How do I winterize an outdoor gas fireplace?

What winter actually does to an outdoor burner

Cold isn't the problem — water is. WNC hands an outdoor fireplace rain, sleet, and freeze-thaw all season, and moisture is what corrodes burner ports, floods igniters, and rusts connections. A burner tube that pools water and then freezes is the classic springtime no-light call.

The other off-season culprit is life. Spiders and dust settle into the pilot assembly and burner orifices while the unit sits idle — the same thing we see clog indoor pilots every fall. A cover and a shutdown stop both before they start.

The shutdown, step by step

With the unit fully cool: turn off the gas at the appliance valve, and on a propane setup close the tank valve as well. Clear leaves, ash, and cobwebs out of the firebox, and brush the burner ports so nothing's sitting in the holes over winter.

Then cover it — a fitted, breathable cover, not a plastic tarp. Tarps trap condensation against the metal and do more harm than the weather would. If your fireplace has fire glass or lava rock, you can leave it in place under the cover as long as the pan drains.

Bringing it back in the fall

Plan on a real once-over before you're depending on it — late summer or early fall is right. If the pilot won't hold, the flame comes in uneven, or you smell gas, stop and call us. In North Carolina the gas side of that appliance is licensed work; we permit and pressure-test lines and we don't hand out DIY gas fixes. Call (828) 545-0525 and we'll get it lit right.