Gas Fireplace Repair and Service: What a Visit Covers and When to Call

A gas fireplace has no ash to haul out, so it is easy to assume it needs nothing. The manufacturers say otherwise. Gas fireplace manuals set out work for the owner and work for a qualified service person. The second list is longer than most people expect.

This page covers what a yearly service visit checks, what the common faults usually are and where your part stops. VanderWall Brothers' chimney and fireplace service team does this work on the brands the company sells. Kozy Heat is the line it knows best, so the examples below come from current Kozy Heat manuals.

Key Takeaways / Summary

• The manual asks for a yearly inspection. Kozy Heat's current manuals say the fireplace should be inspected before use and at least once a year by a professional service person.
• A pilot that lights and then drops is usually a part, not a setting. On millivolt fireplaces that means the thermocouple or thermopile. Both are tested with a meter.
• Some fixes are yours. Batteries, the wall switch, relighting the pilot by the manual and keeping the outside vent clear are owner tasks.
• Gas parts are not. The gas valve, gas connections and gas piping belong to a qualified technician.
• The screen in front of the glass is a safety part. Gas fireplaces made after January 1, 2015 whose glass gets hot enough ship with a barrier. It goes back on after every service.

What Does an Annual Gas Fireplace Service Visit Check?

The Kozy Heat Nordik 60 manual (Rev. 4, November 2025) lists the yearly work for a qualified service person. In plain terms, a visit covers:

• The burner and pilot. Vacuum the burner system, look at the pilot flame and check the burner ports for blockage. The flame should be steady, not lifting or floating.
• The gas connections. Check every accessible gas tube, pipe and connection for leaks.
• The safety shutoff. Confirm the main burner lights within 4 seconds of the gas valve opening. Then test that the flame safety system shuts the gas off within 30 seconds if the flame fails.
• The vent. Examine the vent system and the outside termination for soot or anything blocking it.
• The blower. Disconnect the power and vacuum the fan.
• The firebox and glass frame. Clean out debris and check the latches that hold the glass.

The manual adds that homes with pets or heavy carpet lint may need cleaning more often. VanderWall Brothers' own repair page recommends service at least once a year so small faults are caught early.

What Do the Common Faults Usually Turn Out to Be?

These are the problems that most often start a service call, matched to what the manufacturer's troubleshooting tables point to. The manual says troubleshooting itself is for a qualified technician.

Why does the pilot keep going out?

On a millivolt fireplace, the pilot flame heats a thermocouple, which holds the gas valve open. It also heats a thermopile, which powers the controls. Kozy Heat's SP34 manual (Rev. 12, July 2025) gives the test. A thermocouple reading below 15 millivolts means replace it. A thermopile reading below 350 millivolts means replace it. That takes a meter and access to the gas valve. VanderWall Brothers' own pilot video makes the same call: a pilot that lights and drops is usually a thermocouple, a job for the service team.

Newer fireplaces with electronic ignition use a flame sensor instead. The answer is the same: after a couple of honest relight attempts, leave it off and call.

What Can You Safely Do Before You Call?

The help videos on this site were made for these jobs. They are short, filmed by the service team, with each one ending where your part ends.

1. Change the remote batteries. It is the first thing to try when the remote stops working. See changing the batteries in your fireplace remote.
2. Resync the remote. A remote can lose its pairing after a battery change. See resyncing your remote to your fireplace.
3. Check the battery backup. It is a separate battery holder that lets the fireplace light in a power outage. See replacing the battery back-up.
4. Check the wall switch and the gas shutoff. There may be more than one shutoff valve on the line.
5. Relight the pilot by the manual. For a gas log set, see lighting the pilot on a gas log and relighting the pilot on a gas log set. For a push-button igniter, see relighting a piezo pilot. Wait the full time with the gas off before you start.
6. Keep the outside vent clear. A blocked vent cap is one of the causes the manual lists for a fire that shuts itself down.
7. Clean the glass, cold. The manual makes this an owner task. Use a fireplace glass cleaner with a soft cloth. No abrasives. Never clean it hot. Put the screen back before you light it.

What Needs a Qualified Technician?

Anything that carries or controls gas: the gas valve, the pilot assembly, the gas connections and the piping that feeds them. Kozy Heat's manuals say installation and repair should only be done by a qualified service person. The same goes for venting and for any part behind the glass.

Michigan treats gas work as licensed work. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs licenses mechanical contractors by work classification. The list includes fuel gas piping, LP distribution piping and "Solid Fuel and Vented Decorative Gas Appliances". Each one needs its own exam. If anyone other than the dealer is touching the gas side of your fireplace, it is fair to ask which classification they hold.

If you smell rotten eggs, the troubleshooting stops. Consumers Energy's guidance is to leave right away, use no electric devices (phones included) and call 911 from outside. VanderWall Brothers' earlier post on which gas fireplace smells are normal covers the odors in detail.

Why Does the Screen in Front of the Glass Matter?

Gas fireplace glass gets hot enough to burn on contact. In December 2012 the ANSI Z21.88/CSA 2.33 and ANSI Z21.50/CSA 2.22 standards added a requirement: a gas fireplace whose glass passes 172 degrees F must come with a barrier that keeps hands off the glass and is not a burn hazard itself. The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association says affected units made after January 1, 2015 must include that barrier from the manufacturer.

Two practical points follow:

• The barrier goes back on after service. HPBA's guidance to dealers is that a barrier in place when a technician arrives must be in place when they leave. Kozy Heat's manual says the same. It also says not to run the fireplace without it.
• A damaged barrier gets the maker's replacement. Kozy Heat's manual calls for its own barrier for that model. HPBA warns that aftermarket screens that attach to the fireplace can affect how it runs.

If your fireplace predates 2015 and has no barrier, ask about a screen approved for that model.

Do You Need a Carbon Monoxide Alarm?

Michigan's code says yes once permitted work is done. The current Michigan Residential Code is the 2015 edition, in effect since February 8, 2016. Its state amendment, Rule 408.30520, requires carbon monoxide alarms in an existing home with fuel-fired appliances whenever work that needs a building permit is done. Replacing or adding a fireplace is often that kind of work.

Carbon monoxide has no smell, so the alarm is your only warning.

What If Your Fireplace Is Not a Brand VanderWall Sells?

The service team works on the lines VanderWall Brothers carries. For a brand the company does not work with, its service page suggests the original installer, who will have parts sooner. If parts are the problem, the post on replacing an existing fireplace covers what changing it involves.

Gas logs in a masonry fireplace vent up a real chimney. The chimney sweep post covers when that chimney needs an inspection.

Have These Ready When You Call

• The brand and model. It is on the rating plate, usually behind the lower grille.
• What it does and when. Will not light, lights and drops, shuts off after a while, or soots the glass.
• What you already tried. Batteries, switch, relight.
• A photo of the controls and the outside vent cap.

VanderWall Brothers has served West Michigan since 1922. Its NFI and CSIA certified technicians service the fireplaces the company sells. Send the details through the contact page, call (616) 842-4500, or stop in at the Spring Lake or Grand Rapids showroom.

Sources

• Hussong Mfg. (Kozy Heat), Nordik 60 TL Installation and Operation Manual, Rev. 4, November 2025, section 12, for the annual inspection by a professional service person, the yearly service tasks, the 4 second ignition and 30 second flame failure checks, the owner's glass cleaning task, the safety screen rule and the troubleshooting causes for a fire that will not light or shuts down.
• Hussong Mfg. (Kozy Heat), SP34 Installation and Operation Manual, Rev. 12, July 2025, for the 15 millivolt thermocouple and 350 millivolt thermopile tests, log placement as a cause of soot and the safety barrier warning.
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, staff draft letter on Petition CP 11-1, gas fireplaces with glass fronts, for the December 2012 barrier requirements in ANSI Z21.50/CSA 2.22 and ANSI Z21.88/CSA 2.33 and the 172 degree F threshold.
• Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, Glass Fronts Industry FAQ, for the January 1, 2015 manufacture date and the rule that a barrier in place when a technician arrives goes back on when they leave.
• Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, Glass Safety FAQs, for barriers on fireplaces made after January 1, 2015 and the caution on aftermarket screens.
• Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, current construction code books, for the 2015 Michigan Residential Code being current since February 8, 2016.
• Michigan Administrative Code, R 408.30520, for carbon monoxide alarms in existing homes with fuel-fired appliances when permitted work is done.
• Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, mechanical contractor licensing, for the work classifications and the exam for each.
• Consumers Energy, natural gas safety, for what to do if you smell gas.

Service steps here are general. Your own fireplace's manual and a qualified technician govern the work on it.