Installing Gas Logs

Here's a set of gas logs that stopped working one cold winter day. I carefully removed the ceramic logs, shut off and disconnected the gas supply line, and pulled the burner assembly to clean and bench check it.

Here you see a typical gas burner used for a set of gas logs. Notice that there is a lower and upper burner to give the ceramic log flame a more realistic look. The majority of gas logs are millivolt, which do not use house current and are controlled via a battery powered infrared remote control much like a television. Some infrared transmitters have special features that automatically control the temperature or use count down timers to automatically shut off the gas logs after a pre-determined amount of time.

The bottom of the burner assembly shows a complex maze of wiring, gas valve, pilot regulator and other associated parts that all need to be checked when servicing. We do not recommend that any homeowner attempt to service a gas burner assembly themselves as they require special skills and test equipment.

You can see a close-up of the vermiculite which is sprinkled around the base of the gas log set. Vermiculite doesn't burn and will glow making it appear like hot embers under the gas logs. The pine cone to the left of the fireplace is actually the receiver used to turn the flame on and off via the infrared hand-held remote, a pretty neat feature!

A set of gas logs properly installed will give very good heat and also look very realistic without the mess and danger of a wood fire. Plus they have the convenience of being able to instantly turn them on and off, try doing that with a wood fire.