Patio heater owners across the country feel that the patio heater purchased is there’s and they are tired of the safety feature where they have to hold the pilot button in position for over a minute to warm the thermocouple in order to ignite the propane heater.
If you want to light your patio heater quickly and move on with your day, you can by bypassing the thermocouple in your patio heater. Don’t worry, I will show you how to do it.
Please heed to a word of caution. It is quite important for you to note that the safety features in your heater are in your heater for a good reason – your safety!
The two main safety features in the propane heater are the tilt switch and the thermocouple.
I know that you are not a baby but understand the risk and ask yourself if the risk is worth it.
If you still want to do the patio heater thermocouple bypass I’ll show you how to get it done.
Why would you want to bypass the thermocouple in your patio heater?
When you light your propane heater you probable want the fire to come on immediately.
However, when the thermocouple in place and operational, you have to press the starter to know, turn it to the pilot position, hold and press the knob in the pilot position for 30 seconds before the heater can ignite.
As your patio heater get older you may have to wait for a minute or two. When you are cold and outside that time feels like an eternity.
By bypassing the thermocouple you can start the propane heater almost immediately. Which is what some homeowners want – switch the knob to the on position, press the ignite button and the propane heater starts.
If you’re like me and you’re tired of dealing with having to hold that switch for a minute a half, two minutes or three minutes sometimes when the thermal structure is getting old. I’ll show you how to bypass it. Before we move ahead, how does a thermocouple work?
If you Bypassing the thermocouple it would not make it any more dangerous than a propane grill. You do not have to worry, it’s not going to make your heater explode.
Without the thermocouple, in place, you may lose your tank of propane into the atmosphere if the pilot flame goes out. Remember, the thermocouple is the device that would auto shut off the gas flow it the pilot fire is switch off.
What is a thermocouple?
A thermocouple is basically a safety device on the heater with the responsibility of keeping the heater lit. The thermocouple valve tells the gas control valve whether or not your pilot light is burning.
The thermocouple prevents gas from being released into an unlit patio heater. It looks like a piece of metal tubing smaller than a soda straw located in the gas control assemble.
This is the assemble where the main gas line enters. The thermocouple sends a tiny bit of electric current to a sensor, on the gas valve of the patio heater, to signals to the valve to stay open. If no signal, the gas would switch off.
The thermocouple looks like a piece of metal tubing smaller than a soda straw. To find it, first, locate the gas control assembly. This is the assembly that the main gas line enters, where you turn the gas on in the propane heater.
One end of the thermocouple sits in the flame while the other end sits on the electromagnetic valve.
How does the thermocouple work?
The thermocouple is a safety device in the gas-powered patio heater. It is connected to the electromagnetic switch through the tilt switch to ensure safety.
The tilt switch is for safety if the patio heater flip over. The electromagnetic safety valve is there to prevent gas flow just in case the pilot light goes out.
If you look at the top of the image you see a part of the thermocouple in the pilot fire. The other part is connected to the electromagnetic valve through the tilt switch.
When the fire heat up the thermocouple it creates an electromagnetic field in the electromagnetic valve.
When the reset button is pressed the electromagnetic field pull back the spring which creates a gateway for the gas to flow through. At this time the heater will start producing heat.
The tilt switch is another safety mechanism which blocks the current flow if the tilt switch is tilted.
How To Bypass The Thermocouple?
Here it is, let’s get started, first of all, you got to pull off the cover over the assembly to access everything.
okay now, up over in here (where the arrow is pointing) you’re gonna see the thermocouple, the main igniter wire and the tube that gives propane.
When you turn the know on the pilot and depress the knob, what happens is the thermocouple gets warm and produces a small amount of electricity. That electricity comes through into this tilt switch. The tilt switch has a little ball rolling around in it.
If the ball is right where it is supposed to be, it is not tipping over, it will send power through to the back of the valve with a little electromagnet inside it.
Locate the tilt switch
so you follow the thermocouple wire down to the tilt switch. The tilt switch automatically shuts off the heater if you want to move it while the heater is kept on.
The complaint about this is that the heater got a huge base so some customer believes it is pointless to have a tilt switch. I don’t think so because I love safety.
Disable the tilt switch
So bypass the tilt switch. In order to bypass the tilt switch just take off the two wires and then connect them together for the current to flow uninterrupted.
Get Rid Of The Spring In The Electromagnet Valve
I’m gonna show you how to disable it. Okay, so first things first you gotta unscrew the screws that keep it together.
When you press the knob a piece of metal goes all the way through and presses the spring mechanism.
If you bypass this whole spring and valve mechanism then what happens is that the gas bypasses the whole thing and goes through to the jet.
So if you want to bypass the thermocouple you have to get rid of the spring mechanism. You can bypass the spring mechanism by simply using a screwdriver to pop out the little e-clip and take the valve off and problem solved.
Pull off the spring and throw that in the trash. Replace the casing of the valve, make sure you line up everything so it doesn’t leak propane all over.
Fit and Test Everything To Ensure It Is Working Perfectly
Now let us test it, turn the gas on. Go past the pilot, past the click. Now, you can hear the hiss of the gas when you turn the heater on and off.
Now, no more waiting for minutes for the thermocouple to light, now that’s how you bypass
Bypass thermocouple on an outdoor patio heater Demo
Conclusion
The thermocouple is a safety system and it is advisable that you do not get rid of it. Especially if you plan to use the heater indoors. The tilt switch is another safety system that will auto shut off the heater if the heater happens to tilt over.
Now enjoy lighting your heater quickly and easily without the hassle of the thermocouple.
Reference:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQLmTIxcfxA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfS3StJVPzA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiCmfW1rTRY
