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Gas Fireplace Burner Replacement in Seattle, WA
Rusted, clogged or cracked burner? Our qualified technician replaces it with the part made for your unit and tests the flame. Free quote, same-day often.
- Free 2nd-opinion quotes
- Price match + 10–25% discount
- Same-day service often available
Request a Free Gas Burner Replacement Quote
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The burner is the metal tube or pan under the logs with a row of ports that the gas comes out of. When it is healthy, the flame spreads evenly across it and rises through the logs in a full yellow pattern. When it corrodes, the ports rust shut or rust open, and the flame turns patchy: tall in one spot, missing in another, lifting off the tube, or roaring where it should whisper. A burner in that condition cannot be cleaned back to health, and that is when it is replaced.
This page is about replacing the burner assembly itself, in a sealed gas fireplace, an insert or an open log set. It is narrower than gas fireplace repair, which covers every part of the unit, and different from gas fireplace cleaning, where a burner that is merely dusty is brushed clear and kept. If the flame is fine but the pilot is the problem, see pilot light repair.
Burners are replaced only with the part listed for the specific fireplace model, by our qualified technician. We serve Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and King, Pierce and Snohomish counties from our Renton office. The quote is free. Call 206-453-2045.
Symptoms
Signs you need gas burner replacement
- Flame is uneven: tall in places, absent in others, or only on one side of the burner
- Flames lift off the burner or make a roaring or whistling sound
- Visible rust, flaking or holes on the burner tube or pan
- Cleaning the burner ports helped for a few weeks, then the flame went bad again
- Soot on the logs or glass that comes back after a proper cleaning and log reset
- Delayed ignition with a soft whump when the burner finally lights
- Burner has cracked or warped and the logs no longer sit level on it
Common causes
- Years of heat cycling and combustion moisture corrode steel burner tubes from the inside out
- Ports rust shut, starving sections of the burner, or rust open, letting gas out in the wrong places
- Sand, ember material or vermiculite worked into the ports on open log-set burners
- A damp firebox in an unused fireplace rusts the burner between seasons
- A burner cracked by an earlier overheating or a log dropped onto it
- A previous repair that fitted a generic burner instead of the listed part
How It Works
Our gas burner replacement process
Our technician runs the fireplace and reads the flame first, because an uneven pattern is the clearest sign of a burner problem. With the unit shut down and cool, the logs and media are lifted, the burner is examined for rust-through, cracks and blocked ports, and the ports are cleaned once to see whether the pattern recovers. We check the orifice, the air shutter and the pilot, since a lazy or lifting flame can also come from those. We record the model and serial from the rating plate to source the listed burner. If cleaning restores the flame, we tell you that and charge for a cleaning; if the metal is gone, the quote names the matched burner and the labor to fit it.
Free flame diagnosis
Our qualified technician watches the flame, inspects the burner and tells you whether it can be cleaned or must be replaced, with a written quote either way.
Source the listed part
The burner is ordered by the fireplace's model and serial so it matches the unit's listing, gas type and orifice.
Remove the old burner
Logs and media are lifted and photographed, the gas is shut at the appliance valve, and the corroded burner, orifice and pilot bracket are removed.
Fit the new assembly
The new burner is set on its mounts, the orifice and air shutter installed to the manufacturer's spec, and the pilot reattached.
Reset logs and media
Logs, embers and media go back to the manufacturer's diagram so the new burner's flame passes between the logs, not against them.
Leak test, fire and walkthrough
We leak test every joint we opened, run the burner through its cycles, confirm an even flame and clean glass, and show you the result.
Options
Repair and service options
Burner replacement is a matched-part job, but there are still choices our technician walks you through:
- Burner tube or pan only: when the orifice, pilot and valve test fine, just the burner is replaced. The most common case on sealed units.
- Burner and pilot assembly: on many models the pilot mounts to the burner bracket, and if it is corroded too, replacing both at once saves a second visit.
- Log-set burner replacement: on an open vented log set, a new burner often comes as a burner-and-grate kit, and the sand or vermiculite bed is renewed with it.
- Burner plus glass media or embers: a new burner on a contemporary unit is a good time to refresh media that has gone dark or fused.
- Whole-unit conversation: if the burner, valve and firebox are all tired, we will say so honestly and compare a burner replacement against a new gas insert rather than pour money into a unit at the end of its life.
Quotes are free and in writing, we give free second-opinion quotes, we price match any written quote plus 10-25% off, and if you are not happy, we are not done.
Pricing
What affects the price
- Make, model and age of the fireplace, and whether the listed burner is still available
- Burner only versus burner with pilot assembly, orifice or grate kit
- Sealed direct-vent unit, insert or open log set
- Natural gas or propane, which sets the orifice and sometimes the burner part number
- Condition of the logs, embers or media that come off and go back on
- Part lead time if the burner must be ordered from the manufacturer
- Distance from Renton for outlying Pierce and Snohomish addresses
Every chimney is different, so you get a written quote after we look at the system. Ask about our price match and free second-opinion quote.
Safety & Seattle Conditions
Safety considerations
If you smell gas, do not use the fireplace and do not touch any switch or valve. Leave the house and call your gas utility or 911 from outside. A burner with rusted-open ports or a crack can release gas where it is not meant to burn, so a fireplace with a badly uneven or roaring flame should be left off until our qualified technician has looked at it. Burner removal, orifice changes and gas connections are not homeowner work.
We fit only the burner listed for the specific model. A generic or wrong-fuel burner can change the gas rate, the flame height and the carbon monoxide the unit produces, and it voids the fireplace's listing. NFPA 211 recommends an annual inspection of fireplaces, chimneys and vents; the yearly gas fireplace cleaning is when a burner that is starting to go is usually spotted.
Seattle & Puget Sound conditions
Burners corrode faster in a fireplace that sits idle in a damp room, and Puget Sound gives them plenty of idle damp months. Sea-Tac's NOAA 1991-2020 normals show about 29.65 inches of rain from October through March and roughly 150-156 days a year with measurable precipitation, so a burner that is not run regularly spends much of the year in humid air with combustion moisture left in the tube from its last fire.
The region's housing age also lines up with burner failures. Factory-built gas fireplaces are common in homes from the late 1980s onward, and Renton's median home dates to 1988, Bothell's to 1992 and Redmond's to 1993, so a large share of original burners in those neighborhoods are now decades old.
Our Work
Gas Burner Replacement in action
Patchy or roaring flame? Get a free burner diagnosis.
Listed replacement burners fitted and leak tested by our qualified technician. Free quote, same-day often available, price match plus 10-25% off. Call 206-453-2045.
☎ 206-453-2045 Request a QuoteQuestions
Gas Burner Replacement FAQ
How do I know the burner needs replacing and not just cleaning?
The flame tells most of the story. A dusty burner gives a weak but even flame that recovers after the ports are cleared. A corroded one gives a patchy, lifting or roaring flame, shows rust or holes when the logs are lifted, and goes bad again soon after cleaning. Our technician cleans it once during the free diagnosis; if the pattern does not recover or the metal is rusted through, it is a replacement.
Can you just patch the rusted spot on the burner?
No. A burner is a pressure-carrying gas part, and patched or welded burners are neither safe nor listed. The ports are drilled to a precise size and spacing for the unit's gas rate, and rust changes both. The fix is the burner the manufacturer made for that model, fitted with the correct orifice, which is what we install.
Why does the burner have to be the manufacturer's part?
Because the fireplace was tested and listed as a complete system, with a specific burner, orifice and log arrangement. A generic burner can burn more or less gas than the unit was designed for, throw flame against the logs or glass, and raise carbon monoxide output. Our technician sources the burner by your fireplace's model and serial so it matches the listing and your gas type.
What if the manufacturer no longer makes the burner?
It happens with older units. We check the manufacturer's current replacement part, which sometimes supersedes the original, and any listed alternative they approve. If nothing listed exists, we tell you honestly that the unit has reached the end of its serviceable life and compare the options, usually a new insert in the same opening. We do not fit an unlisted burner.
Does replacing the burner fix sooty glass?
Only if the burner was the cause. Soot comes from flame touching something, and a burner with rusted-open ports throws flame where it should not. Logs out of position and a dirty pilot cause the same symptom, and those are corrected with a cleaning and reset. Our technician identifies which it is during the free diagnosis rather than selling a burner for a log-placement problem.
Does the new burner work with my existing logs?
Usually yes, when the burner is the listed part for your model, because the logs were designed around it. We inspect the logs while they are off and replace any that are cracked or crumbling, since a damaged log resting on the new burner will soot and can block ports. Everything goes back to the manufacturer's diagram before we fire it.
How long does a burner replacement take?
The replacement itself is usually a single visit of a couple of hours once the part is in hand. The wait is the part: some burners are stocked locally and others must come from the manufacturer. Same-day diagnosis is often available across King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, the quote is free, and we price match any written quote plus 10-25% off.
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