What should I check before lighting my gas fireplace for the first time each fall?
In Black Mountain, the Swannanoa Valley inversion runs your mornings 10 to 15 degrees colder than Asheville, so you'll want the fireplace ready before the first hard frost. Check that the glass front is sealed against a good gasket, put fresh batteries in the remote and receiver, and shine a light on the pilot and burner for the cobwebs that gathered over a shaded, damp summer.
Cold-air pooling means you light early
Black Mountain sits where cold air pools in the Swannanoa Valley, and frost dates run later into spring than they do in Asheville — so you depend on the hearth harder and earlier than the elevation number alone would suggest. That's reason enough to do this walk-through in late summer rather than gambling on the first cold snap. When you do light it, stay in the room and watch the first burn: a clean unit settles into a steady flame, while a log knocked out of place throws soot and a lazy tongue of yellow.
Shaded, damp Montreat lots
Up toward Montreat, the heavily wooded lots keep houses cool, shaded, and moisture-prone — great in July, hard on a vent cap by October. Walk outside and check the sidewall or roof terminal for moss, damp debris, or a nest before the first fire, because a partly blocked cap starves a sealed direct-vent unit. Damp, shaded summers also grow more of the spider silk that fouls a pilot assembly, so the flashlight check matters a little more here than it does in the drier parts of the county.
Past the eyeball, call us
Cleaning the pilot and burner or testing the valve is ours — we're just 15 minutes east in Buncombe County. A tune-up runs from $189 and usually prevents the midwinter no-heat call. If the pilot won't hold or you smell gas, shut it down and 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
- What should I do before the first fire of the season in my wood-burning fireplace or wood stove?
- Why does my fireplace smell like burning dust the first time I use it each year, and is that normal?
- What do I need to do to get my gas fire pit running again after it sat unused all winter?
- Should I leave my gas fireplace pilot light on all summer or turn it off?
- How do I light the pilot light on my gas fireplace?