Support
At Fire or ice, we are here to support you post-purchase. Once you begin using your fireplace, BBQ or furnace, many questions can arise. Although we do our best to cover these prior to purchase and while on-site with our technicians, these products are complicated – and questions (or issues) – can arise. We highly recommend you review your owners’ manual. It contains appliance-specific information that may answer your question. The Fire or Ice sales associate who assisted you with your purchase is an industry veteran and may have important knowledge that can help. Our sales team have worked at Fire or Ice for many years and many are former technicians. If they can not answer your question, they can escalate your concern to our Service Department. Please call us today if you have questions
Glossary & Terms:
ANSI:
American National Standards Institute. The organization responsible for coordinating the federal national standards system, consisting of 900 companies and 200 trade, technical, professional, labor and consumer organizations.
B-Vent Appliance:
Gas fireplace that draws air from inside the home through ports in the firebox itself. (Also called Natural Draft/Vent.)
BTU:
British Thermal Unit; a measurement of heat.
Blower:
An electric, motor driven fan used to circulate air at an increased pace and velocity through the fireplace convection air chamber.
Burner:
Device for the final delivery of gas to the combustion zone.
Certified Chimney Sweep:
Licensed professional trained in the proper inspection and cleaning of fireplaces and chimneys.
CFM:
Cubic Feet per Minute; amount of air that a blower will move. NOTE: A blower should be tapered to a particular unit. If the amount of air movement is not balanced to the size of the unit it can become noisy.
Chase:
Structure built around and enclosing portions of chimney exterior to the house.
Chimney:
Portion of the venting system, through which flue gases are vented to the outdoors, and by which penetrated combustible surfaces are protected.
Clearance:
Distance required by manufacturers and building codes between stove, connector pipe or chimney and any combustible materials.
Cord:
Stack of wood logs which measures 4 x 4 x 8 feet (128 cubic feet).
Creosote:
Deposits of condensed wood smoke in the chimney and connector pipe resulting from incomplete combustion; can ignite and cause a chimney fire.
Damper:
Device used to reduce or close the opening between the firebox and flue.
Direct-vent:
Fireplace in which air exchange occurs from the back or sides of the fireplace or stove.
Efficiency:
Percentage of heat that goes into the room instead of up the chimney.
Electric Igniter:
Device to ignite the burner or pilot; requires electrical currents, but not a match.
Emissions:
Unburned gases and particles as a result of incomplete combustion.
EPA Regulations:
Government regulations of wood-burning appliances; mandate that products sold after July 1, 1992, emit no more than 4.1 grams of particulate matter per hour for catalytic-equipped units and no more than 7.5 grams for non-catalytic-equipped units.
Fireback:
Protective, heat-resistant insert for the rear interior of the fireplace.
Fire box:
Chamber of the fireplace that contains the fire.
Fireplace Insert:
Heating unit that fits into an existing fireplace (masonry or factory-built); burns wood, gas or wood pellets and offers superior efficiency.
Flue:
Pipe or channel for moving smoke from the fireplace to the chimney.
Freestanding Stove:
Heating appliance normally on legs or a pedestal.
Furnace:
Central heating appliance that supplies hot air, through ducts, to the house.
Gas Logs:
Open flame appliance with ceramic or ceramic fiber logs placed over a burner to provide dramatic realism of a traditional flame. Manufactured log sets have a burner that uses either natural gas or propane.
Glass Doors:
Doors attached to a fireplace to close off the opening of the hearth from the home to prevent heat from escaping up the chimney and prevent cold air from entering the home when the fireplace is not being used.
Grate:
Metal frame used to hold and contain burning fuel in a fireplace.
Hearth:
Floor of the fireplace, which usually extends away from the wall.
Heat exchanger:
Device within the fireplace that exchanges cold air in the room with heat generated from the firebox.
Heat Shield:
Noncombustible protector used around appliances, smoke pipes or chimneys to protect combustibles from heat sources.
Kindling:
Thin, dry wood used to start a fire.
KWH:
Kilowatt per hour (equals 1000 watts per hour; energy measurement for electricity.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG):
Colorless, odorless, and non-toxic gas separated from wet natural gas, light crude oil, and oil refinery gases; composed predominantly of hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof (propane, propylene, normal butane or isobutane and butylenes).
Liquid Propane:
Liquefied petroleum gas, available in cylinders, for home use.
Mantel:
Protruding shelf above the fireplace.
Mcf:
One thousand cubic feet.
Metal Liner:
Liner place inside existing chimney (usually masonry) to reduce the diameter of the flue for rapid exit of smoke and combustion gases; used primarily with fireplace inserts but also used when an existing chimney is unlimited or deteriorating.
Millivolt:
Ignition system that uses a small electromagnet in the gas valve and a pilot light. The electromagnet allows gas to flow to the pilot light only until the switch is flipped. The system utilizes a small generator called a thermocouple that, when heated by the pilot light, provides enough power to hold the valve open while in use. If there is a power outage while the fireplace is in use, it will not lose power.
Mortar:
Material used to bond stone, brick or tiles in masonry; normally made using lime and/or sand mixed with cement either on site or in the factory.
Natural Gas:
Clean-burning fossil fuel transported to homes via an extensive pipeline network.
Orifice:
Opening in a cap, spud, or other device whereby the flow of gas is limited and/ or controlled and through which the gas is discharged to either a pilot burner or main burner.
Pellets:
Small balls or blocks made of 100% wood sawdust with no additives.
Pilot light:
Small gas flame that ignites the main burner to produce fire in a gas fireplace.
Seasoned:
Wood that has been allowed to dry before burning. Wood burns much more efficiently when its moisture content has been reduced. Seasoning generally takes six to 12 months.
Standing pilot light:
Pilot light which is available at all times.
Standing safety pilot:
Manual or remote controlled gas valve which shuts off the gas supply if the pilot light is extinguished.
Spillage:
Describes process whereby fireplaces with vented systems such as a chimney or direct vent become blocked and combustion by-products cannot be vented outside and therefore ‘spill’ back into room. NOTE: This can be dangerous, particularly with wood burning fireplaces, as carbon monoxide may be one of the by-products leaking back into the home.
Surround:
Area surrounding top and sides of fireplace; it usually includes the mantel and hearth.
Therm:
Unit of heat equal to 100,000 British thermal units (BTUs); used as a measurement for natural gas.
Thermocouple:
Device consisting of two pieces of dissimilar metals joined together at one end (hot junction). When heated, produces DC voltage. Used to power thermoelectric gas valves.
Thermostat:
Type of thermostat that continually measures the room temperature and automatically adjusts the fire rate of gas fireplaces to maintain a constant room temperature.
Top-Vent:
Fireplace in which air exchange occurs through the top of the fireplace or stove.
Variable setting control:
Control feature of gas fireplaces which allows you to manually adjust the heat output of your fireplace by controlling the fireplace’s gas consumption rate.
Zero-Clearance Fireplace:
Factory-built fireplace that is constructed so that it can be placed safely with close clearances to combustible materials.
