1950s Coleman Gas Floor Furnace--Burner not coming on--pictures included

I have an old Coleman gas floor furnace, I suspect it is original to my 1950s house. It's a big metal box that sits down in the floor with a grate over it. Inside the box is the furnace, you have to take a round glass lid off to see down into it and to operate it. It has two levers, one labeled "burner" and one labeled "pilot" Each has an on position and an off position. To turn on the pilot, I stick a match on a wire hanger down to the pilot light and turn the lever to the on position. It's what I should do next that I'm unsure about. I "thinK" I'm supposed to turn my thermostat up slightly, put the glass lid back on, and then turn the burner to the on position. Is that correct? Or, am I supposed also pass a match over the burner points? When I turn the thermostat up, turn the burner lever to the on position, and put the glass back on, the burners don't light up--the thermostat does make it sound like the furnace kicked on, however. Would appreciate any comments. I've attached some photos, and it's worked fine the last two years.

 

Actually, you should turn the thermostat down, then turn the burner control knob to on.

At that point you should be able to use the thermostat as the control to operate the burner.

 

Chances are pretty good this is equipped with a "PG-1" pilot generator and it is in need of cleaning. If the pilot is on, check the color of the flame, any yellow on the tip?

 

Floor furnaces in my experience are famous for having maintenance neglected.

That can be a safety hazard. If you don't know when it was last cleaned and inspected, it should be done.

Also, homeowners can pull off the floor grate and then lift out the baffles that circulate air past the heat exchanger. It's very common for dust, dirt and cobwebs to plug up the air circulation, and a cleaning with brushes and a vacuum cleaner is often past due.

 

First you should start by making sure you've cleaned the furnace. Then start by making sure your thermostat,burner and pilot are off(On the plate were the adjusting rods are stationed and there are no visible directions the pilot and burner adjusting rods must be turned clockwise until it stops to be in the off position). Turn the pilot adjusting rod counter clockwise until it stops (on) and light pilot.Once the pilot is lit then turn your burner adjusting rod counter clockwise until it stops (on). Lastly set your temp on thermostat and switch on your burners should ignite.