Gas Fireplaces??

[DonM]

I'm thinking of adding a gas (propane) -probably vented fireplace in a living room I'm redoing.

This fireplace would mostly be for aesthetic reasons, but I would also want the flame to throw some heat.

Anyone have any suggestions as to a manufacturer or have any thoughts from experience as to how to finish the looks of the fireplace e.g. the brickwork

 

[AwayWeGo]

Microwave Fireplace.

The only time we had a gas fireplace was in the townhouse where we lived before moving here. The fireplace was the conventional masonry type, designed for burning regular logs the old fashioned way. We bought a set of fake (firebrick, I think) logs mounted over a fireplace-style gas burner with the jets, orifices, etc., set to produce a yellow flame instead of that characteristic natural-gas blue flame.

The gas meter was right outside 1 corner of the fireplace, so it was hardly any trouble to drill a little hole from indoors to outdoors through which we passed the supply tube & manual valve assembly off an old gas dryer. It really was a neat installation. All you saw of the piping was just the right-angled gas valve at the outer edge of the fireplace brick -- couldn't have come out better if it had been custom-fabricated. Of course, drilling through the masonry into the actual fireplace box was somewhat more troublesome, but even that wasn't too bad.

With all holes drilled & all gas pipes installed, it was just a matter of connecting the gas logs set to the gas supply, turning on the valve, & lighting up the gas. There was supposed to be a pilot flame with the gas logs set, but I couldn't get it to stay on reliably so I wound up lighting the gas manually, with a long match or 1 of those long Bic-style gas lighters.

In all, gas firelogs are much to be preferred over kindling, wood, logs, embers, ashes, etc. Just turn on the gas, ignite the flame, & there you are.

While we were living at that house where we installed our own gas logs, we took a romantic weekend away at the Bavarian Inn, Shepherdstown WV. The gas-log fireplace in our room there had remote-controlled spark ignition. You want a romantic fire in the fireplace, you just pick up the remote, you press Start, & -- FOOM ! -- there's your roaring fire right there.

The only thing more efficient that I ever heard of was Steven Wright's newfangled Microwave Fireplace. With it, he said he can spend an entire evening by the fireside in only 8 minutes.

The house where we live now has no fireplace of any kind. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[PigsDad]

We have had three Heatilator gas fireplaces in the last two houses we have owned, and have never had problems with any of them. They have all different model types and sizes to choose from, and they are generally quite efficient.

Kurt

 

[BarCol]

We have an Instaflame installed a number of years ago and we love it.. That said ,when we had a fireplace installed in the living room we choose to go electric (Dimplex). The reason being that we wanted the aesthetic and a little bit of heat, but not too much as the themostat for the entire house is located in the living room and didn't want the living room heat to govern the heating in other parts of the house...

However, Vermont Castings make some nice gas fireplaces - traditotnal fireplace style as well as stove types - Just Google "Gas Fireplaces and Conneticut" and you'll find about a million dealers I bet.. As well, I'd check out Consumer Reports to see if they've done a comparison of gas fireplace models recently for energy efficiency and safety (among other things).. And lastly I'd check your local municipality or utility compny to see if they are offering any rebates or deals on certain models of energy efficienct fireplaces.. On the last item, I'm not sure if your utility suppliers or municpalities do that in the states, but some do in Canada.

Good luck, there is nothing nicer than a fireplace..and one that doesn't require trekking in fuel is the best in my lazy opinion

 

[Kittykatz]

check out Yankee Doodle Fireplace in Wilton on Rt. 7

 

[rickandcindy23]

This is something of which I can really advise, since I am truly an expert at this stuff.

Mendota fireplaces makes one of the nicest looking gas fireplaces I have seen. Not only are there many different models, but they are very efficient, having an efficiency rating of up to 87% and improving all the time. Most furnaces are only 70-80% efficient.

With gas prices on the increase and warmth and comfort such a big part of any person's decision, you should consider only brands that provide lots of BTU's for the buck, and Mendota wins, hands down.

Other companies have great products, including Napoleon and Majestic, but the Mendota fireplace just has a superb three-level flame that look so real you would not know it is a gas fireplace.

We own a chimney cleaning business and keep informed on all products as they relate to our field. It doesn't hurt that a good friend of ours owns a fireplace store, too. You can find Mendota, Napoleon and Majestic websites by doing a Google search.

 

[ricoba]

Gas fireplace logs is something I have thought about adding to our home.

What are approximate installed prices for log inserts?

 

[rickandcindy23]

You should check out the gas inserts by the above companies I mentioned. They install directly into the opening of your fireplace, flush with the opening, have a small pipe that runs the length of your chimney (or out the back of the fireplace for siding chimneys), and are just as efficient and beautiful as the units that stand alone.

Gas log sets are very inefficient and will literally "eat up" your warm furnace-warmed air. I would never consider just a log set, when $1,800 more or so will get an efficient furnace-like fireplace.

I have to say that our Mendota fireplace warms our entire home, which is 2.500 square feet+ basement (though the basement does not get warm). Our Lennox furnace has a pretty noisy fan belt of late and Rick has not had time to fix it, so we have been using the fireplace alone. It has a thermostat remote control. Pretty terrific. By the way, we are in Denver, where the snow and cold temperatures have been visiting regularly, yet we really are staying warm enough with our fireplace.

 

[dougef]

check out Yankee Doodle Fireplace in Wilton on Rt. 7

I Second That. I ordered a gas insert for my fireplace from them and it is supposed to be installed this week. They strongly advise against just a log set, but rather the sealed, glass front type units. Pretty pricey but seems to be the right way to go. Unvented log sets put off a huge amouint of moisture - do some searching on the web to read about this problem.

 

[DonM]

Thank you everyone for your great replies. I'm starting my search!

Don

 

[ricoba]

Gas log sets are very inefficient and will literally "eat up" your warm furnace-warmed air. I would never consider just a log set, when $1,800 more or so will get an efficient furnace-like fireplace.

I like the idea of the fireplace since we live in Southern California and we don't need a blast furnace to warm the place up. In fact I hate turning on the furnace to simply take the chill out, since by mid morning it's usually starting to warm up to a comfortable level.

So a good heating fireplace system would start at about $1800 installed, is that correct?

Thanks for the info.

 

[ouaifer]

Don,
Happy New Year. I know they have them at Leahy's down town...also Novicky's, and the stove place over by the Hospital.

 

[abbekit]

We love our gas fireplace. It's a Majestic brand and was installed when the house was built. It has a wall switch (just like a light switch) to turn it on and off.

It's really great when you just want a fire for a short time. We like to turn it on for about 30 minutes when we come home from an evening out and sit down and have a nightcap. And it really does heat up the entire living room quite well.

Our neighbors have installed a gas fireplace recently and they have to turn the gas key and light the fire each time they want to use it. I highly recommend installing the wall switch, it's so much easier.

 

[dougef]

Our neighbors have installed a gas fireplace recently and they have to turn the gas key and light the fire each time they want to use it. I highly recommend installing the wall switch, it's so much easier.

Many of the newer ones have a wall thermostat or a remote control. We ordered the remote control - let's you turn it on and off as well as set a temperature.

 

[Karen G]

We have four gas log fireplaces in our home. The main one is a see-through between the kitchen and living room. It was a real lifesaver a couple of weeks ago when we were without power for four days due to the big windstorm that hit western Washington. We slept in the living room with the fireplace going and managed to stay warm, even though we had no electricity and only a small battery-powered radio for entertainment.

 

[Rose Pink]

We have four gas log fireplaces in our home. The main one is a see-through between the kitchen and living room. It was a real lifesaver a couple of weeks ago when we were without power for four days due to the big windstorm that hit western Washington. We slept in the living room with the fireplace going and managed to stay warm, even though we had no electricity and only a small battery-powered radio for entertainment.

DH and I have now decided to remodel our fireplace within the next 18 months. We currently have a regular fireplace and I hate it. Smoke of any kind makes me sick. I hate the smell in our neighborhood when someone fires up their wood-burning stove. We both have asthma. So, we were thinking of natural gas or propane. We want one that does not require electricity for the reason Karen mentioned. What if the power goes out? Then no furnace and no fireplace. We haven't done much research yet so I don't know if gas fireplaces work both with and without electricity or if one has to settle on one kind or the other. We will look into the brands tuggers have mentioned. Thanks.

 

[JanT]

Cindy,

Great info you gave and hope you can help me as well. We want to install a gas fireplace in our home but would like a three-sided fireplace (I know there's a professional name for these but can't remember it right now). I know these exist but we need one that is only about 16" in depth (width). Do you know if these exist?

TIA!

Jan

 

[Karen G]

I don't know if gas fireplaces work both with and without electricity

Ours definitely worked without electricity as we had no power for five days! There is a fan mechanism with ours that comes on when the temperature reaches a certain point or you can turn it on manually. That, of course, did not work when the power was off.

Ours also does not have an electrical switch on the wall that you flip to automatically start the fireplace. We have a deal in the floor that turns on the gas with a special key and we use a flame thing that you start barbecues, fireplaces, etc. with (the exact name of that thing escapes me now).

This is the brand name of our fireplaces, and we've been very pleased with them.

 

[Rose Pink]

DH and I went to the showroom today to check out the Mendota that Cindy recommended. It seemed like a very durable unit. We will also check out the one Karen recommended.

My concern regarding electricity was put to rest. As Karen mentioned, power is required for the blower but not for the ignition. One can still use the fire for radiant heat during a power outage. The reason I was concerned is that we have a natural gas tankless water heater BUT it will not turn on without electricity. In a power outage, we have no hot water. It didn't occur to us that would be a problem. We just assumed a gas water heater would heat with gas not realizing the unit DH chose needed electicity as well.

 

[MRSFUSSY]

We converted to a gas fireplace about 8 years ago. It was expensive, the chimney had to be fitted with something etc. It sure is a cleaner operation but the one thing that I miss is burning up confidential mail that I don't want anyone else to read. Receipts etc. I have a shredder but hate to sit and waste the time feeding it and some of the little bits and pieces of shredded stuff seem to find their way to my turquoise carpet.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Shredda-Shredda-Shredda.

I have a shredder but hate to sit and waste the time feeding it and some of the little bits and pieces of shredded stuff seem to find their way to my turquoise carpet.

Shucks, I use my crosscut shredder for its sheer entertainment value, not mere document security. If I'm careful (& usually I am) all the little chads & shreds & motes & particles, etc., will stay right there in the little chad-catcher that the actual shredding mechanism sits on. I have to be extra-careful dumping the collected chads into the regular trash can; that's where they can get away from me if I don't take care. Who'd a-thunk?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[caribbeansun]

Ahhhh, the dreaded vacuum effect - danger Will Robinson, danger!

I have to be extra-careful dumping the collected chads into the regular trash can; that's where they can get away from me if I don't take care. Who'd a-thunk?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[PStreet1]

I'll search for Mendota, but I, too, have a question you might be able to help with. We have back to back fireplaces (living room/master) with very little depth. The flame doesn't look at all real and the unit puts out zero heat. Each unit is venter, but the vent is small. Is it possible to install new logs/controls, etc. into each opening and keep the current "fire box"? Each unit currently has glass doors, which I could give up or keep depending on the requirements for a new unit. The current units also have the switch on the side to turn them on.

We are in Mexico in a condo that is about 12 years old. Because our Spanish is limited, getting information on what we can do without burning down the building is difficult.