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| Okay, we'll, given that I'm a VAL6 dealer, I can't say I know too much about troubleshooting the Mi-T-M heater, but I'll give it a whirl as if I'm troubleshooting one of ours...
Basically, as with any fire, three things are needed: Fuel, Spark and Air. Now, to address your concern first, about you thinking maybe it's sucking air, I know that when the VAL6 is sucking air, the connections might be a little loose. I know it's not the same heater, but checking the lines on ours is pretty straight forward... you just make sure they're all tight. One way to make sure, on a VAL6 anyway, if it's sucking air, is it SOUNDS like it's sucking air. When we fire ours up, there will be kind of a loud buzzing sound, which goes away as soon as the fire is lit. Is the Mi-T-M the same? If so, and it's not making that noise, that might not be the problem.
To jump to the most common reason why a VAL6 wouldn't be firing reliably would be on account of dirty fuel possibly blocking the nozzle. That's a pretty easy nozzle replacement. Anyone viewing this thread in search of an answer to this problem can see our YouTube video tutorials, and hopefully, that will help you out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH0urA7XC7k and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4aLAiiDbQE. The fact is, 99% of problems arising with a VAL6 heater come from the fuel source. Make sure you're putting in clean fuel, and you should be alright. If you suspect you have dirty fuel, clean out the tank, then disconnect all of the fuel lines, one at a time, blow them out, and try to kick it on after each line to see if that's where the problem was. (Oh, and don't forget the filter. Replace that, and clean out the bowl.) The last thing to replace is your nozzle. If you do it in reverse order, you might replace your nozzle, only to send more dirty fuel up and clog the new one. Then you have to replace it again.
On that note, there is a stark contrast between the Pinnacle/Mi-T-M heater and the VAL6 series. Here's a fact: The fuel nozzles that BOTH brands of heaters use have such small output holes that it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to be made error free. It's simply too pinpoint to get it 100% correct. The VAL6 is DESIGNED and BUILT to handle these deficiencies and variations in the fuel nozzle. Based on our research, the Pinnacle/Mi-T-M heater is not. Some folks will buy a Mi-T-M/Pinnacle heater, and be totally fine with it. No problems. What that says is that they were one of the lucky ones that got a decent fuel nozzle in theirs. Then, there are the buyers who have nothing but troubles. They're the unfortunate ones who have bad nozzles. Each of these buyers heaters might change personalities each time they change fuel nozzles. With a VAL6, you don't have to worry about that. That's not to say that fuel nozzles don't get clogged from dirty fuel. That's common with both heaters. However, with the clog, once you change the nozzle, you don't have to worry about your VAL6 becoming cranky and dysfunctional. ;-)
Back to your problem, cattlefeeder: The final thing to worry about is spark. Make sure your electrodes are sparking properly so that you can rule that out. This is where my knowledge of the Pinnacle/Mi-T-M falls apart, so you're on your own! (However, in general, this isn't the problem, at least with the VAL6. Like I said, 99% of problems come down to fuel with us. So, try that first.)
Hope it works out for you!
Danny
Midwest Best Equipment | |
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Generic Val-6 heaters?
