Will my gas fireplace work when the power is out?
Many Mills River homes run on propane, and that works in your favor during an outage — the tank in your yard feeds the fireplace with no help from the electric grid. A propane unit with a standing-pilot or millivolt valve lights and heats through a power failure. Only one that also needs a plug-in ignition board stays dark.
Propane and a pilot beat the grid
Out on Mills River's rural, large-lot properties, natural-gas mains often don't reach — so propane is the norm, and that's an advantage when the power's out. Your fuel is already pressurized in the tank, no electricity required to move it. Match it with a millivolt fireplace, where the pilot flame itself powers the gas valve, and you have heat that runs whether the lines are up or down. The Kozy Heat Springfield 36 was built for propane-country homes like these.
Converting an old wood hearth
A lot of these farmland-and-forest properties still have wood-burning fireplaces. If you're thinking about converting to gas for the convenience and the outage insurance, the path runs through a licensed gas line — a mason or a handyman legally can't connect fuel in North Carolina, but we can, and we pull the permit with Henderson County and pressure-test the line. A sealed gas insert on that new line gives you efficient, power-optional heat the open firebox never could.
The fan is the one holdout
Whatever you install, the blower needs electricity, so during an outage you'll get radiant heat off the glass without the fan pushing it around — still enough to hold a room. The open Mills River valley is also great for outdoor gas features when entertaining season comes back around. If backup heat is the priority, say so and we'll steer you to a standing-pilot or millivolt propane unit. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Mills River
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mills River and the rest of Henderson County — just 25 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.