Gas log installation sized to your Whisper Lakes fireplace

The kind of fireplace a vented log set needs

A vented gas log set is built to sit in a real wood-burning fireplace. One maker's manual says its set may be installed only in a wood-burning fireplace built of noncombustible material, with a flue that works, with combustion and ventilation air provided as the national fuel gas code requires.

That rules out decorative openings, fireplaces with no flue and boxes built from combustible material. Our pros confirm the fireplace type, the flue and the construction before any set is recommended.

How the set lights and what stops the gas

Florida's fuel gas code, in section 602.2, wants the main burner of a decorative set lit by direct ignition, by an igniter or by a pilot, backed by a flame safeguard. Sets listed to ANSI Z21.84, the standard for manually lighted sets, are the exception.

The flame safeguard is what stops gas to the burner when the ignition fails. Our technicians check that it works on every set we install or service, and they do not install a burner that lacks one unless its listing allows it.

Embers and extras the set does not list

Glowing embers make a log set look alive, and more is not better. One maker says not to add any additional embers to its set, since extra embers will cause unsafe operation, and to discard the ember screen and extra embers supplied with one of its log styles because they do not apply to that burner.

A vent-free manual goes further, ruling out added logs and ornaments such as pine cones. Our crew installs exactly the media and embers your set lists.

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

Taking out an old gas log set

Replacing a set means removing the old burner, logs, media and embers without leaving debris in the firebox. The old connection is shut off and made safe before anything is lifted out.

Our crew lists removal and disposal on its own line of the estimate. If parts of the old installation are reusable under the new set's manual, such as a sound shutoff valve, we say so and explain how that affects the price.