Insert flames too high?

[Tnick]

After much reading on here (thanks!), my wife and I had a HeatnGlo Escape i30 installed in our old wood prefab. We love it and have been really happy, but I've got one concern (and one informational question):

One flame constantly hits (by which I mean hits and flattens out, much like a pan on a gas stove "bends" a high flame around it) the top of the firebox. It appears that the logs are arranged appropriately and whatnot, and it looks "natural," as there's one flame higher than the rest (I've got no aesthetic concerns), but I'm worried about the impact it might have on the unit over time. I presume that having a flame physically on the top of the box for years might have some negative consequences? I can post a picture/video if that would help.

The installer recommended we leave the pilot on during the winter because it'll keep squirrels and bugs and whatnot out of the unit. Given the cap, I don't see how a squirrel could get in. There aren't a lot of bugs around in the winter in the Midwest.... I can see that constant on and off might be hard on the IPI system. True? What do other folks do?

Thanks in advance! Love the forum.

 

[DAKSY]

Did your installer check the gas pressure when he installed it? If it's too high,
that would be the cause of your high flame. It will burn the paint off the top
of the firebox & that paint will flake off. It'll end up on your logs & the burner
where it might cause sooting & will be unsightly.

I turn BOTH of the pilots off in my gas units at the end of the heating season.
but I usually wait until early May.
Bees & spiders will have made their nests by then & I have yet to have a problem.