Gas Fireplace Logs

[Clint S]

Vent free LP or NG heaters produce alot of water vapor. If you have a tight house this can be a problem, especially in the fall or spring when temps are down and humidity is not low like in the winter. Other than that they are the way to go

 

[k0ua]

Well lets see:

1 gallon of Propane ~= 4.23 lbs ~= 91500 Btus

1 lbs of Propane ~=22000 Btus

20 lb tank of propane holds approx 4 gallons of propane (approx 366000 BTUs)

So looks like you are going to use about 2 lbs per hour so 50 hours?
this jives with what I was told about the unvented 100,000 BTU logs, and asked the same question, and was told about a gallon per hour.
My observations, Vented logs look pretty, require full open vent in the fireplace, and produce almost no heat. ( oh sure if you put your butt right up next to it you can get warm) But will kill you if you close the vent down any at all. in a few minutes. You eyes will start to water in seconds. I gave them away. I now have unvented logs, they burn more blue, and if I run them for more than 2 hours my eyes start to water. I recommend (or at least in my experience) to open the vent a little bit and open a window a crack and then you can run them for hours. They produce much more heat. If the vent is closed completely they produce a lot of heat. The other thing they produce is lots and lots of water vapor. and CO2. If they are not burning correctly, by not having enough oxygen to work with then they produce more CO not CO2. They have an oxygen depletion sensor to shut off the gas valve if there is not enough oxygen for complete combustion and start producing CO (carbon monoxide). I would still recommend having a CO detector in the room anyway just in case. Overall the Unvented kind produce much more heat, but are not quite as pretty to look at. The vented kind produce no heat to speak of and are very realistic to view. Interestingly downstairs I have a 18000 BTU wall heater that heats ceramic plates with thousands of holes in them the gas flows thru. It produces a lot of heat, and no smell at all. There is no visible flame after a minute or two, just 3 glowing orange ceramic plates. Of course it produces the water vapor and the CO2 (carbon dioxide) also. CO2 by itself is not poison but can displace regular air so you need some air leakage to make sure it does not build up. Well I have rambled on enough. Good luck in your choices.

James K0UA
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[amaxwell]

I would go with the vented.I have the vent free with propane ,and the smell is not bad if your in the house with it;but if it is on and you enter from outside it is quite strong until you are in with it for a while.My 100 gal tank gets filled only once per year.I do love just pushing the remote for a lovely fire.

 

[JB4310]

Thanks Clint, James and Maxwell, especially for those usage calculations.

I have no experiance with gas burning home appliances, I don't even have a gas grill, actually I still have a grill just have not used it in 6 years since I rediscovered charcoal.

So I'm learning quickly, I guess I'm still leaning to vent free despite Maxwells warning. I'm thinking if I open my damper a couple inches I should be able to solve some of those issues related to the vent lees combustion ???

Like the smell, the excess water vapor, the C0 and C02 build up (I do have a C0 detector in that room) the need for make up air and the worry of it getting to hot in that room. The room is open on both ends and the stairs to the 2nd floor are close by. But with the vent-less I would still have the higher heating values if needed.

Does that sound like it's expecting to much just from leaving the damper open a little?

On a separate matter, there is a chance I could get NG to my house. It is right in front of my house, the gas company was gonna pay me $350. to bring a line up 120 feet to the house. if I would switch from oil to gas heat.
I wonder if they would do it just for a gas log? probably not but it's worth a phone call.

Thanks again, JB.

 

[k0ua]

Yep, I think you will be fine with the vent free. used wisely like you outlined. If it gets too hot for you, just open the vent all the way, and then it is just for looking not heating.

James K0UA

 

[clemsonfor]

My dad lives in ahome that is say 6 years old. Newer tighter construction, hopefully? Anyway on each of the 3 floors there is a vent free log set. His home is like 2500sqft total. He lives in charleston and is a kind of replica charleston, SC single house. For those who dont know they are really narrow when viewed from the street but longer than a normal house sometimes. They also have a porch on each floor on one long side of the home. The door to the street is at the end of the porch and you come onto the porch and then into the home from the porch in all cases. I think it was to give a summer porch to enjoy breezes but also to maximize homes on a street.

Anyway, my point is when i come into the house i smell no gas (uses NG). The point by me telling the location is so that you know there are mild winters with mabe only a few weeks of really cold mournings, but because he lives right on a river the mournings are a bit warmer due to the water. But most of the winter the only heat he even uses is the gas logs in say mourning but mostly in the evening. They heat the room up in 10 mins or so then the rest of a floor in an hour or 2.

 

[TnWV]

I installed a gas log in my fireplace last winter. I got one from lowes for $212 and believe it is 18000 btu and vent free. I have free natural gas on my property, but the log I bought can be used for both. I have no smell what so ever, but have no experience with propane other than the inlaws have a propane fireplace and I don't smell anything when I am at their house. Mine is now my primary heat ( bought it mostly to cut down on the electric bill and actually cut it down to one third what it was heating with all electric). This log puts our some serious heat and I definetly recommend it (cant remember the name). Mine did not come with a remote, but it does have the option sold separately.

 

[clemsonfor]

How do you have "free" natural gas?

 

[PatasColo]

How do you have "free" natural gas?

Now, don't we all? Just can't figure out how he'd get it into the fireplace... safely. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

(Sorry, couldn't help myself... I'll go back to being an adult now. )

 

[JB4310]

:laughing::laughing:

Thanks, keep the real life experience's coming, it's helping me decide.

JB