Operation FAQs

No, it is best to heat your entire house with your home's primary heating system or furnace. While Monessen’s direct vent systems are A.F.U.E. heater-rated and our vent free units are design certified as a supplemental heat, both appliances have limited Btus, and can not move large volumes of air throughout the entire house. Both are best suited to supplement the home’s system by heating limited areas within the house. They should only be used as a primary heat source in a power outage.

British thermal units, “Btu's” represent the heat value of the gas fuel used to create heat. BTU values are determined by the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water, by one degree Fahrenheit

A prospective gas appliance can be properly sized or “qualified” to your home based on many variables. Some, but not all of them, would be the size of the area, measured in cubic feet. How tight is the home? How cold is your climate? Is your home well insulated? Are you locating to a basement, or cooler area? Are there vaulted ceilings and ceiling fans and so on. Many variables may determining the correct amount of heat for an area or new home and your Monessen dealer can work with you, firsthand, to properly size the appliance

Yes. Monessen burner assemblies incorporate standing pilots that will shut off gas to the burner, should the pilot extinguish. Every Monessen gas fireplaces is AGA/CGA design certified. All fireplace burner assemblies are burn tested at our state-of-the-art factory.

Gas fireplaces with standing pilots will still operate during a power outage. Blowers will not operate in an outage. Millivolt control switches, i.e. remote controls, wall thermostats, wall switch kits and the on/off rocker switch will turn your fireplace on during a power outage.

A Safety pilot is a standing pilot or small burner, designed to ignite the gas from the main burners, but also to shut off the burners, in the event the pilot should extinguish

Yes. Shutting off the pilot off in the summer saves gas. It will also reduce the buildup of dust, which can cause pilots to fail. All gas appliances should be serviced on a regular basis, which makes summer a good time to have everything, including the pilot, thoroughly cleaned and checked.

Your pilot needs servicing because it is dirty. Service should be performed by qualified technicians, or the dealer from whom you purchased the unit. Do not attempt to service the unit yourself.

We require using at least a one hundred-Gallon or larger tank. Do not use a twenty-pound cylinder. Undersized tanks are known to cause problems during extreme cold conditions

Monessen recommends service a minimum of once a year, although servicing and maintenance will depend on use and the type of installation. Be sure to employ a qualified service technician. We recommend the late summer or beginning of each heating season as the best time to schedule service. Do not attempt to service the unit yourself.

No, when installed properly, ANSI standards allow the surrounding combustibles, i.e. mantles, walls, ceilings to reach 117 degrees above ambient (room) temperature. A room at 74 degrees may have the mantle (or any other adjacent combustible) as warm as 191 degrees. That surfaces are too hot to the touch is not an accurate means of determining a fire hazard.

Natural gas and Propane produce water when burnt. Vent-free appliances are no different-- producing about 1 quart per hour. Normally, moist heat does not cause a problem. However, very small, tightly-constructed homes may experience problems where appliances are oversized. You may need to provide mechanical ventilation if your home is extremely tight, has poor circulation or problems with mold or mildew. You might consider installing a direct vent fireplace which produces dry heat.

• We recommend the following be serviced by a qualified gas appliance technician.
• Check flame and color-Should be solid blue, stable on barrel, and envelop thermocouple/thermopile tip.
• Clean primary air intake. Will collect dirt, dust, dander
• Remove pilot line and clean of debris with a can of compressed air in the direction of gas flow, do not backflush.
• Check for loose thermocouple connection at valve-could also be corroded.
• Check Thermocouple output, should read between 15-20 millivolts.
• On vented MV: check Thermopile output, should read between 350-500 millivolts.
• On vented: check adjustment screw.