Soot is a product of incomplete combustion of gas within your fireplace. With all gas fireplaces soot will be generated in small amounts but some instances excessive quantities may be generated during operation. Sooting is generally an easy to resolve problem and there are several potential solutions as listed below.
Inlet Pressure
Always ensure that the inlet gas pressure matches the requirements in the unit’s specification file. This issue generally arises when the inlet gas pressure is too high, allowing too much gas to enter, resulting in incomplete combustion. It is this resulting material that collects and deposits in your firebox and stains over time.
Air Shutter
The air shutter is responsible for balancing the mixture of air and gas during combustion. Please note: on units 60” or larger, there are 3 air shutters that must be adjusted to ensure the cleanest burn possible. The air shutters can be adjusted when the fireplace is originally placed in it’s cavity under the unit. Adjustment screws are shown circled in red. If adjustment needs to be made after fireplace has had finishing material, this can be done within the fireplace using a Phillips head screwdriver.
Media Arrangement
Please pay close and careful attention to the arrangement of your media over the burner port. While Flare supports covering the full base of the firebox with crushed glass, small fragments of media can clog the small ports that gas is channeled through, causing incomplete combustion. With driftwood, logs and branches, placing branches to arch over the burner ports can also cause byproduct which is normally pulled out of the fireplace through the coaxial pipe to become trapped under the branch/driftwood. Ensure bends are pointed down if placement across port is required to ensure the most chemical waste can be removed from the firebox post combustion.
Vent Restrictor
Your vent restrictor is utilized to restrict the speed at which fresh air is brought into the fireplace and products of combustion are removed. If there is an imbalance in this closed combustion environment, soot is one possible result. Vent restrictors can be adjusted on all Flare Fireplaces.
Vent Run Verification
If the fireplace is installed and an unsupported vent run is utilized, sooting is one of many problems that may occur. If your fireplace does not allow for the products of combustion to exit the firebox as effectively as fresh air is brought in, pockets of soot will collect in the unit storing the dark and harmful debris. Please verify that you have consulted the chimney paths section of the Flare Installation Manual for supported vent runs. If you have questions about a particular path, please reach out to Flare support for clarification and approval.
