If you're about to order an Empire Comfort Systems heater, gas fireplace, thermostat, or replacement part, this checklist is for you. And if your search history looks like so many of our customers' searches mid-remodel—shower niche, wine glass, then how to copy and paste on Chromebook—welcome. You're about to do the part that can't be styled away: make sure the heating equipment you order actually works in the space.
I'm a purchasing coordinator for a small HVAC install crew. For the last eight years, I've handled Empire Comfort Systems heater orders and replacement parts. I've personally made and documented 12 significant ordering mistakes. They added up to roughly $6,800 in wasted budget. Now I maintain this checklist so the next person in my seat doesn't repeat them.
When this checklist works best
Use it when you're:
- specifying a gas heater for a customer who hasn't decided on a model yet,
- replacing an old unit and matching an existing opening,
- buying through a local support route in the Poplar Bluff, MO area, or
- building a tile feature—like a shower niche or wine glass shelf—in the same room as the heater.
That last one sounds random. It isn't. A tile niche has a frame, a back panel, and a usable opening. If someone builds it before the heater location is finalized, the heater's clearance problem becomes your problem. I've been on that job. The tile looked great. The heater had six inches of clearance instead of the required eight. We moved the unit and left a patch for the customer.
The checklist: seven steps before you submit the order
1. Confirm the fuel type. Twice.
Natural gas and LP are not the same fuel. Some Empire Comfort Systems units are convertible, but conversion kits are not always included in the box. If you assume the propane conversion comes automatically, you'll find out when the pilot won't light.
My mistake: in my first year, I approved an order for a wall heater without writing the fuel type on the work order. The unit showed up with a natural gas valve. The site was on LP. Reorder, expedited freight, extra labor. The waste was somewhere around $740 plus a week of schedule.
Checkpoint: write the fuel type on the work order, the quote, and the order notes. Even if it's a so-called standard job. Especially then.
2. Get the model and serial off the actual unit
For a replacement, find the rating plate and photograph it. A model number typed from memory is a guess with a high chance of being wrong. One digit can change the vent height, the depth, or the gas connection point. Small thing. Big invoice.
I once ordered a 'same' heater based on a homeowner's text message. The model was one digit off. The new unit had a different rear clearance, and the old flue hole was in the wrong spot. Not ideal. The hole stayed open for two weeks.
If you're copying the model from a website into a quote, use copy-paste. On a Chromebook, that's Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. If you really did search 'how to copy and paste on Chromebook' just to handle this step, that's okay. The answer is the same: select, Ctrl+C, click the other field, Ctrl+V. It will save you from the kind of typo that costs $500.
3. Measure the rough opening and the clearances around it
The product image makes a heater look like it will fit anywhere. The installation manual gives the real dimensions. According to the product and installation manuals on Empire Comfort Systems' site (empirecomfort.com), clearances to combustibles are model-specific and listed in a table. Check the table against the opening, the finish material, and anything else in the wall.
This is where a shower niche/wine glass shelf becomes part of the heater order. If you're building a niche in the same wall, its depth and back panel can reduce the clearance between the heater cabinet and the combustible framing. On one bathroom job, the heater fit the opening but the tile niche sat so close to the cabinet that we couldn't meet side clearance. We had to re-frame the niche after the waterproofing was already in. That's a $1,100 mistake that started with a 2-inch measurement we didn't take.
Checkpoint: measure the width, height, and depth of the framed opening. Add the finish thickness for tile, backer board, or drywall. Then compare all three against the manual's clearance table.
4. Verify what's in the box
Gas fireplaces often ship with the burner, valve, and logs. Thermostats, blowers, switches, and conversion kits can be separate line items. 'Complete' in a product name does not mean complete in the box.
We learned this on a $3,200 order when the customer asked for the full package. The heater itself was a full package. The blower and wall thermostat were not included. They added $680 to the invoice. The heater was fine. Our assumptions were not.
Checkpoint: read the 'what's included' list and the 'required accessories' list before you compare prices.
5. Verify part numbers with a human
If you're ordering a replacement part or a heater that has to match an existing opening, call the support number on the official Empire Comfort Systems site, or your local representative in the Poplar Bluff, MO area. Five minutes on the phone can catch things the online configurator misses.
We've had two times where a call saved us. Once, support confirmed that the valve we wanted was discontinued and sent us a cross-reference. Another time, they flagged that a 'matching' model was actually 1.5 inches deeper than the old one. Both calls took less than ten minutes. Both saved us from failed inspections.
If you're not comfortable calling, at least send an email from the official site and wait for the reply. A person has to type the answer. That's a paper trail.
6. Compare the total cost, not the price
Now for the part where I get opinionated. The cheapest Empire Comfort Systems heater quote is usually not the cheapest heater.
Add freight, setup, accessories, possible restocking fee, and your labor when something arrives wrong. Do that before you tell a customer you found a bargain. In 2022, we chose a supplier that was $140 cheaper on a $3,200 order. The regulator arrived damaged. The replacement had to be rushed, and the crew had to change the install schedule. The extra freight and labor pushed the total about $520 over the price of the quote we passed on. If you ask me, that's not bad luck. That's the cost of ignoring total cost.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (energy.gov), properly sized heating equipment avoids energy waste and performs better. I'm not going to pretend we quote that in every sales pitch. But the principle matches what we see in the field.
Checkpoint: write down the complete project cost for each option before you choose. Include everything from the base heater to the last fitting. Then choose. And use your own current numbers. Freight and restocking fees change. Verify before you compare.
7. Save the paper trail in a job folder
Create a folder named with the job address. Put the order confirmation, model number, serial number, tracking number, and any support emails in it. Do this before the unit gets delivered. I know it's tedious. It's also the difference between finding evidence in 30 seconds and digging through an inbox while a customer stands at the door.
If you're on a Chromebook, screenshot the confirmation and paste it into a Google Doc. Same copy-paste principle: Ctrl+V. Name the doc with the job name. Future you will say thank you.
Mistakes I still see on job sites
- Building the decorative niche before the heater is drawn in. Whether it's a shower niche, a wine glass cubby, or a place for shampoo bottles, it's still part of the wall. If it blocks a vent or a service panel, the heater wins and the tile loses.
- Skipping the clearance table. The product photo is not a code inspection.
- Trusting the model number in your head. Write it down. Paste it. On a Chromebook, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. On a phone, screenshot it. Then read it back.
- Buying a cheap unit and hoping the accessories will be cheap too. Accessories are where the margin lives. Make sure the quote includes the ones the job requires.
One caveat: my experience is based on roughly 300 orders through our local supply route, mostly for residential and light commercial jobs around the Poplar Bluff, MO area. If you're working on a custom commercial fireplace package or a specialty venting situation, your experience might differ. In that case, use this checklist as a starting point and let the manufacturer's technical team double-check the details.
There's something satisfying about a job folder that contains the right model number, the fuel type, the clearance check, and a support email confirming compatibility. After a few expensive lessons, that boring folder is the payoff. That's the list. Save it, argue with it, but run it before you hit submit.
