Q&A Gas fire starter for wood burning fireplace

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QandA

New Member
Staff member
Nov 27, 2012
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Question:

I live in British Columbia, Canada. While visiting a friends newly constructed cabin, I noticed they had a Superior wood burning fireplace insert with a gas fire starter. We were able to use the gas lighter (a long gas pipe along the bottom of the stove) to light the wood logs in the fireplace and get the fire going again after it had died down. Do you know of any manufacturers of this type of lighter system? Are there any disadvantages/safety concerns with such a system? Can you get some sort of gas detection/automatic shutoffs with such a system? Thanks.



Answer:

These are cast iron pipes which sit in the firepalce underneath the grate. They are controlled by an external valve, which is usually operated by a key (so no one opens it by mistake). This type of system does not have any safety arrangement. You turn the key, light the gas with a match, and then turn the gas off after the fire is well lit. I must admit that I am personally scared of such a system, although I have never heard of any incidents.
 
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