Real Fyre Colonial Oak Vented Gas Logs

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 G52 Radiant Fyre is a tiered burner with a stainless steel booster grid that sits in the fire behind the front logs. The grid works as a catalyst: it intensifies the flame and makes the logs and embers glow. The result is a tall, full fire on much less gas than a standard burner. At 24 inch the G52 is rated 55,000 BTU, against 90,000 for a G45.

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.

Electronic On/Off Remote. No standing pilot. Press On and the system sparks its own pilot, then lights the burner, so you are not burning gas on a pilot all season. It runs on batteries that come in the box and needs a slightly wider firebox (see the fit tables).

Electronic Variable Remote. Electronic ignition with no standing pilot, plus flame height on the remote. On its low setting the fire turns down to about 33,000 BTU (18 inch) or 37,000 BTU (24 and 30 inch). Runs on batteries that come in the box.

With any control, the burner arrives certified to ANSI Z21.60 with the valve already assembled and tested at the factory.

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.

• Log carton: the Colonial Oak log set with its placement guide.
• Burner carton: burner, stainless steel booster grid, two kinds of glowing embers, Bryte Coals, sand for the burner pan, lava granules, gas connector and damper clamp. Burners with a control also include the valve, already assembled. Remote versions include the handheld remote, receiver and batteries.

Cartons can arrive on different days. Do not start the installation until everything is there. Use only the embers that come with the burner; adding more is unsafe.

• For wood-burning fireplaces only, masonry or factory-built, with a working chimney. 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.
• 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 the gas logs are 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.
• Above 2,000 feet elevation, add a note to your order. Peterson builds high-altitude versions.
• For an outdoor fireplace, use the G52 Outdoor Stainless Steel Burner with these logs.

The Colonial Oak 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 G52 Radiant Fyre, 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.

• G52 with a factory valve: installation and owner's manual
• G52 match light: installation and owner's manual