Golden Oak Vent Free Gas Logs
Whichever one you choose, you get a complete vent free set: the Superior Golden Oak ceramic fiber logs — six hand-painted pieces in 18" or 24" — on the Double-Flame VD1824 burner that fits them, with the grate, anchor screws and volcanic stone in the carton. Two rows of dancing yellow flames at up to 36,000 BTU/hr on natural gas or propane, 99% heating efficiency, and piezo ignition that needs no batteries or house power. Pick the manual-control burner, or the millivolt burner alone or as a kit with a wall switch, on/off remote or thermostat remote. from $788, with a Superior Limited Three Year Warranty.
Choose it if you have a masonry fireplace, a UL127 factory-built fireplace or a listed vent free firebox at least 24" wide at the front (28" for the 24" set), 20-1/2" across the back, 17" high and 13-1/2" deep, and you want heat that stays in the room — this is Superior's value tier, the Merit Series, so it is the least expensive way into a Superior vent free log set. The Golden Oak stack is the choice for hand-painted ceramic fiber logs in the light, golden tone of seasoned oak — the lightest of the three Double-Flame stacks in weight and the lowest in price. Take the manual-control burner if you will never want a remote; take the millivolt burner if you might.
It is not right for a bedroom or bathroom, a recreational vehicle, or any fireplace whose own instructions rule out unvented gas logs. It is a supplemental heater, not a primary heat source: it burns room air, so a confined space under 50 cubic feet per 1,000 BTU/hr of gas appliances — about 1,800 cubic feet for this burner alone — needs added fresh air, and it adds moisture that can mildew a poorly ventilated room. It cannot run behind closed glass doors or without a fireplace screen, it is built for one gas and cannot be converted, and above 4,500 feet the pilot may not stay lit. The wall directly above the opening has to carry noncombustible facing: with 12" or more you need nothing else, and the GA6050 hood brings that requirement down to 8". If the facing cannot be extended to at least 8", or a combustible mantel cannot meet the manual's chart even with the hood fitted and cannot be raised or removed, this is not the right set for that fireplace.
Specifications
The 18" Golden Oak set needs a firebox floor at least 24" wide at the front, 20-1/2" across the back, 17" high and 13-1/2" deep; the 24" set needs 28" at the front with the same back width, height and depth, and both ride the one VD1824 burner. Keep 16" from the fireplace to a side wall, 42" from the top of the opening to the ceiling and 36" of clear space in front; the wall above the opening must be noncombustible for at least 12", or for at least 8" if you fit the GA6050 hood, and a combustible mantel's minimum height depends on its depth — see Figures 6 and 7 on pages 10 and 11 of the millivolt burner manual, or send us your mantel depth. At floor level the appliance sits 14" from combustibles or is raised 5" above combustible flooring. Gas pressure is 5" to 10.5" W.C. inlet on natural gas and 11" to 14" W.C. on propane, at a 3/8" NPT inlet fed by 1/2" pipe or larger; the manual-control burner's manifold runs 4.5" W.C. on natural gas and 10" on propane, the millivolt burner's 3.5" and 8". The burner anchors to the fireplace floor with two masonry screws and weighs 29 lb (natural gas) or 27 lb (propane) boxed.
Golden Oak vs. the other Double-Flame log sets
All three Double-Flame stacks — Golden Oak, Crescent Hill and Crescent Hill HD — ride the same VD1824 burner in the same two lengths with the same fuels, controls, ratings and firebox minimums; the difference is the logs. Golden Oak is ceramic fiber, the lightest and least expensive; Crescent Hill is concrete with a heavier split-wood profile; Crescent Hill HD is the high-definition stack with the finest bark and grain detail, and the highest price. This Golden Oak set starts at from $788; the Crescent Hill set starts at from $838 and the Crescent Hill HD set at from $898.
Features
- Golden Oak ceramic fiber logs in 18" or 24" — six hand-painted pieces that seat on the burner's weld pins and grate, shipped complete with their placement sheet
- Two rows of dancing yellow flames from the Double-Flame VD1824 burner, 99% heating efficiency, run with the damper closed so no heat goes up the chimney
- Up to 36,000 BTU/hr on natural gas or propane — the manual-control burner turns down to 19,000, the millivolt burner to 25,000
- Piezo spark ignition and an ODS safety pilot: no batteries, no wiring, and it keeps heating through a power outage
- An unvented room heater design-certified to ANSI Z21.11.2, with an ODS safety pilot that shuts the burner off if the room runs short of fresh air
- Fits a masonry fireplace, a UL127 factory-built fireplace or a listed vent free firebox, and is approved for manufactured homes
Answers to common questions
Does it need a chimney or a vent, and can I close the damper?
No vent is needed — every set on this page is an unvented room heater that burns room air and is designed to run with the fireplace flue damper closed, so none of the heat goes up the chimney. It installs in a solid-fuel masonry fireplace, a UL127 factory-built fireplace or a listed vent free firebox — never in a factory-built fireplace whose own instructions say it has not been tested with unvented gas logs — and the room must hold 50 cubic feet of volume for every 1,000 BTU/hr of gas appliances in it, about 1,800 cubic feet for this burner alone. Massachusetts bars vent free appliances from bedrooms and bathrooms.
What size fireplace opening do I need?
Measure the floor of the firebox the logs and burner will sit on. The 18" Golden Oak set needs at least 24" of width at the front, 20-1/2" across the back, 17" of height and 13-1/2" of depth; the 24" set needs 28" at the front with the same back width, height and depth. The rear width is measured 13-1/2" back from the front of the opening, and both sizes use the same burner, so the heat is the same — choose by what the opening clears. Then keep 16" from the fireplace to a side wall and 42" from the top of the opening to the ceiling.
How close can a mantel or shelf be above it?
Combustible mantel clearance depends on how deep the mantel is — see Figures 6 and 7 on pages 10 and 11 of the millivolt burner installation manual (page 11 of the manual-control manual), which chart the minimum height without and with the GA6050 hood. The wall directly above the opening must be noncombustible: with 12" or more of slate, marble or tile you need no hood, and the GA6050 hood brings that requirement down to 8". Under 8" of facing the material has to be extended to at least 8"; if it cannot be, the set is not right for that fireplace. You can also send us your mantel depth. We're here to help!
What’s included, what’s required, and what’s optional?
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Included in the box: Golden Oak log set - six logs (rear, middle, front, top right, top middle, top left) with the log placement instruction sheet; Double-Flame VD1824 burner - burner tubes on a cast-iron grate/log base with ODS safety pilot, piezo igniter, gas valve and regulator; Hardware pack with two masonry anchor screws, and the burner installation manual; Volcanic stone - one bag, listed among the burner's parts; ANSI Z21.11.2 unvented room heater listing (PFS) with a Superior Limited Three Year Warranty.
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Required to complete the installation, purchased separately: Gas line - a natural gas or propane supply of 1/2" pipe or larger to the fireplace with an equipment shutoff valve, run and leak-tested by a qualified installer; propane also needs an installer-supplied external regulator set to 11"-14" W.C; Flexible gas hose and fittings - an approved flex connector to the burner's 3/8" NPT inlet where local codes allow it (or rigid pipe where they do not); the carton does not include one; Fireplace or firebox - a solid-fuel masonry fireplace, a UL127 factory-built fireplace or a listed vent free firebox whose floor meets the minimum size for the log length chosen, with a noncombustible facing above the opening.
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Optional: GA6050 black fireplace hood - the part that lets you install with less clearance — 12" of noncombustible facing above the opening needs no hood, and the hood brings that down to 8". It also shortens every minimum mantel height (the manual's Figure 7 chart instead of Figure 6). Where your facing and mantel already clear without it, you do not need it; FM100 Floor Media Kit (volcanic stone, burner embers and cinders) to dress the fireplace floor, and the CIKA Gas Appliance Installation Kit for the gas connection - the set operates fully without either.
Will it work when the power is out?
Yes, whichever one you choose. The pilot is lit by the built-in piezo spark and the millivolt valve powers itself, so nothing on this page uses batteries or house current — the manual even allows it as the primary heat source for the duration of an outage, though day to day it is a supplemental heater.
Manual or millivolt — which burner should I pick?
Both light the same way and make the same 36,000 BTU/hr flame. The manual-control burner (VD1824NM or PM) is run entirely at the knob on the burner, turns down to 19,000 BTU/hr, and can never take a remote or wall switch. The millivolt burner (VD1824NR or PR) is remote-ready: on its own it works from its control and flame-adjustment knobs, with a 25,000 BTU/hr low, and it accepts the GWMS2 wall switch, the RCKIT4001 hand-held on/off remote or the TRC thermostat remote — each sold here as a kit with the burner and wired at install. If there is any chance you will want to turn it on from the couch or hold a room temperature, buy the millivolt burner.
Can it go in a manufactured or mobile home?
Yes — the manual approves installation in an aftermarket, permanently located manufactured (mobile) home where local codes do not prohibit it, in a fireplace or firebox that meets the same clearance rules as any other installation. It is never installed in a recreational vehicle.
How does the warranty work if something goes wrong?
Superior backs the burner and logs with its Limited Three Year Warranty, and The Torch Guys handles it for you — we register the appliance and, if you ever need to claim, we deal with the manufacturer on your behalf rather than handing you a phone number. Keep your invoice and the model number from the data plate on the grate; we hold the rest on file.
