My gas fireplace pilot is lit but the main burner won't come on — what's wrong?
Fairview is propane country — large wooded lots, most homes off the gas main — so a lit pilot with a dead burner here has an extra suspect beyond the usual worn thermopile: the LP supply itself. A low tank or a regulator not holding pressure can feed the pilot yet starve the main burner. We check the appliance and the fuel both.
Start with the propane, then the sensor
Out on the Cane Creek Valley and Garren Creek lots, propane is nearly universal, and a pilot draws so little gas that it will happily burn on a tank that's too low or a regulator that's lost pressure — while the full main burner, which needs far more, gets starved and won't light. So on a Fairview call we verify the LP side with your supplier before condemning any part. Once the fuel checks out, the leading appliance failure is the thermopile: the pilot-heated sensor that makes the voltage to open the valve, worn down until it holds the pilot but can't fire the burner.
Right fuel, right orifice
Propane burns hotter and runs at higher pressure than natural gas and needs its own orifices, so a unit converted carelessly will soot and stumble in ways that copy a burner fault. We confirm the setup matches propane as part of the diagnosis. On the Garren Creek and Charlotte Highway lots the tank can sit well away from the house, so we look at line length and regulator condition together, because a burner that starves only on the coldest, highest-demand nights is the tell-tale sign of marginal LP delivery. Many Fairview homes also burn wood, but for the gas side this is the checklist that matters.
Licensed LP work, 15 minutes east
Connecting and repairing a propane system — regulator, piping, valve — is licensed gas work in North Carolina, our lane and never a DIY project. If the fix reaches the gas line we pull the Buncombe County permit and meet the inspector. We're 15 minutes east of the Asheville showroom. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Fairview
We install and service fireplaces throughout Fairview and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.