the wires attached, so no safety switch. I don't burn it unattended, so don't expect to have an issue. Tested it for 15 minutes wide open. Seems to be fixed. I have two of these heaters, the other is working fine. Bought an extra thermocouple as these are the first thing to go.

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