Plenty of the homes we work in have no gas main at the road. That does not rule out a gas fire. It changes four things, and all four are easier to sort out before you order than after.
The question usually comes in sideways. Somebody picks out a log set in the showroom, and at the counter they mention the house is on a tank. Good. Nearly everything we sell comes in a propane version: gas logs, gas inserts, direct-vent fireplaces, gas stoves and fire pits. We just need to know before the order goes in, because a few things are different from a house on natural gas.
Natural gas and propane are not interchangeable at the burner. A log set or a fireplace leaves the factory set up for one or the other. The rating plate on the appliance says which.
Georgia's fuel gas code is direct about switching. It says an appliance shall not be converted to a different fuel gas unless complete instructions for the conversion are provided in the installation instructions, by the gas supplier or by the manufacturer. In plain terms, a conversion happens with the maker's own kit and the maker's own steps, or it does not happen.
That matters most in two situations.
On natural gas, the supply is a pipe in the street. On propane, it is a tank in your yard, and the fireplace is one more thing drawing from it.
Two numbers tell you what that means. The first is on the rating plate: the input, in BTU per hour. The second comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration: a gallon of propane holds 91,452 BTU. Divide one by the other. A log set rated at 30,000 BTU per hour burns about a third of a gallon for every hour it runs wide open. Turn the flame down and it uses less.
That is easy arithmetic to do for your own house. Add up the evenings you expect to run it and you will know roughly what the fireplace adds to a fill. Your propane company can tell you whether the tank you have is the right size for it, along with whatever else is already on the line.
The line itself matters too. The fuel gas code requires gas piping to be sized to meet the maximum demand and to deliver gas to each appliance at no less than the pressure that appliance needs. A line that has fed a range and a water heater for years was sized for a range and a water heater. Adding a fireplace is a reason to have the piping and the regulator checked against the new total, not an afterthought.
We get asked where the tank can go. That one is not ours to answer.
In Georgia, propane is regulated by the Safety Fire Commissioner. The state rules adopt NFPA 58, the national standard for storing and handling liquefied petroleum gas, in its 2024 edition. The fuel gas code points to the same standard for the storage system. Selling and distributing propane takes a state license, and the rules limit who can put gas into a container.
So where the tank sits, how far it is from the house, and whether it is above ground or buried are decisions your propane supplier makes under that standard. Call them early. If the fireplace is going on the opposite side of the house from the tank, they are also the ones who can tell you what it takes to get gas there.
It helps to know one thing before you call: whether you own the tank or lease it. A leased tank belongs to the company that fills it, and they will have their own say about what gets connected to it.
This is the difference people have usually never been told. Propane vapor is heavier than air. The federal chemical database lists its vapor density at 1.5, with air at 1. If propane leaks, it settles. It collects at the floor, in a crawl space, in a basement or in the bottom of a firebox.
That does not make propane a worse fuel. It means the smell may be strongest low down rather than at nose height, and a low spot is where it lingers.
If you smell gas, the answer is the same on either fuel. Leave the house. Do not flip switches or use a phone inside. Call your propane company or 911 from outside. Call us after that, not first.
Both kinds of log set come in propane versions. The choice between them does not change with the fuel. Vented logs need a working chimney and give the most realistic flame. Vent-free logs put their heat into the room and have to be sized to it. We covered that in vented or vent-free gas logs.
The room limits apply to propane exactly as they do to natural gas. Georgia's propane rules repeat them: no unvented room heaters in bathrooms or bedrooms, with a narrow exception for one small listed wall-mounted heater with an oxygen depletion shutoff. That exception tops out at 6,000 BTU per hour in a bathroom and 10,000 in a bedroom.
If the fireplace you have now burns wood, propane is a route to gas even without a main. The steps are in converting a wood fireplace to gas. If what you want is real heat rather than a flame to look at, read three ways to fix a fireplace that does not heat before you choose logs.
Five things will answer most of what we ask.
Our gas logs page and our fireplaces and inserts page show what we carry. Both showrooms keep sets burning, so you can see the flame before you pick. If something you already own is acting up, our service crew works on propane units too, including ones we did not sell.
Sources
Codes and state rules change. This is where they stood when we published, and it is not a substitute for your propane supplier or your local building official.
Bring the rating plate
Logs, an insert or a full fireplace. Tell us it is propane and what else is on the line, and we will show you what fits the firebox you have.