Can Anybody??

[naturegirl]

Can you convert my wood burning fireplace to gas logs?? It has a gas starter so the gas line is already there.

DAPandLAP??

 

[Guard Dad]

Regular fireplace with chimney?

Easy. Just get a set of logs that will fit and it's a 30 minute job since the gas line is there.

Two kinds of gas logs: vent-free (somewhat of a misnomer because you do have to crack the flue open) and vented. The vented are much prettier and more of a realistic fire, but the vent-free put out a lot more heat.

So do you want atmosphere or heat? That determine which type you need.

I believe you have propane? Gas logs are not an efficient way of heating, but they can knock the chill off a cold room and provide an source of emergency heat during power outages. So I don't recommend that you use them as a primary source of heat. They tend to be "dirty" too, and can aggravate respiratory problems.

 

[naturegirl]

Thanks!! Yes, it's propane. Just want to be able to light it up on those cool nights. Never used it as a source of heat except when we lost power.

GD would you do it or stick with regular wood??

 

[Guard Dad]

Thanks!! Yes, it's propane. Just want to be able to light it up on those cool nights. Never used it as a source of heat except when we lost power.

GD would you do it or stick with regular wood??

If just for occasional atmosphere or emergency heat, it might come in handy. But I'd get the vent free so you'll get some decent heat out of it. On the vented, you have to keep the flue wide open so all the heat goes up the chimney.

I have one for the same reason. I rarely use it though; it smells and makes the one room too hot. They really aren't good for you, but can be nice when the power goes out.

For that matter...wood fires aren't good for you either.

 

[naturegirl]

Thanks!! Yes, it's propane. Just want to be able to light it up on those cool nights. Never used it as a source of heat except when we lost power.

GD would you do it or stick with regular wood??

If just for occasional atmosphere or emergency heat, it might come in handy. But I'd get the vent free so you'll get some decent heat out of it. On the vented, you have to keep the flue wide open so all the heat goes up the chimney.

I have one for the same reason. I rarely use it though; it smells and makes the one room too hot. They really aren't good for you, but can be nice when the power goes out.

For that matter...wood fires aren't good for you either.

Yea wood fires aren't great but I do enjoy them. However, firewood is hard to split and becoming more and more expensive. Not to mention toting it up the stairs. I enjoy the ambiance of the fire and would like to just fire it up without having to clean up the next day. I think I'll stick with the vented, I leave the flue opened most of the time and I have glass doors on the front. The chimney also has a vent on the side, like a dryer vent that I can open and close. I'm afraid my mom won't be able to come over if we use the unvented.

 

[Guard Dad]

Thanks!! Yes, it's propane. Just want to be able to light it up on those cool nights. Never used it as a source of heat except when we lost power.

GD would you do it or stick with regular wood??

If just for occasional atmosphere or emergency heat, it might come in handy. But I'd get the vent free so you'll get some decent heat out of it. On the vented, you have to keep the flue wide open so all the heat goes up the chimney.

I have one for the same reason. I rarely use it though; it smells and makes the one room too hot. They really aren't good for you, but can be nice when the power goes out.

For that matter...wood fires aren't good for you either.

Yea wood fires aren't great but I do enjoy them. However, firewood is hard to split and becoming more and more expensive. Not to mention toting it up the stairs. I enjoy the ambiance of the fire and would like to just fire it up without having to clean up the next day. I think I'll stick with the vented, I leave the flue opened most of the time and I have glass doors on the front. The chimney also has a vent on the side, like a dryer vent that I can open and close. I'm afraid my mom won't be able to come over if we use the unvented.

The "unvented" are still vented, and you can open the flue more if it stinks too muck. The "dryer vet" you mention is a fresh air intake, which tells me it's a pre-fab fireplace.

Go buy the gas logs and I'll put 'em in for you.Just be sure to get a size that will fit your fireplace

 

[deewee]

I didn't know wood fires are bad for you. How so? I loved having fires in the winter. Makes a house more cozy.

 

[naturegirl]

Thanks!! Yes, it's propane. Just want to be able to light it up on those cool nights. Never used it as a source of heat except when we lost power.

GD would you do it or stick with regular wood??

If just for occasional atmosphere or emergency heat, it might come in handy. But I'd get the vent free so you'll get some decent heat out of it. On the vented, you have to keep the flue wide open so all the heat goes up the chimney.

I have one for the same reason. I rarely use it though; it smells and makes the one room too hot. They really aren't good for you, but can be nice when the power goes out.

For that matter...wood fires aren't good for you either.

Yea wood fires aren't great but I do enjoy them. However, firewood is hard to split and becoming more and more expensive. Not to mention toting it up the stairs. I enjoy the ambiance of the fire and would like to just fire it up without having to clean up the next day. I think I'll stick with the vented, I leave the flue opened most of the time and I have glass doors on the front. The chimney also has a vent on the side, like a dryer vent that I can open and close. I'm afraid my mom won't be able to come over if we use the unvented.

The "unvented" are still vented, and you can open the flue more if it stinks too muck. The "dryer vet" you mention is a fresh air intake, which tells me it's a pre-fab fireplace.

Go buy the gas logs and I'll put 'em in for you.Just be sure to get a size that will fit your fireplace

Yes it is a prefab, but it's worked well the last 19 years. Thanks, I'll go to Lowes or Home Depot and get some. I measured it and the front opening is 36" and the back is 18" and it's 18" deep, pretty standard size.

 

[naturegirl]

I didn't know wood fires are bad for you. How so? I loved having fires in the winter. Makes a house more cozy.

It's just some of the smoke gets in the room no matter how well vented it is. It's just the nature of wood, breathing smoke in general isn't good.

 

[Guard Dad]

I didn't know wood fires are bad for you. How so? I loved having fires in the winter. Makes a house more cozy.

They just cause indoor air pollution. Not the end of the world though. Open fireplaces worse than stoves

 

[dapandlap]

Sorry been busy this afternoon, if ya haven't lined up someone to install the log set I'll be happy to.

 

[mei lan]

See, I wanna go the reverse. I want to disconnect my gas fireplace and get a wood-burning insert. They are wicked efficient now, and I LOVE real wood heat! But it'll hafta wait till I get some monies...

 

[naturegirl]

See, I wanna go the reverse. I want to disconnect my gas fireplace and get a wood-burning insert. They are wicked efficient now, and I LOVE real wood heat! But it'll hafta wait till I get some monies...

I don't want if for the heat, just the ambiance.

 

[Guard Dad]

See, I wanna go the reverse. I want to disconnect my gas fireplace and get a wood-burning insert. They are wicked efficient now, and I LOVE real wood heat! But it'll hafta wait till I get some monies...

Yeah, wood stoves put out way more heat than open fireplaces, and they are usually cleaner. I thought about it since I live in the woods, but I just don't have the time to fool with it.

I do have a basic wood stove in the basement I can use if needed.

 

[naturegirl]

See, I wanna go the reverse. I want to disconnect my gas fireplace and get a wood-burning insert. They are wicked efficient now, and I LOVE real wood heat! But it'll hafta wait till I get some monies...

Yeah, wood stoves put out way more heat than open fireplaces, and they are usually cleaner. I thought about it since I live in the woods, but I just don't have the time to fool with it.

I do have a basic wood stove in the basement I can use if needed.

I'm just tired of toting the wood upstairs and cleaning out the fireplace. I just wanna have a fire, not the mess.

 

[Guard Dad]

See, I wanna go the reverse. I want to disconnect my gas fireplace and get a wood-burning insert. They are wicked efficient now, and I LOVE real wood heat! But it'll hafta wait till I get some monies...

Yeah, wood stoves put out way more heat than open fireplaces, and they are usually cleaner. I thought about it since I live in the woods, but I just don't have the time to fool with it.

I do have a basic wood stove in the basement I can use if needed.

I'm just tired of toting the wood upstairs and cleaning out the fireplace. I just wanna have a fire, not the mess.

Right there with you