Winter Heating

As a home owner there always are tasks that need to be done in order to maintain good function and more importantly safety. It is recommended that Gas Fireplaces be serviced on a yearly basis by a gas service technician. Not every home owner can do that. So, I have had to reacquaint myself with the fireplace. I have been having difficulty with my thermostat which is probably because I have not remembered about some minor activity.





As long as I had to read the owners manual, I decided to do a little maintenance as well as a little cosmetic adjustment. When the fireplace was installed and any time I have had it serviced by a technician I observe what is being done and ask questions if need be, without being annoying!.

I removed the glass front which is heavy and gave it a good cleaning. Then I did some vacuuming of dust and soot.

Do you see the star on the next photo. Look at this nifty vacuum attachment that makes it easy to get into tiny spaces. It was free when I recently had to purchase a new vacuum. It is a Rocket Shark and the attachment is the home and car detail kit. By the way, I think the vacuum is great with tremendous suction!

The fireplace log display came with a product that creates a much more realistic flame flicker. It looks like a fluffy ball of dryer lint and it is called rock wool or mineral wool. It is a type of insulation. The small pieces of wool are  placed over the gas burner around the burner ports. When the fire passes through the rock wool, it becomes red hot and glows without melting or burning. This creates a look of  glowing embers. Anyway, the last technician apparently did not know what to do with the rock wool.

Do you see where the star is on the photo. That is rock wool that was resting in the slot that houses the glass front. I then placed it on the artificial log near the few pieces of rock wool that were in the proper place. It  is surprising to me how much more realistic it makes the fire look like a real wood burning fireplace.

I was successful in getting the thermostat working properly. It was just a matter of adjusting some switches. It is great that I now have it programmed for my schedule. And, now it is warm and cozy when I get up in the morning!

I guess it is a good thing I have patience or this post would not be here. This is the second time I have written it. Yep, like many of you know it is a dreadful feeling when your post goes willy-nilly, swoosh and into never never land. At least I now know many ways to retrieve lost data, unfortunately, none of them worked for me.

I hope you had a good weekend.

Mary