Gas log installation from a family-owned team in Lake Mary Jane

A burner that shuts down partway through

When a log set goes out after running a while, one maker's troubleshooting table lists several causes, each with its own fix. Our technicians check them in order before recommending new parts.

Most of these are found and fixed on the first visit, and the estimate says which one it was.

• Gas pressure too low or too high
• Logs out of position
• Soot in the flue, fireplace or damper area
• A fireplace too small for the burner
• A pilot flame lifting off its sensor
• Debris or lava granules on the burner ports

A supplemental heater only

Florida's fuel gas code, in section 621.2, does not allow unvented room heaters to be a home's only source of comfort heat. One vent-free manual pitches its set as extra heat for a single room and never as the main heat for the house.

For most homes that is exactly how a log set gets used, a warm fire on a cool evening. Our specialists make sure the set you choose is sized for that role and not asked to do more.

Fans, drafts and flame patterns

A vent-free flame is sensitive to moving air. One manual warns not to let fans blow directly into the fireplace and to avoid any drafts that alter the burner's flame pattern, and it rules out installing the heater in high traffic, windy or drafty areas.

Ceiling fans, air conditioning registers and doors to the patio can all send air across a firebox. Our crew looks at what moves air around your fireplace and suggests simple changes when a flame is being pushed around.

A log lighter is not a log set

Many wood-burning fireplaces have a gas pipe under the grate to help start wood fires. That lighter is a simple pipe worked by a key valve, and it is a different thing from a listed log set with its own burner pan, logs and flame safeguard.

Turning that fireplace into a gas log fireplace means installing a listed set with its own burner and controls, clamping the damper and following the set's manual. Our crew explains what stays and what changes, in writing.

Protecting the room on installation day

A gas log installation happens in the middle of your living room. Our crew covers the floor and the hearth, moves furniture only with your say-so and keeps the work area contained around the fireplace.

Cleaning the firebox and flue comes first, before the new set is unpacked, so soot and ash never reach the new burner. At the end, the area is cleaned and the old set, if we removed it, goes with us.