The Almighty Fireplace

The fireplace is the one product any new home built in North America is sure to have. With just this one small item your home may look like a king’s palace. Ok, it might not do that, but will makes your house more interesting to look at than staring at a blank wall.

You may have to build a house one of these days, so might wanna read on:

Typically there are two kinds of fireplaces- gas and electric. Wood fireplaces are sometimes installed too. Electric fireplaces use electricity to create heat, and gas ones require some sort of gas(usually LPG or natural gas)

Most smaller sized gas fireplaces are not really designed for heat purposes, they’re more for decoration. They look good as they are but even better with the flame lit, and give off some heat as a bonus.

Most people never use their Gas fireplace. Using a gas fireplace has many advantages over other kinds. The best thing about a gas fireplace is that this is one of the safest devices on the planet. Something can go wrong with a many billion dollar space shuttle but not with a gas fireplace. Fires caused by a fireplace are unheard of. The design of the modern fireplace is nothing short of pure genius, and not the Wile E Coyote kind.

The main reason why no gas ever escapes is because the gas flow from the valve housing to the burner is controlled by a heat activated device. As long as the burner's lit the ‘thermopile’ is kept heated and keeps the gas valve open. Once the flame goes out and the thermopile temperature drops, the gas valve automatically closes. So there’s no chance of a gas leak.

Every certified fireplace company thoroughly tests a unit before it’s shipped out. The other reason is the way fireplaces are installed in buildings.

I would put a gas fireplace in my home because there isn’t any need for electricity at all to keep it lit, not even to ignite it. When the power goes out, all kids of heating systems are rendered useless. Water heat requires pumps to pump the water though the house. And furnaces won’t work if there’s no power.

If you want to light your fireplace here are some ways to help you though:
There’s a good chance your fireplace might look like this:

Before doing anything, check to see it the pilot burner is still lit. You should be able to see the equivalent of a small candle flame inside the glass cover. If you can’t see it feel to see if the glass is warm.

If you see the pilot, you’re set! Locate the switch near the fireplace and turn it to the ‘on’ position and the fireplace should light, and you are on your way!
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If you don’t see the pilot flame and the glass cover door is cold, locate the switch and turn it to the ‘on’ position.

At the BOTTOM of the fireplace there is a grill-like thing called the louvers(top picture), this cover easily comes off by gently pushing it upwards and out. When that’s done, take it out.

Something resembling similar to this should reveal itself:

There should be a book manual in this space, the one on the left is what I’m talking about. There should also be a metal mini-manual and quick reference guide, usually two sided, attached to the fireplace chassis with a chain.

The manual should be kept in a safe place ie. where it is now. Go to the table of contents and locate the page labeled ‘operating instructions’ read over them to familiarize yourself about safely operating your fireplace. The metal quick reference lighting guide does the same thing in case the main manual gets lost.

These are the brains of a gas fireplace. The thing with the knobs is the central valve. This controls how much gas to supply to the fireplace burner. The mechanism that cuts off the gas supply in case the flame goes out is also housed within this. The main shutoff valve is also located here too.

So if your pilot isn’t lit, find where the control knob is. It is usually labeled with ‘pilot’, ‘on’ and ‘off.’ The red horizontal line to the right of this particular model lets you know what setting the knob is at.

Turn the control knob till the red line points to the ‘pilot’ position.

You have to start here at the pilot position because this is where you can freely start the pilot and warm up the thermopile to a suitable temperature.

When you press it, it should give in with little effort. Once pressed hissing of air/gas is usually heard- this is normal.

Whilst keeping it pressed at the pilot position press the igniter button. If you don’t see the pilot turn on, keep pressing the igniter until it does. Once the pilot is burning let it burn for about 60 seconds.

Turn the control knob to the ‘on’ position and you should see flames in the burner area. The fireplace is lit.

Remember your fireplace is very safe! Get to know how it works.

One cold -8 winter evening you hear a bang…

The lights go out! No moon! No streetlights! No flashlights! No candles! Pitch dark. You make your way to the fireplace, follow the above steps perfectly… within 90 seconds the fireplace is on! You have both light and heat! From the corners of your periphery you see peoples jaws drop not able to utter a word.

Remember it can happen, it's better to be prepared than to be sorry:
ਪਛੋਤਾਵਾਨਾਮਿਲੈਜਬਚੂਕੈਗੀਸਾਰੀ॥
"When the games up, repentance isn’t of any use."