Gas insert to Pellet Stove

[chryne]

So I am in the middle of a tear out and replacement of a gas fireplace to a pellet stove. I have the gas fireplace removed and have run into a hiccup. The fireplace was wired from a switch i.e. you turn on the switch and the gas fireplace flame turned on. I want to turn this wiring into an outlet for the new pellet stove. Weird thing is that I have a red, white, brown and bare copper wire. Ive never seen the brown before, and have only seen 3 wire electrical outlets. Any ideas what I'm working with here?

Also, I'm looking for a narrow depth pellet stove to install. I have not purchased a stove yet and due to the narrow place Im dealing with I need to find a stove with a depth around 18 inches. It was your typical corner mounted direct vent LP fireplace.

Thanks for any guidance.

 

[Ssyko]

Are the wires all the same size. Red and white might be for a thermostat and the other line power


Enviro, quadrafire, cofortbuilt, lots of inserts to choose from.

 

[Former Farmer]

What gauge are the wires? Normally the switch to control a gas fireplace is low voltage with 120 volts being fed directly to the unit. If the wires are small gauge like thermostat wire, it is not 120 volts at the switch. Is there another wire that was run directly into the old unit? How old was the gas fireplace?

 

[Ssyko]

Pics would help

 

[JRemington]

You should run a new 12/2 with ground for an outlet.

 

[StockHR]

From what you described the bare wire is for ground. The red is probably for a switched leg. The brown is used as the 120
volt feed wire. I know most times they are black but brown isn't uncommon. It should be 14 gauge or 12 gauge. Never feed a 12 from a 14 gage wire. Just use a tester to make sure which wire is which. If your only providing power to the outlet use the hot lead (brown or red) and the neutral (white) cap the extra wire in the box and connect the ground (bare) to ground on the outlet.

 

[StockHR]

Just an additional thought. The red or extra lead was most likely to turn on and control a fan. That's why they were smart enough used a 3 wire setup.