Regency P90 Propane Fireplace/Thermostat Control Problems

3203 Views 5 Replies 2 Participants Last post by mgh-pa, Dec 4, 2012

mgh-pa

Discussion Starter · Dec 3, 2012

Alright, I'll keep this abbreviated. Two years ago, my father an I gutted our family room, and in the process, we replaced the old existing wood stove and slate hearth with a built in propane fireplace insert around a custom stone veneer fireplace. We did the actual build and placement of the unit, and the retailer I purchased from hooked all of the lines up. In the process, I opted for a traditional wired thermostat control, but wasn't there for the actual hook up (this was two years ago mind you). The retailer did not bring the thermostat, so he bought a junk one from a local hardware store and installed it. When I came home, the thermostat didn't work (shocker), and it appeared that nothing was wired correctly. I could still operate the fireplace manually, and my dealings with the retailer (he's 45 minutes away) were less than great, so I decided to live with it, and fix it myself.

Well, two years later, and I'm finally getting around to it. I purchased a new millivolt thermostat (one that was programmable and not appearing to be from the late 1970s) and wired everything up according to the wiring diagram, but it still doesn't work. I can completely disconnect the thermostat, and the burners are still lit.

Here's the wiring diagram:

Here's the picture of the wires as it stands now:

The valve is oriented EXACTLY in the same way as the diagram. The heavier gauge red, white, and black wires are from the thermostat/burner control. The thinner gauge wires are from the thermostat.

I spliced the "On" wire from the the T-Stat to the white wire from the burner/thermostat, and then ran the "off" wire (white) from the T-Stat directly to the valve. The Thermostat has blocks that are labeled Y an G, and then a three block section labeled "Rh, Rc, and W." I used the Rh and W blocks, but I'm not sure (the manual didn't specify) if that could be the problem.

Anyone have any suggestions?

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danpik

· #2 · Dec 3, 2012

I don't think the "quality" of the thermostat is an issue here. A thermostat is realy nothing more than an On/Off switch.

Does the ON?OFF switch have a thermostat position? In other words is the switch set up as ON/OFF/THERMO? By the way the wiring shows it "should" be.
The Red wire brings power to the switch and the switch position shunts power either thru the Black one wich turns the gas valve on all the time or thru the white one which allows the thermostat to control the gas valve. It sounds like the power is always going to the black wire. How is thw wiring set up at the switch? Can you show a picture of that?

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mgh-pa

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 3, 2012

Here's a picture of the switch:

When I have it set in T-Stat mode, the T-Stat still has no affect on the burner. The red wire from the T-Stat is spliced to the white wire from the switch (you can see this in the first picture), and the white wire from the T-stat is wired directly to the bottom connection on the valve (TH).

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danpik

· #4 · Dec 3, 2012

Unplug the black wire from the gas valve and see if the thermostat controls the unit. Is the white wire connected to the back of the switch? There should be three terminals there, each with a different wire. The switch basicaly is selecting either the black wire or the white wire(Thermo) to rout power back to the gas valve. If power is always going thru the black wire to the valve then it will always be "ON".

How this all works is realy pretty simple. The powerpile sends power to the TP/TH terminal on the gas valve. This terminal serves no function in the control of the gas valve other than to act as a junction point for the two wires that need to be connected. The other wire (red in this case) sends power out to a control device (thermostat, on/off switch) The TH terminal and the TP terminal are the control terminals on the gas valve. The TP terminal is the other connection point for the thermopile and the TH is the connection point bringing power back from a control device to complete the circuit. Your switch in this case is set up to allow power back to the valve thru the black wire or route power thru the thermostat and back to the valve (white wire).

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danpik

· #5 · Dec 3, 2012

Forgot to ask, is that switch a three position switch (center off) or two position?

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mgh-pa

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 4, 2012

danpik said:
Unplug the black wire from the gas valve and see if the thermostat controls the unit. Is the white wire connected to the back of the switch? There should be three terminals there, each with a different wire. The switch basicaly is selecting either the black wire or the white wire(Thermo) to rout power back to the gas valve. If power is always going thru the black wire to the valve then it will always be "ON".

How this all works is realy pretty simple. The powerpile sends power to the TP/TH terminal on the gas valve. This terminal serves no function in the control of the gas valve other than to act as a junction point for the two wires that need to be connected. The other wire (red in this case) sends power out to a control device (thermostat, on/off switch) The TH terminal and the TP terminal are the control terminals on the gas valve. The TP terminal is the other connection point for the thermopile and the TH is the connection point bringing power back from a control device to complete the circuit. Your switch in this case is set up to allow power back to the valve thru the black wire or route power thru the thermostat and back to the valve (white wire).

Thanks. It is a three position switch (SPDT). One for "ON" using the switch, one for "Off" and one for "Tstat." The Red, Black, and White wires are hardwired from the factory into the back of the switch. There were spade (female) connectors attached to the Red and Black from the factory, and the white was just stripped from the factory (no spade). I messed with it some more, and I still can't come to a solution. Even when the switch is set to "T-Stat" the burner stays on. When I pull the wire coming from the T-Stat from the "TH" connection on the valve, the burner goes off.

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