Real Fyre 5-Inch Epic Black Vented Fyre Spheres

A vented gas log set borrows the fireplace's own clearances: the mantel, hearth and side-wall rules of the wood-burning fireplace it goes into stay exactly as they were built and inspected. What the log set adds is the room the burner and the flames need inside the firebox, below, and three rules: the damper fixed fully open with the clamp supplied, glass doors open or removed whenever the burner runs, and nothing stored or draped within 3 feet of the front of the fireplace.

The burner

The P45 is a tapered pan burner. Flame comes up across the whole pan instead of from a pipe under a grate, so the fire rises through and around whatever sits on it. It comes with legs you can fit to raise the pan. With a control it arrives certified to ANSI Z21.60 with the valve already assembled and tested at the factory.

Control

Match Light. There is no valve on the burner. You hold a long lighter at the burner and open the gas with your fireplace's wall or floor key, which also sets the flame height. Natural gas only. Some cities require a safety pilot instead, so check with your installer or building department.

Manual Safety Pilot. A small pilot flame stays lit, and you turn a knob at the burner to light the logs. If the pilot ever goes out, the valve shuts off the gas. No batteries and no wiring.

Variable Remote. A standing pilot plus a handheld remote that turns the fire on and off and raises and lowers the flame. It keeps working in a power outage. The remote and receiver run on batteries that come in the box.

A vented set goes into a wood-burning fireplace with a working chimney and a gas line, by a licensed gas installer, in about two hours.

• Gas: a dedicated 1/2-inch line to a shutoff at the fireplace; natural gas at 5 to 7 inches of water column, propane at 11 to 13. The connector runs through a plate in the firebox floor or wall.
• Damper: fixed fully open with the clamp in the box. This is the rule that makes a vented set safe; the fire's exhaust goes up the chimney like a wood fire's.
• Doors: open or removed whenever the burner runs.
• Burner: set on the grate in the center of the firebox, the logs placed by the diagram in the box, embers scattered on the burner, sand or vermiculite in the pan for natural gas, lava rock for propane.
• Controls: a match-light burner uses the fireplace's key valve; a safety-pilot burner has its own valve and knob; an electronic burner takes batteries in the control box or a 110-volt outlet inside the firebox for the plug-in version, and the remote pairs once.
• Codes: match-light burners are not allowed in some cities; the installer knows which. Most jurisdictions want the inspection.

• Sphere carton: the full set for your size. Use exactly that number. Peterson warns that adding spheres can make the burner unsafe.
• Burner carton: pan burner, burner legs, sand and vermiculite for the pan, gas connector and damper clamp. Burners with a control also include the valve, already assembled. The remote version includes the handheld remote, receiver and batteries.

Cartons can arrive on different days. Do not start the installation until everything is there.

• For wood-burning fireplaces only, masonry or factory-built, with a working chimney at least 15 feet tall. Not for vent-free fireboxes, direct-vent or B-vent gas fireplaces, or stoves.
• You need a natural gas line into the firebox, 1/2 inch inside diameter or larger, with a shut-off valve outside the firebox.
• The included clamp fixes the damper so it can never close completely. The damper must be fully open whenever the fire is on, glass doors fully open, and a screen in place.
• The firebox floor cannot have an ash lip or a sunken hearth deeper than 3/4 inch.
• Installation is by a qualified gas professional. Have the chimney swept first and the set inspected once a year.
• Do not burn wood in the fireplace once it is installed, and do not leave the fire on unattended or while anyone is sleeping.
• In Massachusetts the installer must be a licensed plumber or gas fitter, and the damper has to be removed or fixed fully open.

The 5-Inch Epic Black Fyre Spheres set is a vented gas fire in a wood-burning fireplace: the burner runs under and through the logs, the flames are tall and yellow and move like a wood fire's, and the embers glow under them. The look depends on the burner as much as the logs. On P45 Pan Burner, the flame comes up through the log stack in more than one place, which is what makes people stop and look twice. It lights from a match, a knob or a remote, and the damper stays open, so the room does not get the heat a wood fire never gave it either.

Trade-offs to know

• Vented logs are decorative: the damper is open and most of the heat goes up the chimney. For heat, the vent-free version of this style is the one.
• The logs never burn away, but they char and darken where the flame touches; that is part of the look.
• Gas use is real: a 24-inch burner on high draws about what a large furnace does. Low is for long evenings.

Living with it

Brush the logs and the embers gently once a season and never wash them; replace the embers when they stop glowing. Keep the damper clamp on for good. Electronic controls take batteries yearly. Have the burner and pilot checked when the chimney is swept.

Warranty

Source: R.H. Peterson Real Fyre limited warranty, printed in the burner manual linked above. Register the set with Peterson after installation.

• P45 with a factory valve: installation and owner's manual
• P45 match light: installation and owner's manual