Vanguard GAS LOG HEATER, Flame-Max Birch Logs, Flame-Max Golden Oak Logs, Flame-Max Vintage Oak Logs Owner's Operation And Installation Manual

®

UNVENTED (VENT-FREE)

NATURAL GAS LOG HEATER

OWNER’S OPERATION AND INSTALLATION MANUAL

Models Also Design-Certified as Vented Decorative Appliances

FLAME-MAX® Vintage Oak

Log Design

18" and 24" Variable

Manually-Controlled Models

FLAME-MAX® Golden Oak

Log Design

18", 24", 30", and 36" Variable

Manually-Controlled and

18", 24", and 30" Thermostati-

cally Controlled Models

FLAME-MAX

Log Design

18", 24", and 30" Variable

Manually-Controlled Model

®

Birch

WARNING: If the information in this
manual is not followed exactly, a fire or
explosion may result causing property
damage, personal injury, or loss of life.

— Do not store or use gasoline or other
flammable vapors and liquids in the
vicinity of this or any other appliance.

— WHAT TO DO IF YOU SMELL GAS

• Do not try to light any appliance.

• Do not touch any electrical switch; do
not use any phone in your building.

• Immediately call your gas supplier
from a neighbor’s phone. Follow the
gas supplier’s instructions.

• If you cannot reach your gas supplier,
call the fire department.

— Installation and service must be per­formed by a qualified installer, service
agency, or the gas supplier.

WARNING: Improper installation, ad­justment, alteration, service, or main­tenance can cause injury or property
damage. Refer to this manual for
correct installation and operational
procedures. For assistance or addi­tional information consult a quali­fied installer, service agency, or the
gas supplier.

WARNING: This appliance is for in­stallation only in a solid-fuel burning
masonry or UL127 factory-built fire­place, or in an approved ventless fire­box. It is design-certified for these
installations in accordance with ANS
Z21.11.2. Exception: Do not install
this appliance in a factory-built fire­place that includes instructions stat­ing it has not been tested or should
not be used with unvented gas logs.

WARNING: This is an unvented gas-fired heater. It uses air (oxygen)
from the room in which it is installed. Provisions for adequate
combustion and ventilation air must be provided. Refer to

Combustion and Ventilation

This appliance may be installed in an aftermarket* manufactured (mobile) home, where
not prohibited by state or local codes.

* Aftermarket: Completion of sale, not for purpose of resale, from the manufacturer

Save this manual for future reference.

section on page 4 of this manual.

Air for

®

Patent Pending

VANGUARD FLAME-MAX

®

UNVENTED NATURAL GAS LOG HEATER

SAFETY
INFORMATION

WARNINGS

WARNING ICON G 001

IMPORTANT: Read this owner’s
manual carefully and completely
before trying to assemble, oper­ate, or service this heater. Im­proper use of this heater can
cause serious injury or death from
burns, fire, explosion, electrical
shock, and carbon monoxide
poisoning.

DANGER: Carbon monoxide

poisoning may lead to death!

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Early

signs of carbon monoxide poisoning re­semble the flu, with headaches, dizziness,
or nausea. If you have these signs, the heater
may not be working properly. Get fresh air
at once! Have heater serviced. Some people
are more affected by carbon monoxide than
others. These include pregnant women,
people with heart or lung disease or anemia,
those under the influence of alcohol, and
those at high altitudes.

Natural Gas: Natural gas is odorless. An
odor-making agent is added to the gas. The
odor helps you detect a gas leak. However,
the odor added to the gas can fade. Gas may
be present even though no odor exists.

Make certain you read and understand all
Warnings. Keep this manual for reference.
It is your guide to safe and proper operation
of this heater.

WARNING: Any change to this
heater or its controls can be
dangerous.

1. This appliance is only for use with the
type of gas indicated on the rating plate.
This appliance is not convertible for use
with other gases.

2. If you smell gas

• shut off gas supply

• do not try to light any appliance

•

do not touch any electrical switch; do
not use any phone in your building

• immediately call your gas supplier

from a neighbor’s phone. F ollow the
gas supplier’s instructions

• if you cannot reach your gas supplier ,

call the fire department

3. This heater shall not be installed in a
bedroom or bathroom unless installed
as a vented appliance (see Installing
Damper Clamp, page 10).

4. Never install the heater

• in a recreational vehicle

• where curtains, furniture, clothing, or

other flammable objects are less than
42 inches from the front, top, or sides
of the heater

• in high traffic areas

• in windy or drafty areas

5. Before installing in a solid fuel burn­ing fireplace, the chimney flue and fire­box must be cleaned of soot, creosote,
ashes and loose paint by a qualified
chimney cleaner. Creosote will ignite
if highly heated. Inspect chimney flue
for damage. If damaged, operate heater
with flue damper closed.

6. If fireplace has glass doors, never op­erate this heater with glass doors closed.
If you operate heater with doors closed,
heat buildup inside fireplace will cause
glass to burst. Also if fireplace open­ing has vents at the bottom, you must
open the vents before operating heater .

7. Y ou must operate this heater with a fire­place screen in place. Make sure fire­place screen is closed before running
heater.

8. This log heater is designed to be smoke­less. If logs ever appear to smoke, turn
off heater and call a qualified service
person.
slight smoking could occur due to log
curing and heater burning manufactur­ing residues.

Note:

During initial operation,

9. To prevent the creation of soot, follow
the instructions in Cleaning and Main-
tenance, page 23.

10. Do not allow fans to blow directly into
the fireplace. Avoid any drafts that al­ter burner flame patterns. Ceiling fans
can create drafts that alter burner flame
patterns. Altered burner patterns can
cause sooting.

11. Do not use a blower insert, heat ex­changer insert or other accessory not
approved for use with this heater.

12. This heater needs fresh, outside air ven­tilation to run properly. This heater has
an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS) pi­lot light safety system. The ODS shuts
down the heater if not enough fresh air
is available. See Air for Combustion
and Ventilation, pages 4 through 6. If
heater keeps shutting off, see Trouble-
shooting, pages 18 through 20.

13. Do not run heater

• where flammable liquids or vapors

are used or stored

• under dusty conditions

14. Do not use this heater to cook food or
burn paper or other objects.

15. Never place any objects on the heater.

16. Heater base assembly becomes very hot
when running heater. K eep children and
adults away from hot surface to avoid
burns or clothing ignition. Heater will
remain hot for a time after shutdown.
Allow surface to cool before touching.

17. Carefully supervise young children
when they are in the room with heater .

18. Do not use heater if any part has been
exposed to or under water . Immediately
call a qualified service technician to in­spect the room heater and to replace any
part of the control system and any gas
control which has been under water .

19. Do not operate heater if any log is bro­ken. Do not operate heater if a log is
chipped (dime-sized or larger).

20. Turn heater off and let cool before ser ­vicing. Only a qualified service person
should service and repair heater.

21. Operating heater above elevations of
4,500 feet could pilot outage.

2

104342

OWNER’S MANUAL

PRODUCT
IDENTIFICATION

Flame-Max
Standard Oak Logs

Back Log

Front Log

Piezo Ignitor

Base Assembly

Flame-Max
Golden Oak Logs

®

Burner

®

Crossover
Log

Control Knob

One Piece
Log Set

Flame-Max

®

Birch Logs

Piezo Ignitor

Base Assembly

Control Knob

Flame-Max

®

Golden Oak Logs T-Stat

One Piece
Log Set

One Piece
Log Set

PRODUCT
FEATURES

OPERATION

This heater is clean burning. It requires no
outside venting. There is no heat loss out a
vent or up a chimney. Heat is generated by
realistic, dancing yellow flames. This heater
is designed for vent-free operation with flue
damper closed. It has been tested and ap­proved to ANS Z21.11.2 standard for
unvented heaters. State and local codes in
some areas prohibit the use of vent-free
heaters. This heater may also be operated as
a vented decorative (ANS Z21.60) product
by opening the flue damper (for non-ther­mostat operation only).

SAFETY PILOT

This heater has a pilot with an Oxygen
Depletion Sensor Shutoff System (ODS).
The ODS/pilot is a required feature for vent­free room heaters. The ODS/pilot shuts off
the heater if there is not enough fresh air.

Piezo Ignitor

Base Assembly

Control Knob

Figure 1 - Product Identification

LOCAL CODES

Install and use heater with care. Follow all local
codes. In the absence of local codes, use the
latest edition of The National Fuel Gas Code
ANS Z223.1, also known as NFPA 54*.

*Available from:
American National Standards Institute, Inc.

1430 Broadway

New York, NY 10018

National Fire Protection Association, Inc.

Batterymarch Park

Quincy, MA 02269

Piezo Ignitor

Base Assembly

Control Knob

UNPACKING

CAUTION: Do not remove the
metal Data Plates from the grate
assembly. The Data Plates contain
important product information.

1. Remove logs and heater base assem­bly from carton.
heater base assembly by the burner.
This could damage heater. Always
handle base assembly by grate.

2. Remove all protective packaging ap­plied to logs and heater for shipment.

3. Check all items for any shipping dam­age. If damaged, promptly inform
dealer where you bought heater.

Note:

Do not pick up

PIEZO IGNITION SYSTEM

This heater has a piezo ignitor. This system
requires no matches, batteries, or other
sources to light heater.

104342

3

VANGUARD FLAME-MAX

®

UNVENTED NATURAL GAS LOG HEATER

AIR FOR
COMBUSTION AND
VENTILATION

WARNING: This heater shall
not be installed in a confined space
or unusually tight construction
unless provisions are provided
for adequate combustion and ven­tilation air. Read the following in­structions to insure proper fresh
air for this and other fuel-burning
appliances in your home.

Today’s homes are built more energy
efficient than ever. New materials, increased
insulation, and new construction methods
help reduce heat loss in homes. Home owners
weather strip and caulk around windows
and doors to keep the cold air out and the
warm air in. During heating months, home
owners want their homes as airtight as
possible.

While it is good to make your home energy
efficient, your home needs to breathe. Fresh
air must enter your home. All fuel-burning
appliances need fresh air for proper com­bustion and ventilation.

Exhaust fans, fireplaces, clothes dryers, and
fuel burning appliances draw air from the
house to operate. You must provide ad­equate fresh air for these appliances. This
will insure proper venting of vented fuel­burning appliances.

PROVIDING ADEQUATE
VENTILATION

The following are excerpts from National
Fuel Gas Code. NFPA 54/ANS Z223.1, Sec­tion 5.3, Air for Combustion and Ventilation.

All spaces in homes fall into one of the three
following ventilation classifications:

1. Unusually Tight Construction

2. Unconfined Space

3. Confined Space
The information on pages 4 through 6 will

help you classify your space and provide
adequate ventilation.

Unusually Tight Construction

The air that leaks around doors and win­dows may provide enough fresh air for
combustion and ventilation. However, in
buildings of unusually tight construction,
you must provide additional fresh air.

Unusually tight construction is de­fined as construction where:

a. walls and ceilings exposed to the

outside atmosphere have a con­tinuous water vapor retarder with
a rating of one perm (6 x 10
per pa-sec-m2) or less with open­ings gasketed or sealed

b. weather stripping has been

added on openable windows and
doors

c. caulking or sealants are applied

to areas such as joints around
window and door frames, be­tween sole plates and floors, be­tween wall-ceiling joints, be­tween wall panels, at penetra­tions for plumbing, electrical, and
gas lines, and at other openings.

If your home meets all of the three
criteria above, you must provide ad­ditional fresh air. See

From Outdoors

If your home does not meet all of the
three criteria above, proceed to

mining Fresh-Air Flow For Heater Lo­cation,

and

Ventilation Air

, page 6.

page 5.

-11

and

Deter-

kg

Confined and Unconfined Space

The National Fuel Gas Code (ANS Z223.1,
1992 Section 5.3) defines a confined space

as a space whose volume is less than 50
cubic feet per 1,000 Btu per hour (4.8 m3 per
kw) of the aggregate input rating of all
appliances installed in that space and an
unconfined space as a space whose volume
is not less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 Btu
per hour (4.8 m3 per kw) of the aggregate
input rating of all appliances installed in that
space. Rooms communicating directly with
the space in which the appliances are in­stalled*, through openings not furnished
with doors, are considered a part of the
unconfined space.

This heater shall not be installed in a con­fined space or unusually tight construction
unless provisions are provided for adequate
combustion and ventilation air.

* Adjoining rooms are communicating only
if there are doorless passageways or ventila­tion grills between them.

4

104342

OWNER’S MANUAL

AIR FOR
COMBUSTION AND
VENTILATION

Continued

DETERMINING FRESH-AIR FLOW FOR HEATER LOCATION

Determining if You Have a Confined or Unconfined Space

Use this work sheet to determine if you have a confined or unconfined space.
Space: Includes the room in which you will install heater plus any adjoining rooms with doorless passageways or ventilation grills between

the rooms.

1. Determine the volume of the space (length x width x height).
Length x Width x Height = _________________cu. ft. (volume of space)

Example:

If additional ventilation to adjoining room is supplied with grills or openings, add the volume of these rooms to the total volume of
the space.

2. Divide the space volume by 50 cubic feet to determine the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support.

_______________ (volume of space) ÷ 50 cu. ft. = (maximum Btu/Hr the space can support)

Example:

3. Add the Btu/Hr of all fuel burning appliances in the space.
Vent-free heater _______________ Btu/Hr

Gas water heater* _______________ Btu/Hr
Gas furnace _______________ Btu/Hr
Vented gas heater _______________ Btu/Hr
Gas fireplace logs _______________ Btu/Hr
Other gas appliances* + _______________ Btu/Hr
Total = _______________ Btu/Hr

* Do not include direct-vent gas appliances. Direct-vent draws combustion air from the outdoors and vents to the outdoors.

4. Compare the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support with the actual amount of Btu/Hr used.

_________________ Btu/Hr (maximum the space can support)
_________________ Btu/Hr (actual amount of Btu/Hr used)

Example:

The space in the above example is a confined space because the actual Btu/Hr used is more than the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support.
You must provide additional fresh air. Your options are as follows:

A. Rework worksheet, adding the space of an adjoining room. If the extra space provides an unconfined space, remove door to adjoin-

ing room or add ventilation grills between rooms. See Ventilation Air From Inside Building, page 6.

B. Vent room directly to the outdoors. See Ventilation Air From Outdoors, page 6.
C. Install a lower Btu/Hr heater, if lower Btu/Hr size makes room unconfined.

If the actual Btu/Hr used is less than the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support, the space is an unconfined space. You will need no
additional fresh air ventilation.

Space size 20 ft. (length) x 16 ft. (width) x 8 ft. (ceiling height) = 2560 cu. ft. (volume of space)

2560 cu. ft. (volume of space) ÷ 50 cu. ft. = 51.2 or 51,200 (maximum Btu/Hr the space can support)

Example:

Gas water heater 40,000 Btu/Hr
Vent-free heater + 31,500 Btu/Hr
Total = 71,500 Btu/Hr

51,200 Btu/Hr (maximum the space can support)
71,500 Btu/Hr (actual amount of Btu/Hr used)

WARNING: If the area in which the heater may be operated is smaller than that defined as an unconfined space
or if the building is of unusually tight construction, provide adequate combustion and ventilation air by one of
the methods described in the

104342

National Fuel Gas Code, ANS Z223.1, 1992, Section 5.3

or applicable local codes.

Continued

5

VANGUARD FLAME-MAX

®

UNVENTED NATURAL GAS LOG HEATER

AIR FOR
COMBUSTION AND
VENTILATION

Continued

VENTILATION AIR

Ventilation Air From Inside
Building

This fresh air would come from an adjoining
unconfined space. When ventilating to an
adjoining unconfined space, you must pro­vide two permanent openings: one within
12" of the ceiling and one within 12" of the
floor on the wall connecting the two spaces
(see options 1 and 2, Figure 2). You can also
remove door into adjoining room (see op­tion 3, Figure 2). Follow the National Fuel

Gas Code NFPA 54/ANS Z223.1, Section

5.3, Air for Combustion and Ventilation for

required size of ventilation grills or ducts.

WARNING: Rework work­sheet, adding the space of the
adjoining unconfined space. The
combined spaces must have
enough fresh air to supply all
appliances in both spaces.

Ventilation Air From Outdoors

Provide extra fresh air by using ventilation
grills or ducts. You must provide two per­manent openings: one within 12" of the
ceiling and one within 12" of the floor.
Connect these items directly to the outdoors
or spaces open to the outdoors. These spaces
include attics and crawl spaces.

IMPORTANT:

inlet or outlet air into attic if attic has a
thermostat-controlled power vent. Heated air
entering the attic will activate the power vent.

Do not provide openings for

Ventilation

Grills

Into Adjoining

Room,

Option 1

Figure 2 - Ventilation Air from Inside Building

Outlet
Air

Inlet
Air

Figure 3 - Ventilation Air from Outdoors

Or

Remove

Door into

Adjoining

Room,
Option

3

12"

Outlet
Air

Inlet Air

Ventilation Grills

Into Adjoining Room,

Ventilated
Attic

Crawl Space

12"

Option 2

To Attic

To

Crawl

Space

Ventilated

6

104342

OWNER’S MANUAL

INSTALLATION

NOTICE: This heater is intended
for use as supplemental heat.
Use this heater along with your
primary heating system. Do not
install this heater as your pri­mary heat source. If you have a
central heating system, you may
run system’s circulating blower
while using heater. This will help
circulate the heat throughout the
house. In the event of a power
outage, you can use this heater
as your primary heat source.

WARNING: A qualified ser­vice person must install heater.
Follow all local codes.

NOTICE: State or local codes may
only allow operation of this appli­ance in a vented configuration.
Check your state or local codes.

WARNING: Before installing
in a solid fuel burning fireplace,
the chimney flue and firebox must
be cleaned of soot, creosote,
ashes and loose paint by a quali­fied chimney cleaner. Creosote
will ignite if highly heated. A dirty
chimney flue may create and dis­tribute soot within the house. In­spect chimney flue for damage. If
damaged, operate heater with flue
damper closed.

WARNING: Seal any fresh air
vents or ash clean-out doors lo­cated on floor or wall of fireplace.
If not, drafting may cause pilot
outage or sooting. Use a heat­resistant sealant. Do not seal
chimney flue damper.

WARNING: Never install the

heater

• in a bedroom or bathroom un­less installed as a vented ap­pliance (see page 10)

• in a recreational vehicle

• where curtains, furniture,
clothing, or other flammable
objects are less than 42 inches
from the front, top, or sides of
the heater

• in high traffic areas

• in windy or drafty areas

CAUTION: This heater cre­ates warm air currents. These
currents move heat to wall sur­faces next to heater. Installing
heater next to vinyl or cloth wall
coverings or operating heater
where impurities (such as to­bacco smoke, aromatic candles,
cleaning fluids, oil or kerosene
lamps, etc.) in the air exist, may
discolor walls.

IMPORTANT:

ture to the air. Although this is beneficial,
installing heater in rooms without enough
ventilation air may cause mildew to form
from too much moisture. See Air for Com-
bustion and Ventilation, pages 4 through 6.

Vent-free heaters add mois-

CHECK GAS TYPE

Use only natural gas. If your gas supply is
not natural gas, do not install heater. Call
dealer where you bought heater for proper
type heater.

INSTALLATION AND
CLEARANCES
(Vent-Free Operation Only)

WARNING: Maintain the mini­mum clearances. If you can, pro­vide greater clearances from
floor, ceiling, and adjoining wall.

LOG SIZING REQUIREMENTS

Log Minimum Firebox Size
Size Height Depth Front Rear*

Width Width

18" 17" 14" 24" 20"
24" 17" 14" 28" 21"
30" 17" 14" 34" 24"
36" 17" 14" 40" 30"

*Measured at 14" depth

Carefully follow the instructions below. This
will ensure safe installation into a masonry,
UL127-listed manufactured fireplace, listed
vent-free firebox.

Minimum Wall and Ceiling
Clearances (see Figure 4)

A. Clearances from the side of the fire-

place opening to any combustible wall
should not be less than 16 inches.

B. Clearances from the top of the fireplace

opening to the ceiling should not be less
than 42 inches.

NOTICE: Manual control heaters
may be used as a vented product.
If so, you must always run heater
with chimney flue damper open.
If running heater with damper
open, noncombustible material
above fireplace opening is not
needed. Go to

Clamp Accessory for Vented Op­eration,

page 10.

Left and

Right

Sides

16"

Installing Damper

42"

104342

Minimum Fireplace Clearance

To Combustible Materials

Log Size Side Wall Ceiling

18", 24", 16" 42"

30", and 36"

7

Figure 4 - Minimum Clearance to Wall and
Ceiling

Continued

VANGUARD FLAME-MAX

®

UNVENTED NATURAL GAS LOG HEATER

INSTALLATION

Continued

Minimum Noncombustible
Material Clearances

If Not Using Mantel

Note:

If using a mantel, proceed to If Using

Mantel. If not using a mantel, follow the

information below.
You must have noncombustible material(s)

above the fireplace opening. Noncombus­tible materials (such as slate, marble, tile,
etc.) must be at least 1/2 inch thick. With
sheet metal, you must have noncombustible
material behind it. Noncombustible mate­rial must extend at least 8" up (for all mod­els). If noncombustible material is less than
12", you must install the fireplace hood
accessory (24", 30" and 36" models only).
See Figure 5 for minimum clearances.

IMPORTANT:

minimum clearances, you must operate
heater with chimney flue damper open. Go
to Installing Damper Clamp Accessory for
Vented Operation, page 10.

If Using Mantel

You must have noncombustible material(s)
above the fireplace opening. Noncombus­tible materials (such as slate, marble, tile,
etc.) must be at least 1/2 inch thick. With
sheet metal, you must have noncombustible
material behind it. Noncombustible mate­rial must extend at least 8 inches up (for all
models). If noncombustible material is less
than 12", you must install the fireplace hood
accessory (24", 30" and 36" models only).
Even if noncombustible material is more
than 12", you may need the hood accessory
to deflect heat away from your mantel shelf.
See Figure 5 and Figures 6 and 7 on page 9
for minimum clearances.

IMPORTANT:

minimum clearances, you must operate
heater with chimney flue damper open. Go
to Installing Damper Clamp Accessory for
Vented Operation, page 10.

If you cannot meet these

If you cannot meet these

Noncombustible Requirements for
Material Distance (A) Safe Installation

12" or more Noncombustible material OK.
Between 8" and 12" 24", 30", or 36" Models: Install fireplace hood ac-

cessory (GA6050, GA 6052 or GA6053, see

sories,

page 30).

18" Model: Noncombustible material OK.

Less than 8" Noncombustible material must be extended to at

least 8". See
cannot extend material, you must operate heater
with flue damper open.

Heat Resistant
Material

Figure 5 - Heat Resistant Material (Slate, Marble, Tile, etc.) Above Fireplace

Between 8" and 12",

(A)

above. If you

Acces-

8

104342

OWNER’S MANUAL

m

t

INSTALLATION

Continued

MANTEL CLEARANCES

In addition to meeting noncombustible mate­rial clearances, you must also meet required
clearances between fireplace opening and
mantel shelf. If you do not meet the clear­ances listed below, you will need a hood.

Determining Minimum Mantel
Clearance

If you meet minimum clearance between
mantel shelf and top of fireplace opening, a
hood is not required (see Figure 6).

Determining Minimum Mantel
Clearance When Using a Hood

If minimum clearances in Figure 6 are not
met, you must have a hood. When using a
hood there are still certain minimum mantel
clearances required. Follow minimum clear­ances shown in Figure 7 when using hood.

NOTICE: If your installation does
not meet the minimum clearances
shown, you must do one of the
following:

• operate the logs only with the
flue damper open

• raise the mantel to an accept­able height

• remove the mantel

FLOOR CLEARANCES

A. If installing appliance on the floor level,

you must maintain the minimum dis­tance of 14" to combustibles (see Fig­ure 8).

B. If combustible materials are less than

14" to the fireplace, you must install
appliance at least 5" above the combus­tible flooring (see Figure 9).

Mantel Shelf

18"8"20"

14"

Distances to
Underside of
Mantel

22"
16

24"

3

/4

"

20"

Minimum Non­Combustible
Material

10"
8"
6"

1

/2

2

"

(A)

12"
8"

Minimum Non­Combustible
Material Height

Figure 6 - Minimum Mantel Clearances Without Using Hood

8"
Min.

Mantel Shelf

12" 15" 18"

Distances to
Underside of
Mantel

Minimum Non­Combustible
Material

12"
10"
8"
6"

1

2

/2

"

Hood
(GA6050, GA6052
or GA6053)

Figure 7 - Minimum Mantel Clearances When Using Hood

Underside of
Mantel Shelf

All minimum
distances are
in inches

Log Set

24"/30"/36" Models
18" Model

Top of Fireplace
Opening

Underside of
Mantel Shelf

All minimum
distances are
in inches

20"

Top of Fireplace
Opening

104342

Combustible

14"

14"

Min.

Min.

Noncombustible

Non-Combustible Mate

Combustible
Material

Material

Material

Figure 8 - Minimum Fireplace Clearances
If Installed at Floor Level

9

Hearth

Hearth

Combustible

Co

Material

Ma

5"

5"
Min.

Min.

Figure 9 - Minimum Fireplace Clearances
Above Combustible Flooring

Continued

VANGUARD FLAME-MAX

®

UNVENTED NATURAL GAS LOG HEATER

INSTALLATION

Continued

INSTALLING DAMPER
CLAMP ACCESSORY FOR
VENTED OPERATION

Note:

When used as a vented heater, appli­ance must be installed only in a solid-fuel
burning fireplace with a working flue and
constructed of noncombustible material.

If your heater is a manually controlled model,
you may use this heater as a vented product.
There are three reasons for operating your
heater in the vented mode:

1. The fireplace does not meet the clear-

ance to combustibles requirements for
vent-free operation

2. State or local codes do not permit vent-

free operation

3. You prefer vented operation
If reasons number 1 or 2 above apply to you,

you must permanently open chimney flue
damper. You must install the damper clamp
accessory (to order, see Accessories, page

30). This will insure vented operation (see
Figure 10). The damper clamp will keep
damper open. Installation instructions are
included with clamp accessory.

See chart below for minimum permanent
flue opening you must provide. Attach
damper clamp so the minimum permanent
flue opening will be maintained at all times.

Chimney Minimum Permanent

Height (ft.) Flue Opening (sq. ins.)

6' to 15' 39 sq. inches

15' to 30' 29 sq. inches

Area of Various Standard

Round Flues

Diameter (ins.) Area (sq. ins.)

5" 20 sq. inches
6" 29 sq. inches
7" 39 sq. inches
8" 51 sq. inches

INSTALLING HEATER BASE
ASSEMBLY

WARNING: You must secure
this heater to fireplace floor. If
not, heater will move when you
adjust controls. Moving heater
may cause a gas leak.

WARNING: If installing in a
sunken fireplace, special care is
needed. You must raise the fire­place floor to allow access to
heater control panel. This will in­sure adequate air flow and guard
against sooting. Raise fireplace
floor with noncombustible mate­rial. Make sure material is secure.

CAUTION: Do not pick up
heater base assembly by the
burner. This could damage
heater. Only handle base assem­bly by grates.

CAUTION: Do not remove the
metal Data Plates attached to the
heater base assembly. The Data
Plates contain important warranty
information.

Damper
Clamp

Damper
Clamp

Damper

Masonry Fireplace Manufactured Fireplace

Figure 10 - Attaching Damper Clamp

Damper

Damper

10

IMPORTANT:

is level. If heater is not level, heater will not
work properly.

Make sure the heater burner

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