Gas log installation done by the manual in Lawsona/Fern Creek

Room volume and a vent-free set

Section 621.5 of the Florida fuel gas code sets one shared allowance for every unvented appliance in a room or space, 20 Btu per hour per cubic foot. A set rated at 30,000 Btu per hour needs at least 1,500 cubic feet around it.

Our pros measure the floor area and ceiling height, account for other unvented appliances in the same space and show the arithmetic in writing. Where openings to other rooms count toward the volume, we explain how the manual treats them.

No wood fires once a vent-free set is in

A vent-free set turns a wood-burning fireplace into a gas appliance for good. One manual says solid fuels shall not be burned in a fireplace in which an unvented room heater is installed, and that the heater must not be used as a wood-burning heater.

The same manual says to use only the logs provided and never to place objects in the heater or on the logs. If you still want an occasional wood fire, our specialists explain what that means for the choice of set.

When the log set pilot keeps dropping out

When a log set pilot lights and then drops out, one maker's troubleshooting table points to several parts. Our technicians check each one before recommending a repair.

Pilot parts are specific to the valve, so replacements come from the set's own parts list.

• A valve that will not hold
• A pilot hood bent away from the thermocouple
• A bent or kinked pilot line
• A loose, cracked or worn thermocouple
• Excessive downdraft in the chimney

If you smell gas at the fireplace

Log set manuals open with the same steps for a gas smell. Light nothing, touch no electrical switch and make no phone call from inside. Leave the house right away and call the gas utility from outside or from a neighbor's phone, and call 911 or the fire department if the utility cannot be reached.

Nobody should hunt for the leak. After the utility or the fire department has made the house safe, the set stays off until a qualified technician has found and repaired the cause.

Gas logs in a manufactured home

One vented log set manual allows installation in an aftermarket, permanently located manufactured home where local codes do not prohibit it, and it names the federal and national standards those installations must meet.

Not every set carries that allowance, and not every fireplace in a manufactured home is built for gas logs. Our pros check the set's listing and the fireplace's own label before recommending anything.