What should I check before lighting my gas fireplace for the first time each fall?
In Fairview, homes on these large wooded lots mostly run propane, so your first-fall check on a gas fireplace starts at the tank: gauge it and book a top-off, and keep the regulator vent clear. Then confirm the glass seal, clear the outside vent cap, and put a light on the pilot for the summer's spider webs before you strike the flame.
Propane on the wooded lots
Fairview is big wooded lots and rural properties, and propane is the rule out here rather than a gas main — so a run-down tank is the fastest way to a cold hearth. Gauge it, arrange a top-off with your supplier before the season, and keep the regulator vent clear of debris. Propane burns hotter than natural gas and needs its own orifices and pressures, so if the flame ran sooty or weak last winter, that's a tuning job for us, not a dial to touch yourself. The [gas vs. propane](/guides/natural-gas-vs-propane-in-wnc) guide explains why the setup differs.
Gas checks, and a word on the wood-burners here
Once the fuel's sorted, the gas routine is the same one every fireplace deserves: seat the glass front against a good gasket, match the logs to the factory diagram, put fresh batteries in the remote and receiver, and watch the first burn come up clean. Fairview's wooded lots also make it wood-heat country, with steady stove and insert demand — and if you burn wood as well, the fall chimney sweep matters, because creosote is the leading cause of chimney fires. But on a gas unit, the enemy isn't creosote; it's the summer's spiders in the pilot, so put a flashlight there.
Where we take over
Cleaning the pilot, testing the valve, and tuning propane pressures is our work, and we're 15 minutes east in Buncombe County. A tune-up is from $189. If the pilot won't hold, the flame looks blue and ragged, or you smell gas, stop and call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Fairview
We install and service fireplaces throughout Fairview and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
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