Thank you for posting your question here on Fixya.com. Along the manifold there will be several gas ports feeding gas into the burner tray tubes. The tubes are the narrow steel tubes that extend under the heater from the gas line. We use a piece of #12 solid wire and run it in and out of the tubes from under the manifold. Spiders like nesting in the tubes and their silk blocks the gas flow. Once the gas migrates over from further away from the pilot you get the 'whoosh' of ignition. As you clean the tubes and recheck the heater be sure you pay attention to the flame color. Anywhere you see orange flames above a tube you need to shut down and then clean the tube. Orange flame means poor combustion and needs to be fixed to prevent sooting. If this answer does not fix your problem, please comment with additional details prior to rating the answer. Positive feedback is appreciated once your problem is solved! John
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Thank you for posting your question here on Fixya.com.
Along the manifold there will be several gas ports feeding gas into the burner tray tubes. The tubes are the narrow steel tubes that extend under the heater from the gas line. We use a piece of #12 solid wire and run it in and out of the tubes from under the manifold. Spiders like nesting in the tubes and their silk blocks the gas flow. Once the gas migrates over from further away from the pilot you get the 'whoosh' of ignition. As you clean the tubes and recheck the heater be sure you pay attention to the flame color. Anywhere you see orange flames above a tube you need to shut down and then clean the tube. Orange flame means poor combustion and needs to be fixed to prevent sooting.
If this answer does not fix your problem, please comment with additional details prior to rating the answer. Positive feedback is appreciated once your problem is solved!
John