My street is getting natural gas service — what do I need to do with my propane fireplace?
In Black Mountain, downtown and much of the valley sit on natural-gas mains, but head up into Montreat's wooded lots and you're often on propane — so which fireplace you have depends on which side of that line you live. If a main reaches you, convert, stay, or replace. We do the conversion and the licensed line, 15 minutes from our showroom.
Cold mornings raise the stakes
The Swannanoa Valley traps cold air, so Black Mountain mornings run 10 to 15 degrees below Asheville's and frost lingers later into spring. A fireplace here earns its keep, which makes fuel cost worth thinking about: where a natural-gas main is available, the per-BTU savings show up over a long, cold season. Downtown and the flatter neighborhoods are the likeliest to have gas at the curb; Montreat and the shaded, moisture-prone hillside lots are more often propane, and a main may simply not reach them.
What converting your unit takes
If you're on propane and a main arrives, the fireplace doesn't just accept different gas. Propane is metered hotter and at higher pressure, so the burner orifices and regulator have to change to the natural-gas kit matched to your model. Done right, the flame looks correct and burns clean; done wrong, it soots or starves. This is licensed gas work — we pull the Buncombe County permit, pressure-test the run, and meet the inspector. Being only 15 minutes east of Emma Road, we can get out for the free assessment quickly.
Convert or replace
Newer sealed units usually take a kit and convert cleanly. Older or discontinued models sometimes have no natural-gas kit at all, and forcing one isn't safe — there a factory-built natural-gas unit is the better path, warranty included. We'll tell you straight after reading the tag, no pressure and no upselling. Call (828) 545-0525.
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
- Can I convert a propane fireplace to natural gas?
- How much does it cost to convert a gas fireplace between natural gas and propane?
- What parts get changed when a fireplace is converted from one gas to the other?
- Do I need a conversion kit specific to my fireplace's brand and model?
- Are all gas fireplaces convertible between natural gas and propane?