Vent free gas fireplaces

[Turin39789]

Moved from our old house with a wood burning fireplace tto an older 100+ year old house with 3 chimneys and 5 fireplaces. They've been tuck points real pretty inside, but one has some interior bricks that are falling.

They are all plumbed for gas, and wife wants to go with some vent free logs. I'm either told they are perfectly safe or the devil, (odor, moisture, pollutants etc). Anyone have experience?

 

[Jadow]

they do not put out a lot of heat.

 

[Fritzo]

they do not put out a lot of heat.

Absolutely wrong.

We have one in our new house and it's fantastic. We had the switch kit installed so you can turn it on and off with a light switch.

If you do this, don't skimp on the logs. The more expensive log sets are more dense and keep the heat better. You can also get a blower kit that will blow the hot air out.

You can look into a insert kit if you're building into an existing fireplace. Shouldn't be that hard to install if you already have gas ran.

We can heat the entire 1st. floor of our @2400 sq ft house with ours...and we often have to turn it off because it gets too hot. The fact that the thermostat is in the same room as the fireplace means the furnace doesn't run for rooms we're not in. Ends up saving us some money on the gas bill.

 

[DrPizza]

they do not put out a lot of heat.

That depends on the BTUs. Some put out a ton of heat.

 

[EliteRetard]

Vent free units do indeed put out quite a bit of moisture.
There are other pollutants created as well, and they are not 100% filtered out.
Usually it's not recommended to run vent free units for long periods because of these pollutants.

 

[Turin39789]

These are tiny old fireboxes, probably ran coal in 1900. About 21-22" at the opening and 17" deep. Still they are offering around 20k btu in a 16" log set or 30k in an 18". Looking at RH Peterson log sets. They claim 99.9" efficiency. Everything else here is electric at the moment, heat pumps outside, stove, water. Wife would probably rub them for 2-3 hours at a time. Worried about effects on the house and kids, but I imagine the old woodfire had its issues too.

 

[highland145]

Needs to be sized for the room. O2 depletion, might have to crack a window.
There's a minimum distance to combustible wood. Mine are 18" without the diverter shield. IIRC, 8" with the shield.
Extra moisture vapor in the winter should be welcome in the winter. I would think.
The in laws do smell (heh) but that could mean they need servicing.

 

[NetWareHead]

Moved from our old house with a wood burning fireplace tto an older 100+ year old house with 3 chimneys and 5 fireplaces. They've been tuck points real pretty inside, but one has some interior bricks that are falling.

They are all plumbed for gas, and wife wants to go with some vent free logs. I'm either told they are perfectly safe or the devil, (odor, moisture, pollutants etc). Anyone have experience?

If you have 3 chimneys and 5 fireplaces then why do want a vent free systems? A natural gas stove will probably run you cheaper, you can vent it up the fireplace flue, and avoid any problems with moisture, smells, pollutants etc...

 

[Turin39789]

If you have 3 chimneys and 5 fireplaces then why do want a vent free systems? A natural gas stove will probably run you cheaper, you can vent it up the fireplace flue, and avoid any problems with moisture, smells, pollutants etc...

Cost estimate of several thousand per fireplace to restore and line them. Need to get a second quote, but I don't think its going to get cheap.

Looking at $7-800 per fireplace for vent free or vented logs. Not going to do logs in two fireplaces(kids rooms), but two are in open floor plan living room(~1000 sq ft with staircase to adding floor).

Just talking it through. Might order a single one and see how it does.

 

[NetWareHead]

Cost estimate of several thousand per fireplace to restore and line them. Need to get a second quote, but I don't think its going to get cheap.

Looking at $7-800 per fireplace for vent free or vented logs. Not going to do logs in two fireplaces(kids rooms), but two are in open floor plan living room(~1000 sq ft with staircase to adding floor).

Just talking it through. Might order a single one and see how it does.

You do not need to reline a fireplace and flue if you are not going to using it directly, in the capacity of a fireplace.

You get a stove and put it in front/partially in the fireplace. Or you get a fireplace insert. The stove/insert will usually specify a stainless steel exhaust pipe. The exhaust pipe runs up the lenght of the chimney and to the chimney opening. Especially for natural gas which is a very clean and non-corrosive exhaust, it is perfect for a stainless steel pipe. The pipe is supported by the vertical flue and the flue won;t see any hot exhaust. This will be relatively cheap and wont require you to reline the fireplace. Check this option out.