Hello All,

Please help. I have 2 gas lights flanking my driveway but I cannot seem to get gas to them. I have located the supply from the house and opened the gas valve on the lamp post (1/4 turn open) but no gas. I am almost positive the venturi tube and orifice need to be removed an cleaned but I don't know how to do it. If I put a wrench on the tube the valve spins.

My question is how do I clamp the valve inside the lamp post so I can spin the burner tube off?

 

Will the wrench you use to turn the gas on and off hold the valve still while you turn the tube above? The whole assembly is not going to take a lot of force wihtout breaking. So you will want to use Liquid Wrench on the screw threads which are just inside the shell at the base of the venturi tube and above the valve. Can you slide the air mixture shutter up on the venturi base shell so you can run the Liquid Wrench down the inside of the shell via the air holes?

Can you reach and poke a safety* pin or a bent paper clip into the orifice?

The gas valve spinning means you have a gas leak. The pole has to be disassembled to fix that.

Did the light fixtures ever work? I actually doubt that a clogged orifice is the problem especially when both of the fixtures don't work.

If the lights have not been used for a long time it is possible that air got into the gas lines and it might take more than a few minutes with the gas left running to (mandatorily) purge the air.through the tiny orifices

Is there another shutoff or a submaster shutoff for the gas lines in the house that feed the gas lights?

* It is important that the tool not fall into the orifice. Do not use force.

 

It would not surprise me that the orifices' are in fact clogged. Common with grills left out in the off season. Spiders and heat webs, dust and corrosion. Very common.

 

Thanks for the replies.
AllanJ
Question: Will the wrench you use to turn the gas on and off hold the valve still while you turn the tube above?
> No. Flat head screwdriver turns the gas on and cannot be used to clamp the valve

The whole assembly is not going to take a lot of force wihtout breaking. So you will want to use Liquid Wrench on the screw threads which are just inside the shell at the base of the venturi tube and above the valve.

Question: Can you slide the air mixture shutter up on the venturi base shell so you can run the Liquid Wrench down the inside of the shell via the air holes?
> Yes I can do this - good suggestion

Question: Can you reach and poke a safety* pin or a bent paper clip into the orifice?
> I would like to disassemble the various pieces of the burner assembly to better clean each part

The gas valve spinning means you have a gas leak. The pole has to be disassembled to fix that.
> I don't think there is a leak - the copper tube supply, the valve and the burner venturi tube are all moving at the same time. That said disassembly is exactly what I am trying to do.

Question: Did the light fixtures ever work? I actually doubt that a clogged orifice is the problem especially when both of the fixtures don't work.
> I just purchased the house so I have no idea how long the lamps have been out of commission. I am positive the various parts are clogged with bugs, webs, debris. I was able to unscrew the dual manifold at the top and it was caked with bugs and all sorts of crap.

If the lights have not been used for a long time it is possible that air got into the gas lines and it might take more than a few minutes with the gas left running to (mandatorily) purge the air.through the tiny orifices
> The line is plugged solid - I open the main valve from the house and the valve at the lamp post. I cannot hear, feel or smell anything coming from the lamp.

Is there another shutoff or a submaster shutoff for the gas lines in the house that feed the gas lights?
> Yes there is a main shutoff valve that feeds both lamps located at the house

* It is important that the tool not fall into the orifice. Do not use force.

Thanks again for your reply. I will try the liquid wrench to make things easier to break apart.

 

Update: I managed to get the lamp off the post by unscrewing a set screw and then just pulling the lamp (tubing still connected) about 5 inches vertically. Once it was off the post I gained access to the shut off valve where I could then disconnect the tubing.

Unfortunately I still cannot get any gas out of the copper tube supply to the post. Only 1 shut off valve at the house and open ended copper tube at the post. Next step is to disconnect directly downstream of the shut off valve at the house.

 

Can you see the entire path of the gas line inside the house ?
It almost sounds like the line may have been capped off.

 

Yes I can see the path inside the house. Branches down to the furnace and hot water tank before going through the foundation wall. On the exterior there is 1 1/4 turn shut off valve before the piping goes underground towards the driveway lamps. Have a gas fitter coming over now.