Why does my gas fireplace burn differently after being converted between natural gas and propane?
Marshall's steep hillside lots and multi-story downtown buildings make access tight, but the fuel question comes first: Madison County is mixed, so a converted fireplace here might sit on a gas main or a propane tank. Get the orifice wrong for the fuel and it soots — a natural-gas unit on propane — or starves — a propane unit on gas — no matter how clean the install looks.
Tight sites, and getting the fuel right the first time
Downtown Marshall is built right against the mountainside, and homes climb steep grades with limited access, so the French Broad gorge's cool, damp air can already work against draft. Conversion is a separate matter: natural gas flows at low pressure through a wide orifice, propane at higher pressure through a small one, carrying more than twice the energy per cubic foot. Feed the wrong fuel through the wrong jet and you either over-fire into soot or starve the flame. On a hard-to-reach hillside home, you especially don't want to do that work twice — the conversion kit sets the orifice, pilot, and regulator once, correctly.
Permitted with Madison, pressure-tested
The gas side of a fuel conversion is licensed work in North Carolina — no showroom or handyman can legally reconnect it. We pull the permit with Madison County, verify the orifice and regulator, and finish with a manometer reading that proves the pressure. We're 25 minutes north. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Marshall
We install and service fireplaces throughout Marshall and the rest of Madison County — just 25 minutes north from our Asheville-area showroom.
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