Family-owned gas fireplace repair serving Riverside Acres

Low gas pressure and its causes

When the readings show the fireplace is short of gas, the fault may sit outside the fireplace. One of the manuals we have read adds that supply piping has to be sized to deliver the minimum inlet pressure at full flow, since pipe that is too small causes undue pressure loss.

That manual also warns that excess thread sealant inside a pipe can clog the burner system's valves. Changing that piping is a job for the plumber or qualified gas installer, and our crew does not alter it.

We measure at the appliance, confirm the fireplace side is sound and write the finding on your estimate so the right trade can take it from there. The charts we follow list these causes of low pressure.

• A bent line feeding the appliance
• A restriction in the line
• Low pressure in the supply itself
• A propane tank that has run empty

Leak checks on the appliance connections

A yearly service list we follow includes a leak check of every accessible gas-carrying tube, connection and fitting. The fuel gas code allows leaks to be located with an approved gas detector, a noncorrosive leak detection fluid or another approved method, and the fireplace manuals add that an open flame is never used.

One natural vent manual also warns against spraying solution onto the control body, and notes that excess pipe compound can set off an electronic detector. A leak on the appliance's own valve, pilot or burner joints is part of the fireplace repair, while one on the connector or the supply piping is referred to the plumber or gas installer who works on house piping.

Any fitting disturbed during a repair is checked before the fireplace is lit again, as the installation manuals direct. On repair and service visits in Riverside Acres, our technician uses that manual's list of points as a guide.

• The pipe from the supply connection to the gas valve
• Every joint on the valve and control body
• The burner and pilot connections
• Field-made and factory-made joints alike

Plugged or corroded burner ports

The burner is a hollow pan or tube with rows of small ports, and the flame is only as good as those openings. Dust, lint, stray ember material and corrosion can block them one by one. Two vent manuals ask for the burner porting and air openings to be kept free of obstructions at all times.

A yearly technician checklist we work from puts it in three steps. Clean off the burner top, inspect it for plugged ports, corrosion or deterioration, and replace the burner if necessary. Corrosion or deterioration that has changed the ports cannot be cleaned away, which is why the checklist allows for replacement.

Ports are cleaned where the manual allows, and the flame is then watched across the whole burner. When replacement is the answer, the estimate names the burner from the maker's parts list for your model, priced separately from the service work.

The mesh barrier in front of the hot glass

The direct vent fireplaces in the manuals we have read come with a mesh screen or barrier in front of the glass. An insert owner's manual describes it as a barrier designed to reduce the risk of burns from the hot viewing glass, which must be installed for the protection of children and other at-risk individuals. Another maker's screen instructions add that the barrier is not a replacement for the glass.

Any safety screen, guard or barrier removed for servicing must go back before the fireplace is operated, according to those manuals. A damaged barrier is replaced with the maker's barrier for that appliance. The insert manual also warns that only fronts approved by the maker should be fitted, because unapproved doors or fronts may cause the fireplace to overheat.

Before a serviced unit is lit, the barrier is checked in its slots or tabs, the mesh is looked over and the front is compared with the ones the maker lists. A bent frame or torn mesh is written up with the maker's part, so the fireplace in your Riverside Acres home is not left running without it.