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Home & Garden Articles
What To Know Before Installing Gas Logs
Fri 29 Feb 2008 - 10:17
What To Know Before Installing Gas Logs
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rick_Pocock]Rick Pocock
Just imagine, after a long hard day at work, coming home and within seconds having a nice, warm beautiful fire going in the fireplace. The display that you see looks like a real wood fire, but the logs never burn down. When you're ready to go to bed, all that you have to do is turn the gas off! This is the benefit of having gas logs. Not much heat, but incredible convenience.
But before you go ahead and install a set of gas logs, it's important that you be aware of their pros and cons, as well as the best way to purchase a gas log set and safely use them after they've been installed.
First of all, if going from wood burning to gas logs, the chimney should be inspected and swept by a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep.
Make sure that you buy the correct size for the size of your fireplace. If the log set is too small, it will create a poor display. If the log set is too large, the logs will sit too far forward and will vent poisonous gas into the room instead of up the chimney flue.
Gas logs do not produce creosote like you will have when burning real wood or the compressed logs wrapped in paper, but the gas logs will soot up a little with a fine black powder where touched by the flame, so stay with the darker color log sets. Usually all that you need to do is to occasionally brush off the fine soot with a soft dry paintbrush. Never wash the logs with water.
It is a requirement to install a damper lock when installing, which locks the damper open and it cannot be closed. As a result, you may have cold air coming into the room down from your chimney. The common solution for this problem is to install glass doors on the fireplace.
When gas is ignited, as it is with gas logs, it loses that telltale rotten egg smell but it is just as dangerous. Make sure that the installer uses a combustible gas detector to check the gas logs after installation and make sure that they are venting properly. After the gas logs are installed and gas tested, don't rearrange or shift the logs!
Do not run your central air heater or furnace at the same time as using the gas logs. This will cause air to come down the chimney into the living area, and if the logs are on, the odorless but poisonous gases are also venting into the room. This is especially a problem if the house has been made more air tight by installing new windows and doors.
In closing, when gas logs are installed and used correctly, they will bring you endless hours of pleasure. And no more trips to the wood pile!
Rick Pocock is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep and has enjoyed being in this industry for more that fourteen years and owns Swede Chimney Sweep along with his wife Terri in San Diego, CA. Terri is also a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep.
He also carries certification as a C-Det Certified Exhaust Technician and as a NFI Certified Gas Technician.
For more information about gas logs and things chimney related, please feel free to visit http://www.swedesweep.com a website full of information pertaining to chimney and fireplace maintenance and safety.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Pocock http://EzineArticles.com/?What-To-Know-Before-Installing-Gas-Logs&id=1005002
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