Missing Flue Restrictor - Heat & Glo 6000C-IPILP

[Slicker]

Hello. We have a Heat & Glo 6000C-IPILP that was installed when our house was built about 6 years ago. I've never been particularly impressed with the heat it puts out (even with a fan) or the flame height/look, but attributed that to the fact that it was a LP gas fireplace. However, I just noticed that my fireplace is missing its flue restrictor and the manual for it appears to require one in all instances. We have a top/roof vent and a pretty long run with both vertical and horizontal segments (unfortunately, I'm not sure what the exact length is).

Is there any disadvantage to not running a flue restrictor? Is the lack of the restrictor contributing to the lack of heat/poor flame quality?

Thanks

 

[DAKSY]

Is your unit vented horizontally or vertically? If it’s got a horizontal vent, no flue restriction is required.
The restrictor does not affect heat output.
It’s rated at 29000 btu input & should be putting out sufficient heat. Have you had it tuned recently?

 

[Slicker]

Its vented vertically. The vent/flue goes up about six feet from the fireplace, then there's ~10 foot run to the side of the room, and from there it another 15-20(?) ft straight up to the vent exit on our roof.

Never had it tuned/serviced by a professional. I've removed the front glass for cleaning. I also removed the logs/embers, vacuumed the burner, and re-positioned logs/embers per the manual's instructions.