I think my flame is burning to rich it is putting black soot on things I didn't see in the instruction manual how to maybe lower the flame. It is a charmglow model #CGN300TQ

You need to get a Plumber or Appliance Tech to come out immediately and check the fuel to air ratio. You are not burning your fuel at the proper mixture. A blue flame is good, yellow-orange is bad.

Normally this is because the burner area is dirty or the pressure regulator may be set too high/low. The black marks are a sure sign that your ratio is too rich and it's just going to build up more soot and become unhealthy and dangerous.

http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Gas_Flame_Noise_Defects.htm
Don't wait...

If you are getting soot residue, it could be a number of things, First, is this a natural gas or propane oven? If you bought an oven to be used for propane, it may need to be converted from natural gas to propane or it will soot everything up. 2nd, have you recently spilled food/liquid onto the oven burner? If the burner holes are partially plugged, the remaining holes will burn large yellow flames and soot up the oven. Check the burner flames, they should be mostly blue with little to no yellow tips. Also make sure the oven burner flames are not too big. They should never exceed the width of the flame spreader pan directly above the burner, in fact they should be less than half the width. You could also have other issues like improper air shutter adjustment to the oven burner or very low regulator pressure, but most likely it has just been spilled on recently.

I was burning candles, which apparently caused my units to carbon up and put soot on the walls _ I will never do that again!

Is a Vented or Vent-free gas fireplace? I really suspect it's Vent-free (ventless) as a vented unit, unless the direct vent is clogged exhaust everything, including 85% of the heat out side.

Here are the things that will cause a Vent-free Gas Fireplace to soot.

• Not having the fireplace cleaned and serviced, at least annually by a qualified technician.
• Misplaced logs that impinge the main burner flames.
• Running a ceiling fan at the wrong speed and in the wrong direction while fireplace is burning.
• Burning scented candles while burning the fireplace.
• Low Gas Pressure to the burner.
  

Here are the solutions to the above listed causes:

• Have the fireplace cleaned and serviced.
• Check your Owners Manual concerning the proper placement of each log,
• Run the ceiling fan Counter Clockwise and at the slowest speed. The fan on the side of the switch should be in the UP position for Winter and Down for Summer.
• Scented candles soot any way. Add the warm moist heat of the Gas Fireplace and they'll soot 50 times worse. The scent is not natural, it has an alcohol base like after shave & cologne. Stop burning scented candles. It has been proven that they greatly contribute to indoor air pollution.
• Low gas pressure causes incomplete combustion, which causes the burner to soot. Have it checked by your propane provider.

Based on my 15 years in the hearth and home business and having sold and installed hundreds of these appliances, I am will to bet, it's a cleaning and servicing issue or misplaced logs.

Hope this helps you solve your sooting problem. I woud really like to know how it works out for you.
Please let me know at [email protected]

Thanks ... Rich

There are several things that can cause this:

Check for blockage in the flue pipe or improper flue design resulting in inadequate venting.
One way to quickly determine a venting issue is to visually observe the flame on the burn tray. It should NOT be yellow and should burn evenly across the burner. There should NOT be any areas of the burner that appear to burned or deteriorated. Look for evidence of leaks,

You may need to dismantle the top section of the heater to visually inspect for sooting.
You may need to inspect the flame sensor mechanism (if applicable) for dirt or sooting.

If it is determined that your exchanger is sooted up, you have a blockage in the flue pipe or improperly designed flue.

the soot build up is evidence of another problem. Your fuel air ration is messed up. Is it possible you are at a higher altitude than the water heater was set for? When a water heater is installed at an altitude higher than 2,000' the manifold pressure on the gas valve has to be turned down. if that isn't done your wh will overfire and burn a rich sooty flame. You would expect to see a yellow flame rather than the ideal blue flame with yellow tips.

If this sounds like your problem then you need a proffessional to service the wh and reset the manifold pressure to the value in the owners manual for the appropriate altitude.

Had same problem. Coleman tech support said, " clean with pipe cleaners". No directions....I would think they would provide a step by step protocol. So, I chose to take the knobs off and use the pipe cleaner where I could. I was able to take one of the two burner control knobs apart. After sticking the clean in every nook I could find, I put back together, and the flame on that burner is back to normal,

Good Luck--Daryl in Burnsville, MN

Just Live With It

Thanks for your Question,
Black soot is the by product of incomplete combustion, with Propane you will get alot more soot than with Natural gas, you need to look at how the flame are hitting your log set, if you have alot of soot on them you will need to reposition them as to not let the flame impinge on them causing the sooting affect, you will also need to check the burner for any type of blockage on them, clear off any thing that is on them, also you will need to check your venting for any blockage, I would also recommened you use a product called (rutland white off) it is a fantastic cleaner for fireplace glass, please do not use windex or cleaners of that type as they will cause a rainbow affect on the glass after heating to a certian point, hope this was helpful to ya, please rate this and let us know how we did, thanks again,
mr.grzz

The manifold needs to be cleaned and adjusted could have rust etc in it Not a good thing to do yourself unless you know what you are doing