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Common Problem

Gas Fireplace Won't Light Or Won't Stay Lit

Clicking but no flame, a pilot that dies, a unit that shuts itself off. These are a handful of known failures, and we carry the parts for most of them.

★★★★★ Serving Oregon since 2001 5.0 star rating 1,000+ jobs completed Licensed & insured
★★★★★ Rated 5.0 on Google · The highest rating of any established chimney company in Portland
Since 200125+ Years
948+Customer Reviews
5.0Google Rating
7am–8pmMon–Fri · Sat 9–6
The Usual Causes

Four things cause almost all of it

Working out which one you have is the whole job. Guessing is how people pay for repairs they never needed.

The pilot lights but dies when you release the knob

Classic thermocouple failure. It is one of the most common and most affordable gas fireplace repairs there is.

It clicks but never ignites

Spark igniter or ignition module. Sometimes it is simply dirty and needs cleaning rather than replacing.

It runs, then shuts itself off

Usually a weak thermopile, or a vent safety switch doing exactly its job. Both need diagnosis, not guesswork.

Nothing happens at all

Check the gas valve and the wall switch first. After that it is the valve or the wiring, and that is a job for a technician.

Read Your Symptoms

What your particular version means

You have not had it serviced in over a yearDust, pet hair and spider webs clog pilot assemblies. Most no-start calls we get are a dirty unit, not a broken one.
The glass has gone hazyMineral deposits bake onto gas fireplace glass. It cleans up properly, and it usually comes off along with the service visit.
You smell gasLeave the house and call the gas utility first. Not us, not later — first.
Soot is appearing on the logs or glassThe flame is burning dirty. Left alone it stains the unit and points to a combustion problem worth checking.

Call (503) 490-7724

How We Find It

Photographed, not guessed

Tell us the symptom

When it happens, what it looks like, what changed. That alone narrows it down a long way.

We inspect and photograph

Top to bottom, on camera. You see the actual cause on a screen rather than taking our word for it.

One upfront price

A written quote for the real fix, and an honest answer if the problem is not a chimney problem at all.

The Perfect Chimney Promise

Six commitments, on every single job

The chimney trade has an upsell problem. These are the rules we hold ourselves to — read them, then hold us to them.

Upfront pricing, locked

The number we quote is the number you pay. Our price never goes up once the technician is at your door.

Photo proof on every job

You see what we see — every finding photographed, before and after. No trust-me diagnoses.

No upsells, ever

We tell you when your chimney is fine. Technicians are never paid to sell you repairs you don't need.

Perfect Chimney, since 2001

More than 25 years in the chimney trade. Around 10 Perfect Chimney technicians who live here — never a call centre, never a temp crew, never a subcontractor in an unmarked van.

Six days a week

Monday to Friday 7am–8pm and Saturday 9am–6pm. A real person answers — never a call centre, never an answering service.

Licensed & insured

Fully licensed and insured for every job we take, from a $99 sweep to a full masonry rebuild.

Customer Reviews

Rated 5.0 by nearly a thousand homeowners

★★★★★500+Google reviews — open our listing
★★★★★448Thumbtack reviews

Over 1,000 jobs completed across the Portland metro, rated 5.0 on Google and reviewed on Thumbtack, Yelp, Facebook and Nextdoor. Every figure here is one you can open and check yourself.

★★★★★

"Really nice guys, and really great work! 10/10 recommend."

GOOGLE REVIEW
★★★★★

"Tim and Nate were wonderful. Will call for future maintenance!"

GOOGLE REVIEW
★★★★★

"Great communication from start to finish. Our project and chimney cleaning were completed quickly."

GOOGLE REVIEW · CLEANING
★★★★★

"We contacted Perfect Chimney to clean a gas fireplace flue. They were very responsive…"

YELP REVIEW · GAS FIREPLACE

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FAQ

Questions we get on this one

Is it safe to keep trying to light it?

If it smells of gas, no — leave and call the utility. If it simply will not light, repeated attempts do no harm, but a unit that shuts itself off is telling you a safety system tripped for a reason.

Do you carry the parts?

We stock the common failure parts — thermocouples, thermopiles, igniters — so most of these repairs finish in one visit.

My fireplace brand no longer exists. Can you still fix it?

Usually. Most gas components are standardised across brands. If a unit genuinely is not worth repairing we will say so instead of selling you parts.

Which brands do you work on?

Heat & Glo, Heatilator, Napoleon, Regency, Lopi, Valor, Majestic, Mendota and most others.

Where We Work

Thirty cities across Oregon & SW Washington

From Longview down to Salem. We are mobile — no storefront, no showroom markup, no trip fees. Same crew and same published pricing everywhere we work.

PortlandSalemVancouver WABeavertonHillsboroTigardLake OswegoGreshamOregon CityHappy ValleyMilwaukieTualatinWest LinnWilsonvilleNewbergMcMinnvilleSherwoodForest GroveCanbySandyTroutdaleSt. HelensWoodburnCamasBattle GroundWashougalRidgefieldLa CenterWoodlandLongview

See All 30 Cities

Free Estimate

Request your estimate

Honest, upfront pricing. We reply fast — usually within the hour during the day.

10% off all repairsMilitary, veterans, seniors and retirees. Tell us when you book and it comes off the written quote before you agree to anything.
Book your serviceRESPONSE WITHIN THE HOUR

No obligation. We never sell your details. Prefer to talk? Call (503) 490-7724 — Mon–Fri 7am–8pm · Sat 9am–6pm.

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Ready When You Are

Clean. Safe. Reliable. Since 2001.

Call, text a photo, or book online. Monday–Friday 7:00am–8:00pm · Saturday 9:00am–6:00pm · Sunday closed.

(503) 490-7724Call Perfect Chimney