My gas fireplace pilot is lit but the main burner won't come on — what's wrong?

The thermopile is the usual suspect

Your pilot flame heats a thermopile, and that heat produces a few hundred millivolts of electricity. When you flip the switch, that voltage is what actually opens the main valve so the burner lights. As a thermopile ages it produces less voltage — enough to keep the pilot proved, but not enough to pull the main valve open. That's the exact fingerprint of your problem: pilot fine, burner dead.

A tech reads it in seconds with a meter. It's a common wear part, not a premium one, and we stock them for the brands we service — Napoleon, Heat & Glo, Valor, Regency and the rest.

It might be the switch, remote, or wiring

That millivolt signal travels from the thermopile, out to your wall switch or remote receiver, and back to the valve. A corroded wall switch, a loose or oxidized wire connection, or a remote receiver that isn't passing the signal will all leave the pilot happily lit while the burner refuses to fire.

If your fireplace works from the switch but not the remote — or the reverse — that tells us the fault is in the control path, not the valve itself. Worth mentioning to us on the call so we bring the right parts.

Dirty burner or a tired valve

Less often, the burner ports are partially clogged from a season of spiders and dust — classic in older Asheville and Weaverville homes — so gas can't cross from the pilot to the burner cleanly. And occasionally the gas valve itself has failed internally. Both are diagnosable in one visit. Because gas-valve work is licensed in North Carolina, this is our lane, not a DIY project. We quote it before touching anything. Call (828) 545-0525.