Gas Fireplace Experts?

[tsteele999]

I figure someone here must know how gas fireplace logs work. We bought this house last June, the previous owners showed me that the fireplace logs worked but I wasn't really paying attention to the steps they took. They also said they normally left everything off because they didn't use it much.

What I have:

A "key" looking valve on the wall by the fireplace- Says "off"and "on", but (I assume the owners had it in the off position) it seems to turn to on by turning cw, the opposite of the normal way to open a valve. It can be turned a few times end to end.

In the fireplace, beside the logs, a little metal box, off and on knob, I assume to be the pilot control. No buttons to push for an igniter, I remember the owners using a lighter ( the long kind for barbeques) to light the pilot. I don't see any other controls.

I don't want to blow the house up or kill everybody in our sleep. If no one knows I guess I'll call an expert.

[Squirrel Girl]

I don't want to blow the house up or kill everybody in our sleep. If no one knows I guess I'll call an expert.I have a gas fireplace. Mine works simply by flicking the "light" switch on the wall. I am most definitely not an expert on such things. However, I will urge you to buy a CO detector. I put one next to the fireplace and one upstairs by the bedrooms. It's one of those cost benefit ratio things. The chance of needing it is small, but in that remote chance I do need it, man, it'll have been worth a milliion times the few $$ I spent on it.

SG

[TrailVictim]

[QUOTE=tsteele999]I figure someone here must know how gas fireplace logs work. We bought this house last June, the previous owners showed me that the fireplace logs worked but I wasn't really paying attention to the steps they took. They also said they normally left everything off because they didn't use it much.

What I have:

A "key" looking valve on the wall by the fireplace- Says "off"and "on", but (I assume the owners had it in the off position) it seems to turn to on by turning cw, the opposite of the normal way to open a valve. It can be turned a few times end to end.

In the fireplace, beside the logs, a little metal box, off and on knob, I assume to be the pilot control. No buttons to push for an igniter, I remember the owners using a lighter ( the long kind for barbeques) to light the pilot. I don't see any other controls.

I don't want to blow the house up or kill everybody in our sleep. If no one knows I guess I'll call an expert.[/QUO
.

[TrailVictim]

Err, somebody stole my response.

[tsteele999]

Ok, an update. I got the pilot light to start (had to push in while holding the lighter near the little pipe), got a nice fire going, but if I turn the valve on the wall the fire doesn't go out...pilot stays on no matter what. Strange. The heating guy is coming out tomorrow for the furnace checkup, hopefully he'll know the deal.

[themonkeyman]

I *think* that the pilot is like the pilot light in a furnace, it doesn;t go out. You just leave it on, and then when you want a real fire, you just add gas from the "key" in the wall. I am not sure about this and don;t have a gas fireplace. So please don;t sue me if you do blowup ;)

This is why I stick to a REAL fireplace, with real logs :)

[tsteele999]

I *think* that the pilot is like the pilot light in a furnace, it doesn;t go out. You just leave it on, and then when you want a real fire, you just add gas from the "key" in the wall. I am not sure about this and don;t have a gas fireplace. So please don;t sue me if you do blowup ;)

This is why I stick to a REAL fireplace, with real logs :)

That's all I've ever had before.

[liltommy]

Well, mostly forever. I'm no expert. I install glass for a living. Glass-Gas, damn close anyways.

Monkey is right. I have a glass, oops, gas fireplace and the pilot light stays on all the time. I just turn mine off in the spring and then relight when winter rolls back around.

[seanb1974]

yup, my pilot stays on all the time too and actually i never turn mine off. Actually never thought I could, since I couldn't figure out how to get behind the glass front. House is only 4 yrs old, so not sure if that's just how they make em these days or if I am just a foo'.

;-)