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Natural gas fireplace flame, how to fix this?

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Oct 20, 2008
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Coquitlam, BC

Natural gas fireplace flame, how to fix this?

We've got a natural gas fireplace, and the flame is high on one side, and low on the other. If I remove all the sand, and put it all back in, it seems to temporraily fix the problem but in days/weeks, it goes back to being high on one side, and low on the other. It's not consistent either, one side it will be high, then after I remove/replace the sand, it switches and the other side will become high.

It even happens when I remove that fake ember stuff as well, so that isn't the culprit. Any ideas?

See pic (it's hard to capture fire on a cell phone camera). The flame looks abnormally high in the pic for some reason, it's not that high, but it is orange on the right but not the left.

[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/2lbj9tu.jpg[/IMG]
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Deal Expert
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Dec 12, 2009
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Check for debris that may be blocking any of the holes, thus causing the gas to distribute unevenly. Gas pressure is extremely low and so it may not take much to cause blockage.
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will888 wrote: Check for debris that may be blocking any of the holes, thus causing the gas to distribute unevenly. Gas pressure is extremely low and so it may not take much to cause blockage.

It is possible to take the burner out to clean it out with some compressed air or something? Or is there an easier way to clean it out?
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Apr 13, 2009
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Has it always been like that or just recently?
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DarkCanuck wrote: It is possible to take the burner out to clean it out with some compressed air or something? Or is there an easier way to clean it out?

You you can do this and if you want to be thorough you should... What tends to happen is over the summer months when gas fireplaces aren't used insects like spiders make their way into there and make webs or nests. As wil888 pointed out, it doesn't take much to cause a blockage in a natural gas system.
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diggler649 wrote: Has it always been like that or just recently?

It's always been like that - sometimes when I remove all the sand (using my canister vacuum) and then put it back in, it fixes it for a few days/week or two, then it goes back to being uneven again. Makes me wonder if sand is getting into the burner or something.
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DarkCanuck wrote: It's always been like that - sometimes when I remove all the sand (using my canister vacuum) and then put it back in, it fixes it for a few days/week or two, then it goes back to being uneven again. Makes me wonder if sand is getting into the burner or something.
That's weird. I assume when you're replacing the sand, you're careful as to not spill any on the burner.

What about trying to crank the fire setting to maximum? Is it still the same result where the flame is uneven on one side vs the other?
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Oct 20, 2008
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diggler649 wrote: That's weird. I assume when you're replacing the sand, you're careful as to not spill any on the burner.

What about trying to crank the fire setting to maximum? Is it still the same result where the flame is uneven on one side vs the other?

The problem is the holes on the burner are on the bottom of the burner, so when I fill the rectangle box with sand it, completely covers the burners. There is only about 1" between the bottom of the burner and the bottom of the box.

If I break the connection at the burner, use an air compressor to blow out the sand, is what do I need to put on the threads when I re-assemble it to make sure it's air tight? Is that even a smart idea?

[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/2z73crp.jpg[/IMG]
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Why are surrounding the burner with sand? This is most likely the "smoking gun". Try to clean out the sand and replace with with something larger in size. My valor came with a bag of "rocks" to place over the burners. I threw them in the garbage. They were crumbly when handled. Not interested in a mess on my hands.

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