Honest gas fireplace repair for Alafaya homeowners

Why the fireplace is isolated during a line pressure test

When house gas piping is pressure tested, the fuel gas code sets a minimum test pressure, and any appliance designed for less than that pressure has to be disconnected and its outlet capped first. One insert maker's installation manual gives the same step, warning that pressure above its stated limit damages the gas valve control, and that limit sits well below the code's minimum test pressure.

This matters after other gas work, such as a new range or water heater or a change to the piping. A fireplace valve that worked before the job and fails right after it may have seen test pressure it was never meant to handle.

Pressure testing house piping is work for the plumber or gas installer, not for our crew. What we do is check the fireplace valve and its regulator after such work and note on the estimate whether damage to the valve control is the likely cause. If piping work is planned, pass this warning to whoever will do it.

Gas log sets in a wood-burning fireplace

A gas log set sits in a fireplace that was built to burn wood, and Florida's fuel gas code treats it as a decorative appliance. It is listed to ANSI Z21.60 and installed by the maker's instructions. Apart from manually lighted natural gas sets listed to ANSI Z21.84, a set must light its main burner with a pilot, an ignitor or a direct ignition device and carry a flame safeguard that cuts the gas if ignition fails.

That makes a log set repair a matter of the set's own burner, pilot and safeguard, checked against its maker's manual and label much like any vented gas fireplace. The code allows these sets only in approved solid fuel-burning fireplaces, so the fireplace around the set is part of the picture too.

Existing log sets are repaired here, starting with the label, the ignition type and the safeguard. If a set is beyond repair or you want a new one, that work goes to our gas log installation service and appears as a separate option on your estimate.

A fireplace that seems to give less heat

Some heat complaints start with the controls rather than a fault. On one insert, the remote acts as the thermostat, so where it sits matters. The owner's manual says to keep it close to the appliance but not directly in front of it, and out of the path of drafts and vents. In thermostat mode the flame also turns itself down as the room nears the set temperature, which the manual calls normal behavior.

Expectations matter too. That maker lists the fireplace as supplemental room heat or a decorative appliance, not a primary heat source.

When the controls are not the answer, the causes are physical, and our technician checks the ones the manuals point to. Each finding is priced on its own line.

• Burner ports partly plugged
• Inlet or manifold pressure below the rating plate
• A fan that no longer runs
• An air shutter set away from the manual's setting

Backed by our workmanship warranty

For Alafaya homeowners, our gas fireplace repairs are backed by our workmanship warranty and by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Before the visit ends, our technician runs the fireplace through its lighting sequence, as the manuals call for after service, and you get a written record of the work we did.

The appliance's own warranty is separate and belongs to the maker. Heat & Glo's terms, for example, set their own coverage and exclude damage from components the maker did not supply or approve and from repairs performed incorrectly. That is one more reason the parts on our estimates are the ones the maker specifies for your model.

If you have the original paperwork for the fireplace, keep it with the model and serial number, since it helps with any claim you make to the maker. We read both off the rating plate onto your estimate either way.