You need to know and be familiar with the four dimensions needed to properly size a gas log for a fireplace:
- height of the opening
- depth straight in from front to back
- width of the front opening from sidewall to sidewall
- width of the rear wall from sidewall to sidewall rear width
If you have a set of doors in place you will need to know:
- the width of the opening with the glass doors fully open
- the height of the glass door opening
- the height of the frame from the fireplace floor to the edge of the glass door opening
Why? You do not want to "overfill" a fireplace by installing too large of a log set. Doing so may cause overheating of the control valve.
SIZE DOES MATTER!
Why do we need to know the exact measurements?
Log sets aren't uniform in dimensions, so we need to know if a particular log is going to fit properly in your fireplace or firebox, with safe clearances. A general rule of thumb is to allow a minimum of three inches on EACH SIDE of the log set, or you may encounter several types of problems:
- Difficulty installing the log set. Little room to play with placement of the burner unit or connecting the gas supply line.
- If too large, the log set can overheat the fireplace at some point and either trip the heat sensor for the control valve shutting the log set down, or damage the valve itself.
- Even if the direct heat does not damage the control valve or trip it, you can get too much reflected heat from the fire brick due to the lack of adequate air circulation. This can lead to prematurely aging the valves and controls.
- The log set can suffocate due to a lack of circulation around the log set, either tripping the oxygen depletion sensor or snuffing out the pilot light altogether
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