Is it safe to relight the pilot myself, or should a professional do it?
In Black Mountain, expect to relight on the coldest mornings — the Swannanoa Valley's temperature inversions leave you 10 to 15 degrees colder than Asheville at dawn, and that's exactly when a standing pilot is most likely to have slipped out overnight. Relighting it yourself is safe and normal. If it won't hold, that's our call to make, not yours. Reach us at (828) 545-0525.
Cold mornings, cold flues
This is natural-gas territory, and most homes here carry a standing pilot you can relight by the printed label on the unit. Black Mountain's quirk is the valley inversion: cold, dense air settles overnight, the flue chills, and a marginal pilot flame gets nudged out. Up toward Montreat, the heavily wooded, shaded lots keep houses cool and damp well into spring, which is easier on people than on pilot assemblies. A relight that takes on the second try is ordinary. A pilot that dies again and again is telling you the thermocouple or the pilot orifice needs service.
Where you stop
Relighting is homeowner work; the mechanical repair behind it — valve, sensor, clogged orifice — is licensed gas work in North Carolina, and we're the contractor permitted to do it. Two signals to stop and call instead: a smell of gas (out of the house first, then call) and a flame gone yellow and sooty. We're only 15 minutes east, one of the closest towns to our Asheville shop, so a stubborn pilot rarely means a long wait.
Heat when the valley goes dark
There's a reason a gas hearth matters up here: when a winter storm drops the power, the homes that stay warm are the ones with a working wood or gas fireplace, and a standing-pilot or millivolt gas unit keeps throwing heat with the grid down. That's exactly when you don't want to be fighting a pilot — so have it serviced in late summer, before the first cold snap. Call (828) 545-0525 or visit our Asheville showroom.
Fireplace help in Black Mountain
We install and service fireplaces throughout Black Mountain and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- How do I light the pilot light on my gas fireplace?
- How long should I wait before trying again if the pilot doesn't catch on the first try?
- How do I completely shut off the gas to my fireplace, and where is the shutoff valve?
- I rent my home — is it OK for me to light the pilot and use the gas fireplace myself, or should I go through my landlord?
- Do I need to relight the pilot after my propane tank runs empty or the gas is shut off for service, and is there air in the line to work through?