Propane Fireplace question (new home, closing, safety) - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary - North Carolina (NC) -The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

newmom5497 · 11-19-2008, 06:43 PM

We just had ours hooked up this week. There does not seem to be much a flame...we've turned the gauge all the way up, rearranged the fake ashes, etc. and still very little flames(almost looks like a candle).....any suggestions? Or is this normal for propane fireplaces? We had a natural gas fireplace in Jersey and the flames were MUCH larger/more like a roaring fire.

Thanks!

Andy64 · 11-19-2008, 06:49 PM

That does not sound normal. We have one and do not use the fake ashes, however, at the lowest setting it has a fairly large flame. Perhaps you have a kink in the gas line somewhere or there is an issue inside the unit/valve itself. Is this a new home/new unit ? if so you should have a warranty on it.

newmom5497 · 11-19-2008, 06:55 PM

New home(under 6 months)...we'll check the warranty. Thanks.

rfb · 11-19-2008, 07:31 PM

Remove the bottom cover off the fireplace and check to see if there is a knob that controls the amount of gas that is used for the fire. We have two propane fireplaces in our house. One has a variable flame control, the other a "high" or "low" setting. When either is set low, there is little flame output from the fireplace.

sacredgrooves · 11-19-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newmom5497

We just had ours hooked up this week. There does not seem to be much a flame...we've turned the gauge all the way up, rearranged the fake ashes, etc. and still very little flames(almost looks like a candle).....any suggestions? Or is this normal for propane fireplaces? We had a natural gas fireplace in Jersey and the flames were MUCH larger/more like a roaring fire.

Thanks!

Is their a wall switch for it? If it looks like a candle, that sounds like the pilot light is the only thing on....There may also be another switch underneath...

ylisa7 · 11-19-2008, 08:42 PM

We just had the same thing in addition to a bad smell. The log placement is very important. If you take the fake logs out of the fp you will see tiny holes for the flames. You have to make sure that "nothing" is covering those holes. If your logs or fake lava rocks are in the way your flame will be low and you might also get a really bad smell which can produce carbon monoxide. We had this problem and just fixed it. We also got rid of the lava rock because it was blocking our holes.

VickiR · 11-19-2008, 09:47 PM

I think the "bad smell" is just the newness of the logs wearing off. If you run the logs for a few hours, with a window open just a bit, the newness will burn off.

Newmom...I'd suggest you call the guy back that hooked them up. They should come with a 1 year warranty. You DID have THEM hook them up, right?!!

Vicki

ylisa7 · 11-20-2008, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VickiR

I think the "bad smell" is just the newness of the logs wearing off. If you run the logs for a few hours, with a window open just a bit, the newness will burn off.

Vicki

That's what we thought. We did burn the logs off on high for over 8 hours on high. This only helped a little. We removed the lava rocks and re positioned the logs and the smell went away. Some of our lava rocks were blocking the small holes which was also setting off our carbon monoxided detector.

Now everything is fixed.

MI-Roger · 11-20-2008, 08:25 AM

Is your new gas fireplace a vented fireplace (meaning it has a chimney or vent to the outside), or a vent free (meaning it vents into the room like a gas stove)? Vent free fireplaces are required to produce a much smaller flame because the products of combustion vent back into the home. Vented fire places can produce a roaring flame!

Another required safety item on a vented firplace with pilot light is a small blocking piece that prevents the fireplace dmaper from closing 100%. Our gas log set came with a "beam clamp" that attaches to the damper opening to keep the damper slightly ajar even when it appears to be closed. This allows the combustion products from the pilot to safely vent out of the chimney, at least in theory.

gatorxxx · 11-20-2008, 09:42 AM

Make sure your gas is turned on at the tank. You can have gas in the line and it will burn on low for a while before it burns out, depending on how long your feed line is. Some set ups also have an inline flame adjuster. If its a new unit, they should have left you some instructions on its operation.