Gas fireplace questions

[twodogsandababy]

We moved into a house with a gas fireplace last spring. We used it for the first time a few weeks ago and have been putting out the pilot light and shutting off the gas valves each time I use it. We are expecting a storm tonight and might lose power. Can I light the pilot light and keep it running so that we can use the fireplace for heat if the power goes out? Can we even run the fireplace with no power since the fan won't work? Does anyone else keep their pilot light lit all the time?

Also, I did try to google this, and came up with a post from MM on the nest from 2009! So strange!

[7costanza]

We keep our pilot light on all the time in the winter. Ours doesn't have a fan, and still keeps the room toasty warm. Make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector too!

[noodleoo]

Yes our pilot light is on all the time also. I didn't think ours would work without power, but it did and it was so nice! We don't have a fan on ours though.

[Deleted]

We also leave our pilot light on all winter. We do not have a fan and it still keeps that room toasty warm. However, we turn it on with an electric wall switch. I have no idea how to turn it on without power so I would check that out!

[imojoebunny]

We only turn off the pilot light between uses on our outdoor fireplace between uses, and only because we might not use it for a week or two. Our gas logs do not use electricity though to light the logs. One has a battery in the starter, the other does not.

[twodogsandababy]

Jan 9, 2013 12:35:34 GMT -5 @gingersb said:

We also leave our pilot light on all winter. We do not have a fan and it still keeps that room toasty warm. However, we turn it on with an electric wall switch. I have no idea how to turn it on without power so I would check that out!

Hmm....I did not think about the wall switch...excellent point.

Thanks ladies! We didn't end up losing power and I got way too paranoid about it being lit that I turned it off before I fell asleep.