How to Light a Floor Furnace Pilot

A floor furnace is a gas-fired, vented heating system. Furnaces are dangerous and must be handled carefully, so it is important that before doing any work on the furnace or even lighting the pilot, you take the necessary precautions. Working on a floor furnace requires even more safety measures.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Long fireplace matches
• Lighter rod w/ match

Instructions

1. Set the thermostat to the lowest setting. Take off the front grille. Place the furnace key onto the square control rod, slightly push down, and then turn the key clockwise to the bottom where it reads "All off."

2. Clear out all the excess gas by waiting five minutes. (Do not continue if you smell any gas.) If there is no gas smell, remove the sight glass assembly, located at the opening on top of the heat exchanger.

3. Look down through the sight glass opening and locate the pilot burner. Turn the key in the control rod back the other way to "Pilot." (The pilot is found on the side of the burner towards the control end.)

4. Find the red Piezo igniter, located next to the control rod. While you hold the furnace key down, begin pushing and releasing the Piezo igniter. Do this until the pilot is lit. (Observe through the sight glass opening until you see a spark.) If the spark doesn't light the pilot, use a long match or a lighter rod with match.

5. Hold the control rod down for another minute to ensure the pilot stays lit. If it goes out, repeat the lighting procedure.

6. Replace the sight glass assembly, and turn the control rod all the way up to the "burner" position. Take the furnace key out of the control rod and replace the floor grille. Set the thermostat.

Tips & Warnings

• A point-a-flame lighter is long enough to reach the pilot without removing the grille. Smell around the floor furnace before lighting. The gas will settle closest to the floor, so get low to sniff for it.

• Do not drop lit matches into your floor furnace as this might damage the thermocouple. Do not attempt to light the furnace pilot if you smell gas.