Real Fyre White Birch 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.

Figures are for burners with a control. G45 Match Light is rated slightly differently; the exact figure shows when you select it.

Burner

The burner sits under the logs. It decides how the flame looks, how much gas the fire uses and which controls you can have. The White Birch logs are the same on every burner.

G4 Glowing Ember

One burner pipe under the logs with a bed of glowing embers in front. The classic look at the lowest price, for sets up to 30 inch. It leaves the factory without a valve, so you either light it with a match or add a Real Fyre control kit that your installer fits to the burner.

G45 Triple-T

Adds a second burner across the front, so the embers glow brighter and the flames have more depth. With any control, sizes up to 36 inch arrive certified to ANSI Z21.60 with the valve already assembled and tested at the factory.

G46 Hidden Controls

The same style of flame as the G45, with the valve tucked behind the burner so you see logs and embers instead of hardware. It has a push-button igniter and uses a good deal less gas. It fits a narrower firebox than the G45 but needs 15 inches of depth. ANSI certified. Available for 18 to 30 inch sets.

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.

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

Variable Remote. Everything the On/Off Remote does, and the remote also raises and lowers the flame.

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).

"Yes" means the burner arrives with the valve assembled at the factory. "Kit" means the control ships as a separate Real Fyre kit for your installer to fit to the burner.

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 White Birch log set with its placement guide.
• Burner carton: burner, grate, glowing embers, sand for the burner pan, gas connector kit and damper clamp. Burners with a control also include the valve and regulator, already assembled. Remote versions include the handheld remote, receiver and batteries.
• Control kit carton: only with a G4 and a control.

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. 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.

The White Birch 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 G4 Glowing Ember, G45 Triple-T, G46 Hidden-Valve, 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.

• G45 with a factory valve: installation and owner's manual
• G45 match light and kit-controlled: installation and owner's manual
• G46 burner page and manual
• G4 installation and owner's manual