We paid for an expensive electronic clicker and after 2 years of trouble and it not working we are giving up. The repairman said we have to options. To use a lighter and turn the gas on…the simplest. However, you have to be careful with the gas and flame. Option 2 would be to have a pilot light put in, and I can just click the remote to start it.
Which do you have?
We use the turn gas on and lighter approach. There is indeed a moment of excitement when arm hair is at risk if I’ve accidentally cranked the gas too high.
Our gas fireplace has a pilot light,and we use a remote to start it - it is super easy and convenient. We light the pilot every year right before winter and turn off the pilot once it warms up in spring.
Mine had a pilot light that I kept on all year. The one year I turned it off, restarting was a project, but without direct instruction, I don’t like figuring out risky things with gas on my own. As I lived sans air con in the Midwest summer, I did not like keeping it on. Most folks in my area keep the pilot on all year. The remote was a lovely luxury.
Is this a wood burning fireplace with a gas starter or a fireplace equipped with gas logs?
We have one of those long lighters. You click the flame on, position it near the “log” and turn the gas handle. It lights easily and safely.
We have a pilot and just use the remote. Fast and efficient.
We have the pilot and remote. Fireplace is 18 years old and we don’t have any problems. Don’t use it much though. I keep it on all year and live in hot, humid Midwest.
Turn the gas on and use a long lighter. It works fine.
Order of operations is important, light the long lighter and hold it near the source of the gas, then turn the gas on. I’ve seen too many people turn the gas on then fiddle with the lighter the whole time the firebox is filling up with gas.
We have several gas fireplaces, but we never use them. Fireplaces are very inefficient for home heating. They are a waste of gas. The furnace is much better.
Thanks. I think we’ll do the pilot light. I’m wary of using a lighter. I’m afraid if my boys try it they might let too much gas in.
We have an Artisan FPX gas fireplace with a pilot light. Turns on and off with a switch on the side of the mantle. Installed 10 years ago when our home was built. Can not say enough great things about it or the company. Also has an adjustable fan behind a pull down metal plate on the front.
We light the pilot light when it gets cold, and then turn it up when we want the fire. By spring, we turn everything off, pilot light and all. Yes, we use a long lighter to turn on the pilot light. It always seems scarier than it turns out to be.
“We have several gas fireplaces, but we never use them. Fireplaces are very inefficient for home heating. They are a waste of gas. The furnace is much better.”
Until you lose power and you realize that you gas furnace will not ignite without power. And then they actually are very handy. 
An alternative is to pay megabucks to have a generator… but that sucker is also a waste of gas.
We turn the gas and light it with a lighter. If we ever used it, which we don’t, like @TatinG
Some people in our neighborhood have been burning wood logs in the gas starter fireplaces, and the metal flues have not been sealed for embers, and their houses have burned down.
So my slightly off-topic recommendation is that if you have a metal flue fireplace that uses a gas starter, make sure the seams between the metal flue pieces can take the much higher heat of wood if you burn it rather than using the gas logs. The metal can warp, buckle, and let embers into the attic.
I have gas logs with a pilot, throw a switch on the log, or use remote. I leave the pilot on year round. Echoing the issue of if you turn it off, restarting can be a nuisance.
Don’t have a gas fireplace but have a wood burning one with a gas starter. I crumble up newspaper and shove it under the gas starter. Then light the newspaper with a match/lighter and wait for it to burn a little and then turn on the gas. Helps a lot to avoid burning off your eyebrows. Won’t work for gas fireplace though. LOL
Furnaces are better in terms of efficiency for heating a house. But the idea of sitting in a lawn chair in front of a furnace doesn’t sound as appealing as sitting in front of a fire. Pop some popcorn on it. Read bed time stories to the kids in front of the fireplace. Great memories.
I turn on the gas and use a long lighter. It’s fine for my house in the Houston area since we hardly ever use the fireplace.
Before we had our most recent gas fireplace, I would have agreed. Ours is very effective at throwing out lots of heat.