Fireplaces and propane burners

[cmuncy]

So here's what I have:

When I built my house, the plumbers ran 1/2" black pipe in to my fireplace and had it capped off. There is a key valve inline with this right next to the fireplace.

Since we are dealing with propane here, low pressure no big deal. I took a 1/2" x 18" piece of black pipe, drilled 14 holes spaced 1" apart and it fits under the wood grate just fine.

I'm proud of the work so far....

Time to test it. I light a piece of paper and set it next to a hole. I slowly crack open the valve, less than 5 degrees of turn, and I've got a 4" flame. Looks really good.

But wait... I've got 85 degrees left on that valve and the flames can get pretty **** tall!!! What are my solutions here as far as flow restrictions? It appears to work great but I don't want the wife cracking that valve wide open, then taking another 30 seconds to strike the match......

Anyone got any ideas??

Thanks

 

[hudr]

anytime I have seen that setup (capped off pipe) it was for future installation of gas logs. I have seen people use it for "kindling" (sp?) a wood flame but that can be dangerous if you aren't paying close attention. I suggest a set of gas logs or something w/ a cutoff and internal regulator. I guess you could take the valving off of an existing set of gas logs or something like that but might be less trouble/safer to just buy a set of logs. I'm no "safetycrat" but I wouldn't want something running a flame straight off of tank pressure in the house. Too easy for a mishap in an empty tank/refill situation. IMHO

 

[wier]

they sell them as log lighters, mostly for natural gas. most have an air mixing chamber before the pipe. they work great, beats paper and all that crap to light a fire. the valve with a key is specifically for log lighters so that is what is was installed for i would think. northlineexpress.com has the propane ones for under $30.

 

[Bird]

I guess it could be used for either gas logs OR a fire starter, but yes, we've had two houses with natural gas that had the gas starter. In ours, the gas pipe came up from the bottom of the fireplace a couple of inches, then a "T" with a short, perforated pipe off each end (capped on the end, of course) of the "T".

 

[KennethBrown]

Never had anythig like it so this is a shot in the dark. I would neck it down BEFORE your drilled holes to 1/8 pipe and then bring it back up to the 1/2. Seems to me that it would work just fine.

 

[cmuncy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( they sell them as log lighters, mostly for natural gas. most have an air mixing chamber before the pipe. they work great, beats paper and all that crap to light a fire. the valve with a key is specifically for log lighters so that is what is was installed for i would think. northlineexpress.com has the propane ones for under $30. )</font>

You did it now wier!!

I went to that site and found my next project. Looks like we are going to try some thing like THIS for our next project on the patio.

I will probably do some more research on my pipe in town today as I think what I have is a potential safety hazard.

Thanks for all of the replies.