What should I check before lighting my gas fireplace for the first time each fall?
In Leicester, most homes out on these rural properties run propane, so start by gauging the tank and booking a top-off before the cold-air-drainage nights that run 5 to 8 degrees below Asheville. If your ignition depends on a wall outlet and your electrical is limited out here, note that battery-backup or millivolt units light without the grid. Then clear the pilot's summer cobwebs.
Propane and a colder rural valley
Leicester is large rural lots, and many of them are on propane rather than a gas main, so the tank leads your checklist: gauge it, arrange a top-off before the season, and keep the regulator vent clear. The cold-air drainage that runs these rural valleys 5 to 8 degrees below Asheville on clear winter nights means you'll lean on the fireplace hard, so don't put the check off. Propane burns hotter and needs its own orifices and pressures — a sooty flame last winter is a tuning call for us, never a homeowner adjustment.
Limited power, and why ignition type matters
Some of the remote properties out here have limited electrical capacity, which makes ignition type more than a footnote. A battery-backup or millivolt gas unit lights and heats even when the outlet's dead — power-optional heat that earns its keep when a storm drops the line. So on your fall check, put fresh batteries in the ignition and remote deliberately. The rest of the routine holds: seat the glass front, match the logs to the diagram, put a flashlight on the pilot and burner for the off-season's webs, and watch the first burn. See our [backup heat](/guides/backup-heat-power-outage-wnc) guide.
Our part
Cleaning the pilot, testing the valve, and tuning propane pressures is our work — we're 15 minutes west in Buncombe County. A tune-up is from $189. If the pilot sputters, the flame looks wrong, or you smell gas, shut it down and call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Leicester
We install and service fireplaces throughout Leicester and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
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