Gas log installation pros serving Richmond Heights

Why a log set smokes or soots

Smoke and soot from a gas log set have a known list of causes. One maker's troubleshooting table covers the chimney, the damper, the burner position, the media, the air openings and the logs themselves.

Our pros work through that list in order at your home, because the fix for a closed damper is nothing like the fix for a propane burner running on natural gas.

• Poor draft, downdraft or a closed damper
• Burner too close to the front of the firebox
• Media placed wrong or packed too tight
• Air mixer closed or air shutters blocked
• Logs out of position
• Burner built for the other gas
• Accessories that do not belong to the set

Gas pipe sized for the burner

Pipe that is too small or too long starves a burner. One maker says the gas piping must be sized to provide the minimum inlet pressure at the set's maximum flow, with a supply pipe of at least 1/2 inch inside diameter.

The same manual adds that a line longer than 20 feet may need a larger diameter and points to NFPA 54 for the details. Our pros look at the existing line and tell you whether it suits the set before anything is ordered.

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.

A burner that does not burn evenly

When part of a burner lights late or burns low, one maker's troubleshooting table points to clogged burner ports, media packed too tightly and, where the top burner lights before the bottom, low pressure from a gas line that is too small.

On propane sets the same table adds a low tank and soot in the burner tube. Our technicians clean the ports, loosen the media and check the pressure before recommending anything bigger.

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.