Gas fireplace not lighting or smelling odd? What an annual gas fireplace service includes

Gas fireplaces get skipped because there is no wood and no soot. But the burner collects dust and spider webs all summer, the logs shift, the pilot assembly corrodes, and the vent fills with debris. The result is a fireplace that will not light in November, or one that lights with a whoomp and a smell.

Common problems

• Will not light or the pilot will not stay lit: dirty pilot or thermocouple, usually cleaning, sometimes a part.
• Delayed ignition, the whoomp: burner ports clogged, gas pooling before it lights. This one is a safety issue.
• Odd smell on first use: dust burning off, normal for a minute. A smell that persists is not normal.
• Sooting on the glass or logs: logs out of position or a burner that is not getting enough air.
• White film on the glass: normal mineral deposit, cleaned during service.

What the service includes

Burner and pilot cleaned, logs repositioned to the manufacturer's layout, gas connections checked for leaks, glass cleaned and gasket checked, vent inspected for blockage, and a test run with a look at the flame pattern. About an hour. We photograph the burner before and after so you can see what was in there.

When to do it

Late summer or early fall, before the first cold front, for the same reason as a wood-burning chimney: the day the front hits, everyone calls at once. We service gas and wood fireplaces on the same visit if you have both.