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No matter what type of gas appliance you have, it requires maintenance.

1. What type of maintenance is required for a gas stove or fireplace?
   • Very little normal maintenance is required. Homeowners should be able to clean the glass, and control compartment clear of dust and debris. Most people find it better for the more technical maintenance to be performed by a qualified service technician. Most manufacturers recommend that the gas connections, electrical components, and gas trains be serviced annually by a service technician. Typically, there are only a few wearable parts in today’s gas fireplaces and stoves. The logs, glass, burner, and other major parts are normally covered by long warranties and are designed to last the life of the appliance. Pilot assemblies contain wearable parts that need to be replaced every 3 – 10 years. This includes the thermocouple, thermopile, and/or Oxygen Depletion Sensor.
2. The pilot light won’t light, or won’t stay lit. 
   • First, if you are using propane or LP, please go to the tank, lift the lid and confirm that you have fuel. There will be a gauge on the tank that tells you how full the tank is by percentage. Even if you just had your tank filled and you never use any gas – check. Mistakes and leaks happen, and we can’t do anything until you have gas.  If you have gas, click here to learn about pilot issues.
     
3. The burner won’t light or makes noise or messy black stuff when it does.
   • These are usually service call issues, but there are a few things to check. Click here for burner issues.  
4. How do I clean the glass? 
   • If your gas fireplace or stove has a glass panel on the front, it normally can be removed with a few screws, or clamps holding it in place. Once removed, a high-quality gas fireplace glass cleaner should be used. Normal ammonia-type glass cleaners have been known to affect the finish of the glass, including putting a rainbow effect in it that cannot be removed.
5. Your appliance is too hot, or not hot enough.
   • This may be a service issue caused by gas pressure issues or installation issues, or it may just be the wrong type of appliance for you. We will assess these situations at no charge for any brand.

1. No, Dad, you should not clean your chimney by filling it with newspaper and lighting it.
   • First, let’s dispel the myth that a wood fireplace or stove can cause back drafting or indoor smoking issues by itself. Most operational problems have little to do with the fireplace. The chimney is the engine of the fireplace or stove and therefore is the most important part to diagnose. If your stove or fireplace is back drafting there are many things that can cause it. Improper chimney planning, not necessarily installation, is the general root of all evil considerations. Today’s tightly built homes offer more challenges than ever when it comes to getting smoke to leave them. We have created a balloon we call home and try to take air and smoke out without letting any in. It causes issues. Finding out why your house isn’t letting the smoke out can be a daunting task, even for a National Fireplace Institute Certified Wood Specialist, but ours have the experience to handle it. Call us for an appointment with one of them to fix your house.
2. Wood.
   • It sounds simple, and it is if you know all the rules. Seasoned cordwood is the only wood that should be used in today’s new EPA-approved stoves and fireplaces, but it seems that few people know what ‘seasoned’ means. Seasoned means cut and split and stored in such a manner that air can circulate through the wood while protecting it from precipitation. A tree, cut down and laying on the ground, will not dry out. The bark and rings of a tree are designed specifically not to let moisture out. Until you fix that, you can’t expect the tree to start to dry.
3. General Maintenance
   • Your fireplace or stove will require maintenance beyond filling it with wood and lighting. Your chimney should be cleaned annually by a certified chimney sweep. Depending on your stove or burning habits, you may need periodic cleaning throughout the season as well. Our stoves, burned correctly, should only need annual cleaning. Every time you clean your chimney, you should also inspect the firebox, gaskets, glass and latches for wear.
4. Following three key rules will enable you to help keep your chimney clean longer between cleanings.
   • First, burn only seasoned wood. Burning wet or green wood takes a huge amount of heat, which could have been used in your home, to evaporate the water before the wood can burn. This is why it burns longer in non-EPA-approved appliances, but it is not helpful or efficient. Remember – you would never add water to the gas in your car ‘to make it last longer.’
   • Second, burn it hot. Small hot fires burn more effectively and efficiently than large smoldering fires. If you plan to burn your stove for a long period of time on low, then start with a 30 – 45 minute period of burning on high, to get the chimney warm, get a large amount of fuel into the charcoal stage faster, and burn the gases and residues that would otherwise cling to your chimney.
   • Lastly, before you even buy a stove and chimney system, make sure to get the best one your budget can afford. Definitely use an insulated chimney when possible over an air-cooled chimney. Insulated chimneys keep flue gases hotter and help to create a better draft. Air-cooled chimneys can cause draft problems in cold climates by taking longer to warm up and being harder to keep warm.

The tip that makes you glad you read all the way to the bottom of the page: 

• How to clean your fireplace glass without the use of harsh chemical cleaners.
  • Take a damp cloth and dip it into the very fine white ash in your firebox. Rub this ash on the glass. Repeat as needed until the glass is like new. Buff ashes off with a clean towel. This also polishes metal extremely well, like your favorite brass Zippo lighter that you use to light your stove.

Just like your VCR that has been flashing 12:00 since the early 90s, if it plugs in and has buttons – there are issues.

There are just a few main difficulties people have using electric fireplaces. Light bulbs, remote controls and power outages/surges cause the most concerns. Every fireplace has different types of light bulbs and ways to change them, but when part of your ‘fire’ stops burning, it’s the only way to rekindle the flame. The links on the right will open a new page with links to the owner’s manual for your fireplace. Power outages will cause your fireplace to ‘reset’ to the factory condition. This is similar to the VCR flashing 12:00. It will most likely be off, however it is not unheard of for them to be reset in an ‘on’ setting. Also, your remote control will likely have to be taught to talk to the fireplace again. To learn about your particular fireplace, choose the proper link on the right side of this page.

Q&A’s

How much area is my electric fireplace supposed to heat?

• If your fireplace is running on 110/120 VAC (most are) it will put out 4500 to 5000 BTUs of heat energy, or enough to heat a well insulated room that is 10′ x 15′ x 8′. If your fireplace is running on 220/240 VAC it will double that amount. Remember, your electric fireplace is for space heating only.
  

Will it work in a power outage?

• We get this question more than some may believe. No, an electric fireplace is not a good source of heat in a power outage as it does require electricity to operate. Furthermore, the computers that control the fireplace do not function well with fluctuating power sources like inexpensive gas generators. Typically the power spikes will trip circuit breakers and fuses inside the fireplace.

Pellet Stoves Use Sophisticated Computers and Circuit Boards to Operate Correctly

Because of this, the service of your particular pellet stove will vary depending on its design. Most pellet stove problems result from a lack of maintenance. Your stove manufacturer supplied a manual with a maintenance routine much like your car came with. Unfortunately, people are accustomed to maintaining their cars more than they are their pellet appliances.

All pellet stoves require the ash pan, burn pot, firebox, hopper and chimney to be cleaned on a regular basis. Without this much-needed maintenance, the various moving parts in the appliance will stop moving – which is bad. Some appliances make cleaning fairly easy, some require some disassembly to get to the nooks and crannies.

Another cause for pellet-related problems is the pellet fuel. There is a standard followed by members of the Pellet Fuel Institute that manufacture “Premium” pellets. Many appliances require the use of premium pellets in order to operate correctly. Some appliances can use so-called non-premium or standard pellets. These pellets will not burn at the same rate as premium pellets, so adjustments to the combustion air, auger feed rate and exhaust fan must be made. Some appliance companies have computers to monitor and automatically adjust these settings inside the appliance. If yours does not, switching brands of pellets may require manual adjustment.

Finally, the complexity of the pellet appliance’s inner workings can sometimes be its own undoing. Fire and computers have never had a good relationship, much like water and electricity. When placed in close proximity, one side normally wins. Common replacement parts for pellet appliances are computers, circuit boards, ignitors, fans, blowers, sensors, limit switches and auger motors. Because most pellet appliance manufacturers only place a 2 – 3 year warranty on these parts, you should be prepared to replace them as wearable parts.

Q&A’s

How much fuel should I be using?

• Wood pellets are available in 40 pound bags at about $4-5 each, which translates to $200-250 per ton. Average consumption will run from 1-2 tons for occasional use to 6+ tons for a heavy full-time user.

Will it work in a power outage?

• We get this question more than some may believe. No, a pellet appliance is not a good source of heat in a power outage as it does require electricity to operate. Furthermore, the computers that control the appliance do not function well with fluctuating power sources like inexpensive gas generators. Typically the power spikes will trip circuits and computers inside the appliance.