Kitchen Gas Appliances - gas fireplace problem

we just bought a 8yr old home and the owners left us with no manuals on anything the gas fireplace is a superior kc-38. the burner is a single tube vented. unable to find any tag on it. the gas company came out and checked it out and said i needed to put down a layer of sand and fiberglass,ember glow,. i bought some at a fireplace store but the clerk could'nt tell me how to install it. also the logs were piled on top of each other, not stacked in any order. any help is appreciated,thanks ron52

Hello ron52 and Welcome to our Do It Yourself Web Site and my Gas Appliances forum.

Best advice I could offer you is to visit the local fireplace and pation furniture stores in your area. Gas log sets are also sold in hardware stores, BBQ and pation furnature stores or any combination of the above.

The idea here would be to get a visual look of how most gas log sets are installed. Most of these retailers have demo floor models and some have demo models on display and in operation.

The second idea here would be to act as if your interested in making a purchase. Ask questions on installations and any other commonly asked questions a potential buyer would ask.

Obtain sales info booklets. Call the manufacturers and or visit their web sites to obtain any other additional information. take the measurements of your existing fireplace with you or have them handy.

The place where you purchased the materials did not have a sales person who was experienced solely in gas log sets and other types of firplace appliances. Try visiting the retail sales stores. A world of information can be obtained from a pro...:)

The most common method is to bury the burner with the sand. The burner should have a pan with a support for the burner tube.

Once that part of the assembly is done, place the logs on the grate. Then spread the insulation material around the edges and cover the visable areas of the sand. Enjoy the fireplace gas log set. Your energy company will appreciate the sales of additional therms...:D

Regards & Good Luck. Web Site Host & Multiple Topic Moderator.
TCB4U2B2B Company Enterprises. Gas Appliances Forum Moderator. Energy Conservation Consultant & Natural Gas Appliance Diagnostics Technician.

thanks to your reply i covered the burner with sand and surrouned it with ember glow. seemed to work well the first night then would only stay lit about 10 minutes and the burner went out and so did the pilot lite. i called my gas man and he came out monday and said the thermocouple was not in the proper position. he relit it turned it up high and left. he was gone about 10 minutes and pop the thing shut down. i called his central and he came back, relit and after about 10 minutes it did the same thing. he said it must be the valve. we/he cannot indentify the valve as there are no tags. suggested repair is to replace the whole gas log set...any suggestions, where can i get a replacement at a fair price? here in gainesville we have two fireplace dealers and lowes and home depot. they want $300 and up for a burner. i know it's close to christmas but a fireplace sure would help. thanks

Hello: Ron

I do remember posting a reply to your question. I'll have to locate the original question and merge it into this one so the other members reading this topic can follow along.

Before replacing the entire appliance, try replacing only the pilot generator. The pilot generator {PG} is the round element in the pilot assembly.

There are several other question with replies containing instructions on how to accomplish this task. Read the heater questions in this forum, the heating and cooling forum and those in the fireplace forum to which I have replied.

Part of what you'll find reading other questions is contained below this paragraph for your info.

Another type of safety device used on heating appliances is a pilot generator. The element end on this part looks similar to that of a thermocouple, except the element end is larger.

A pilot generator can be identified as, usually but not always, having two wire leads. These wires leads, are usually attached directly to the body of the gas valve with small screws. The pilot generators wires can also be attached to a reset device not directly located on the gas valves main body part.

Replacing whichever of the above described parts in a first attempt at correcting the heating appliances problem, is both the easiest and often least expensive option which often solves the problem.

Mentioned below are several other possibilities that may apply.

The pilot flame must be all blue in color. There should not be any yellow color in the pilots flame. The flame should be the correct size to both provide enough heat to the thermocouple or pilot generator and also provide a positive source of ignition for the gas.

It's also possible the magneto head contained within the body of the gas valve or other reset device is defective. The magneto head is the part the thermocouple threads into. The magneto part may or may not be individually removable and replaceable on all types of gas valves or remotely located safety devices.

Keeping in mind the reason the heating appliance may not operate as described and or mentioned above, consider the possibility there may be a short or grounding in any part or section of the wiring system or thermostat.

Most likely but not always, simply replacing the safety element {Thermocouple or Pilot Generator} resolves the problem. Try replacing one of these parts first, depending on which part applies to the heating appliance you have.

Good Luck, Forum Host & Moderator.
TCB4U2B2B Company Enterprises. Energy Conservation Consultants & Gas Appliance Diagnostics Technicians.