Did you read this thread? It could be the same problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Gas or Propane?

HeyPearly -- I've never used propane or NG logs so I don't know how they're supposed to perform, but you might try calling or e-mailing the manufacturer for advice if you're not satisfied with the support from your dealer/installer/gas supplier. If the manufacturer confirms there's a problem, I would think the local provider would make it right for you at no additional charge......Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Peterson Real-Fyre

Thanks for the input. However, I specified a propane burner when I placed my order. They clearly asked for the fuel source. I'm stumped and Cold! It's been in the single digits
all week and here I am with no way to burn this *!# thing! All my LP dealer wants is to make yet another service call at the rate of $95.00 an hour.He's useless. My DH thinks it might be an adjustment to the air mixing valve. Anyone have any other thoughts? Thanks! Pearly

Well I know you don't want to hear this but....The only way to cure sooting problems with Peterson logs is to get rid of them. I will not, except under the most extreme circumstances, install Peterson logs. Have the logs removed and your money refunded and buy different logs to replace them. Refuse to pay any further service charges and demand a refund.

I forgot to add that we have natural gas, if that makes a difference on the recommendation.

JCA1 - What type of gas logs do you recommend?

Thanks for the heads up, but will I be able to return this log set? I bought it online. I've e-mailed Peterson with my issues and their reply was for me to advise them who my dealer is. No suggestions at all re: heavy carbon soot and shipping broken logs 3 times. If I can get my dealer to replace them, do you like Golden Blout? If so please elaborate as to why. I'm really sick over this, it's been so cold and snowy here in NY and no fire to light. I've cleaned them 4-5 times in 3 weeks. I give up. They're filthy things and I don't want them to contaminate my brand new kitchen/great room. I wonder what good the warrenty is if I can't get an appropriate reply to my inquiry. I'm out a big chunk of cash, my DH is furious with me. Any thoughts?

I forgot to ask the OP if the logs were vented or unvented. If they are unvented, there's your sooting problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ventless logs

Xanndra, My log set is vented (supposed to be the most trouble free)to a stainless lined chimney. I can't find much info on vented gas logs anywhere. The Chimney Sweep deals primarily with ventless problems. I'm at a loss at this point. Peterson has not replied to my last e-mail, my LP service guy suggested I expose the ports of the burner. I tried it with no difference at all. Just another shot at cleaning the logs and firebox. This is a FILTHY appliance and I want it gone! Have no clue as to what to replace it with, they all seem problematic. Am I supposed to eat the cost of this *#! thing? Do I have a choice? What should I do? ANYONE? PLEASE HELP. Pearly

Why don't you just replace it with a gas insert?

Hey X!
I bought this set at Homeclick. I ended up spending over a grand with the remote and all the extra's. I couldn't justify forking out another chunk of money while this thing just sits there and will not work. I have a very old, historic home and wanted the beauty of a fire for ambiance, not heat. The final leg of this 10 year restoration is the room this log set is in. MY new kitchen/great room, which BTW has had me bleeding money! Does anyone know if Homeclick
will accept it as a return? There was a posting a few months back from a Homeclick executive that offered to help with problems like this. He posted his name and phone#,(I can't locate that message). He said Homeclick was aware of this board and wanted to keep it's members happy with Homeclick's services. Does anyone have that info? I'm so frustrated and getting desperate.

No. 1- to say that unvented would explain why they are sooting is hogwash. I have seen many many more sooting problems with vented logs than unvented and I have worked on a lot of log units in the past 10 years.

I install logs almost every day of the week and I will plain out refuse to install peterson logs or any set that even resembles them because of sooting problems.

Here is the biggest reason logs soot. They best logs are designed to burn a yellow flame on atleast one burner for the purpose of asthetics. That yellow tip flame is like a match, If it touches any thing it soots. Therefore the logs are designed so that the flame does not touch them. Peteson and some others have just one hugh yellow fire blazing up from the burner, then a big pile of logs just thrown on top of it. Every log is touched by yellow flame and thereby....SOOT, not to mention the occasional hair singing caused by that pan burner system they use on some sets, what a P.O.S. If you have Peterson and don't want them to soot then remove all the logs and replace them one at a time in a way that no flames touch logs. You should be able to get a couple of logs on there and just stack the rest around in the fireplace floor for looks.

Other things can cause sooting but that is the biggest reason. If anyone disagrees with that then they don't know gas logs PERIOD. Dirty burners or improperly placed logs are the next reasons but this creates soot on a much smaller level.

Monessen when I first used any were sorry crap becaus eof the methods used to make the logs. They never stopped smelling like burnt glue. The wasy fiber logs are made changed and they don't stink now and many manufactures use them. I hadn't used a monessen product for several years until recently and I was not overly thrilled with it. We sell and install only Heatmaster logs because of our distributor and there are a few sets I don't like of theirs. I personally like Heatmaster, Rasmussen, Buck, and Desa and would not hesitate to use a set from any of these in my new house. Over the years I have seen very few problems with these brands. Now we install mainly unvented logs as SUPPLEMENT heat and seldom install vented logs as I see them as a waste of gas and money, unless it's a complete unit and not just a log set.

By the way if as you say no flames are touching logs and they still soot then here are other things that I did not mention that could cause soot. Your dealer if he's any good should be able to help you deal with peterson, I would do any thing I could for you in a situation like this. If you call Peterson again ask for a technician. Then when he tells you what should be checked(line size and length, supply pressure, flow pressure, manifold pressure, orifice size) call your dealer and ask for that information as any good tech would have documented it. If he dosen't have it politely explain to him that these were standard checks according to Peterson and he should do it for free since he charged you for a service call to do nothing. Then you will have all the information needed to take up a warranty claim with Peterson. Also are you using ceiling fans with these logs? Anything else that could blow the flames around? Can you smell the soot?

Thanks JCA1, I'll call the propane people tomorrow AM. I'm sure they'll be shocked when I ask for the safty check data. I think they just assume everyone is a dumb jackass.
I must admit, that's exactly how I feel currently. I still have not recieved a reply from Peterson. Do you think the fact that I bought online will be an issue? I've come to the realization that I just need to return this piece of crap and move on. I fussed and fretted for months while I did the research on firelogs, trying to determine which was best for my situation. Peterson seemed to offer the best warrenty and had been around the longest, so that's how I chose them. I can only hope they back up the lifetime on logs and 5 years on the burner. BTW, did I tell you I'm still NOT in possesion of a complete set of logs? They keep shipping broken replacements, since Oct! Would you know if there are any Heatmaster dealers in upstate NY? I'm so sick of all this, but I need a fire in this beautiful old fireplace. I'll be eager to hear your reply. THANKS!

It should not matter where you purchased as far as warranty work, but it may affect returning them. I can't help with where to find Heatmaster in NY but I could give you #'s to order them from NC via e-mail if you like sometime. Getting logs shipped unharmed is tricky business, They get thrown around by carriers and such. We recieve broken logs often but we have replacements next day usually. Were only about 100 miles from the distributor we deal with though.

Is it unreasonable for me to return the whole she-bang and ask for a full refund? I'm just sitting here staring at a dirty, cold set of gas logs, for what? My concern with my online dealer is they state all returns must be in the original packaging. I've recieved so many replacements I'd be up to my *&! in boxes, I don't have all the original boxes. Do I have to go thru the dealer? Can I deal directly with Peterson? What will I need to provide in order to activate a full refund? OMG! this has become such a nightmare! I really do appreciate your help, up 'till now I've felt like a lone voice in the wilderness.

I would start with Peterson, tell them all your problems and the trouble you have had getting a full unbroken set and your wish to return and see what help they offer. The problem is, the place you bought from, bought from Peterson then resold to you. Petrson normally would refund their price to them and dealer would refund their profit. This is why buying from unknowns is not always the best, but then again some local dealers are worse to deal with.
Not to rub it in but let me tell this story. We sold and installed a set of HeatMaster Mirage Glow logs. Customer called and said he had a problem with them( yes, even HeatMaster has problems sometimes). I went and looked at them and saw small traces of soot in various places along with conrol problems he was having. We did not have another set in stock so I said: Can you do without till we can get a new set, maybe a couple of days. I simply removed the problem set and installed a new set and returned the bad to Heatmaster. There were other options but I don't work on new stuff unless it's too large to move, I just return it. That cust. didn't pay for a bad set to be repaired he paid for a new set to work properly. Thats why dealing locally makes a difference most of the time, even still is it your fault the logs don't work? NO! I'll make a few calls tomorrow or tuesday if I can get to the phone and see if I can find out anything. It would help to have the model#,serial# and where you bought them.

Hey! I see we're on the same wave length, I sent a rather long e-mail to Peterson's customer service link. The Tech link there continues to ignore me.(No reply since my last e-mail of Jan.22) I explained the entire situation, including being unable to burn the thing even once since my purchase. I sent it off Feb 1, we'll see if they reply. I intend to send a copy of that e-mail to Homeclick,the online store I purchased it from. You asked for some data, here goes: I have the RealFyre CHD30-G5-15MP. That's the Charred Oak 30" log set with a G5 burner and a APK15MP LP remote ready with the basic variable VR1 remote. The burner was factory assembled and arrived ready to connect. I use NO fans at all, the room is empty, awaiting cabinet installation. I don't smell the soot. But, the firebox itself gets black in no time, 15 minutes or less. I just want my money back and to be done with this nasty, filthy thing! If I don't get a reply within the next day or two, where do I go from here?

I sent you an e-mail

I sent you another e-mail

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I had the strangest experience just now and I feel obligated to mention it. I was interested in a Heatmaster set after reading this string of comments, and found one I really liked. However, I couldn't figure out where to buy it. On the Heatmaster website there was a "Find a Dealer" link, but it didn't work. It led to an empty URL. Then I sent a message through their "contact us." No answer after a week. So I called and got someone, and he gave me a dealer name. Great! I mentioned (very kindly) that his website doesn't work like expected and he answered by repeating "Good day," a dozen times in a super aggressive tone. I finally interrupted and said, "Are you upset because I told you your website isn't working?" And he started with "Good day." again. It was SO strange. Now, because of that experience, I'm wondering what customer service is like AND if this is even a company I want to patronize. Can anyone speak for their logs alone, and maybe their costumer service??

You do realize this thread is over 7 years old and it might be possible the company is out of business?

Ha! I did notice the dates. But, it's funny how little one can find regarding gas log reviews. Anyway, as far as I could tell the company is still very much in business. They had a secretary who transferred me to a man who gave me the nearest distributor for their logs. Still a strange experience though. As a result, I've found some other manufacturers that I like. Red flags all the way around for Heatmaster.

I am a Ph.D. chemist and I completely understand the origin of the black deposit. The black material is soot or from a chemical standpoint it is carbon. When you use the fireplace you will see a cool yellow flame rather than a blue flame from hot combustion of LP or propane. The cool yellow flames means that carbon monoxide is a product of the partial combustion of your gas source. Most of the time this carbon monoxide goes up the chimney. If the flames were blue in color that would mean that the flames were not only hot but a main product of combustion would be carbon dioxide. Getting back the carbon monoxide product with yellow burning gas, carbon monoxide will disproportionate to carbon (soot) and carbon dioxide. The chemical reaction is 2CO = C + CO2. This reaction is speeded up at lower temperatures particularly in contact with metals such as iron. The lower temperature explains why the carbon deposits occur on the logs in the front because they are lower in temperature. The disproportionation of carbon monoxide (CO) not only depends on temperature but on material. Certain glassy materials will completely inhibit the decomposition of carbon monoxide. One such material is quartz. Namely because of their chemical makeup, certain fireplace logs can inhibit suit formation and others will accelerate suit deposits. I am in need of a log material/manufacturer which will minimize carbon monoxide disproportionation and suit formation. Please contact me (by e-mail) for help and more information.