I have one in my bedroom and I LOVE it. I can watch t.v. in there and have my own sanctuary while DH is in the big den with a real wood stove, his is manly and mine is more ladylike lol.

Nancy - We just converted from a gas log "energy waster" to a direct vent gas FP. Love it! It was installed a few weeks ago; used it over the weekend. Love that it has a remote control, thermostat, blower, variable flame & lighting options, and is so easy to use. No more messing with the flue! I'm sure we'll save on energy costs. Yes, they are wonderful! Enjoy!!

P.S. I'm in the midst of redecorating around our new FP and surround. This forum has been great with decorating advice!

I have never had one, but the ease is attractive. I'm just not totally sold on the look, esp in a traditional interior. But I think i'd use it 10x more.

(Slightly OT) ... We don't have a gas fireplace, but do have an electric "flame effect" fireplace in our bedroom and have another one on order that we're going to use in the honest-to-goodness (but never used) real fireplace in the living room. I know that some may think they're cheesy, but I like them. They're quite common in the UK, and I feel a bit as though I'm on holiday while curled up in front of mine. A fireplace doesn't have to be a wood-burner in order to cheer and warm a space! :-)

We have 4 of them...all different types. All vented. 3 are open Victorian and one is a closed glass fronted Victorian free standing. One in our LR/piano room, one in the kitchen, one in the sitting room and one in our MBR. We have 2 on now as it is chilly and windy here. We usually use them in place of the furnace on many chilly mornings. Here in Central AL it regularly gets down to the 20's as winter progresses. I have portieres up on the sitting room doorways and that combined with the gas fp makes the room lovely and really warm. With 12 ft ceilings one has to do all one can to stay warm !

spring would love to see pics of yours and everyone else's !! c

I agree the glass doors can make these less attractive then "real fpl", in some settings.

We have a large old beehive screen we keep in front. It hides the shininess of the glass.

I will look for pics, it is a Town and Country 42" I think.

I have one installed in my family room by previous owners. It's on a thermostat too, but unfortunately it kills us on gas bills. We like using it in the winter as it makes the room really cozy, but we haven't been using it as much in the last few years due to the cost. Perhaps it is the wrong type and that's why it seems so inefficient. I've been tempted to look at replacing it with something new and hopefully more efficient and possibly installing one in our log burning master bedroom fireplace too (which we've only used once because it's a pain).

Kitch - this one looks good in a traditional setting.

Here is a link that might be useful: ivory Jotul gas stove

Here is ours:

Maire-cate,
I bought that very stove for my stonehouse. I believe the ivory is discontinued, at least it was for one of the models.

Here is the one in the kitchen. It radiates a lot of heat since it sits outside of the opening on the hearth. It is vented through the same chase as our MBR on the other side of the wall. I love to pull a chair up and put my hot tea on top of the stove and read a cookbook in the winter. I also rise bread on the mantle above and it is great in the Winter :

this is the one in the LR/piano room. It has an open grate that was made especially to fit the old original coal burning f/p. It is the only original chimney in our 1890 home . It puts out a ton of heat so we don't use it as often due to the piano. The iron Summer cover is the original. Many of them are gone from these old houses as they were donated to the war effort to be melted down. We found ours wrapped in towels in a storage room.The chimney is shared by the f/p on the other side of the wall in the sitting room:

sitting room that was our DR...not a great pic...can't find another one:

I don't have one of the MBR ...will take one when I get a chance. Great thread..mnt...your fp is beautiful !

Trail,

We had a woodstove in our house growing up and I would love when my Mom made soup on it! Good idea to have it in front of the hearth for the kitchen!

Yes, I call mine 'the babysitter' on cold winter days, as the dogs cluster around it and snooze.

I know that electric ones are not liked by many, but this very heavy enameled cast iron one by Heat-N-Glo in cocoa brown was an incredible CL find. I have the original receipt where the previous owners bought 2 of them for $1,000 each. They were down sizing, and could only use one in their new place. I paid $125, and it's perfect in my office. I just took this very close shot, which has real enough looking logs, embers and flames for me!

Wow, My3dogs - that Heat-n-Glo was an amazing find! Love it!

Those are beautiful!! Thanks everyone!

Trairunner, I have some pis on the camera, when it gets home from the NASCAR this weekend, I will get them up. i am DESPERATE for help finishing off this 3 sided one....it needs a top, and sides, and I thought it would be easier if I lived with it a while, but I still go blank everytime I think about it!!

Our bedroom stoves are sort of victorian looking, like my3dogs' , only black iron. I saw one like them in a house on CreateTV recently !

They were all on clearance, two had been floor models for several years, and we think we hot a good deal as a package, and the service from this small dealer has been wonderful!! Not as good a deal as my3dogs, though, that fireplace is beautiful!

Nancy

spring will look forward to seeing them . Yes my3dogs electric is the prettiest I have seen ! wow...very good deal.

WHat brand are your bedroom stoves ? are you still in TX then ...I am afraid I don't keep up well with where everyone lives :) Unfortunately we have no service provider anymore..long story so I have to hope that nothing goes wrong.Also the one in our bedroom that the former provider sold me has been discontinued and the company is gone so we are SOL as far as it goes. Thanks for any info on yours. c

We LOVE ours! LOVE!

Never used the wood burning fp that was here when we moved in. Basically used our FR as a storage space the first 13 years in the house. When we reno'd the room last fall, we had a Regency Horizon gas insert installed. Worth every penny! W

e have it going now, as we are without power because of the storm, and have no other heat source at the moment. The blower doesn't work without electricity, but the remote and pilot work (battery). Nice and toasty in the FR at least!

We love using it when we do have power, too. We ran it a lot last winter, especially on weekends, and it didn't seem to have a negative effect on our gas/electric bill as far as I can recall.

Trailrunner, the warranty stuff I sent in said Travis Industries. I went there to find a picture that I could steal. All the links are errors, so I don't know if that is temporary or not.

Cat mom, that brick is SO gorgeous painted! What a beautiful room!

Nancy

Nancy I will link to what I found when I Googled their products. seems to be the same company and a very nice selection and colorful detailed brochure. Thank you for the info . ! c

Here is a link that might be useful: Gas fireplaces

Is it possible to put one of these Gas Insers in my wood FP if I do not have gas on my street.
Can I use Propane tanks outside my home or is this not done.
Thanks

mtnrdredux - We bought the Ivory Jotul for our family room about 6 years ago when we redecorated. I admit I miss the aroma of a wood burning fireplace but you can't beat the ease of these gas units especially if you spring for the remote control!

We have 2 Heartstone stoves at our place in the mountains. One is a traditional soapstone wood burning model which is large enough to heat the entire home. We have 135 forested acres so we plenty of wood to burn. In the bedroom we put a gas unit that's brick red with Dakota granite- what a treat that is.

lyban- we have propane heat at our mountain place and use that with our gas fireplace.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hearthstone

What's involved in installing a gas fireplace, and should they be vented or unvented?

We had a gas fireplace installed when we moved to the northeast 9 years ago. It was on propane and a bitter cold winter. We used it a lot until we found the cost to be astounding. After that winter, we only used it for quick warmup on a chilly morning or when power was out. Basic heat was hot water baseboards. Slow to warm up and fueled by kerosene - also expensive. Can't win in this climate!

nosoccermom: you will see some folks have the unvented but as far as most folks are concerned they are very dangerous and not worth the risk. The Victorian Fire Place will NOT sell them and say so on their website. The gas byproducts are released into your home . You of course should have a sensor in all homes for carbon monoxide, we have them since we have natural gas.

If you can't install a vented gas fp then it is better to go with one of the electric like my3dogs posted or wood or nothing at all. I have linked to an article about the unvented. There are many more if you Google. Good Luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: unvented gas fp

Trailrunner, thanks for that brochure! They really do have some pretty FP's!! Good thing DH didn't see those; he would have blown MY kitchen budget on a FP! But we really wanted the 3 sided for the living area, so that saved my kitchen, I guess!!

lyban, our house was all electric , and I wanted gas for the kitchen, so we had propane put in, and use it for the FP's. Our FP quote included running all the black pipe plumbing and venting for the fireplaces. The propane company did the outside tank, and pipe to the house. We lease the tank from them.

Code here in KY requires the bedroom stoves to be vented. The family room FP does not have to be. I read as much as I could, and went with the vent - free in the family room, because I I live on the edge, anyway, LOL. We have CO detectors.

Nancy

Thank you, trailrunner. Is there any link that summarizes the steps/considerations of installing a vented gas fireplace?

We have three gas fireplaces. One was already here, one we converted from wood burning, and one we put in a finished basement room. All are operated by remotes with either timers or thermostats. We are as lazy as we can be, and these area great convenience.

We want to install a small ventless in our bedroom. Is there anyone who has a ventless and doesn't like it?

Also, does anyone have one installed higher up, perhaps in a cabinet? I would love to see photos. We want to be be able to see it from our bed.

I have a regular woodburning fireplace and would like to install a gas fireplace insert. Nothing fancy mainly for ambiance and heating when the power fails or earlier in the season. I heat and cook with gas (gas line). Stopped by a a gas fireplace dealer today and was told that the cost would be 7-10K to have a gas fireplace insert installed. WHAT? I was told that the unit was 5-6K plus installation. The fireplace inserts looked nice but, honestly, nothing special.
What's a reasonable estimate? What are decent and reliable brands? Also, is it better/cheaper to use the existing chimney, which apparently needs a special liner, or have a directly vented insert?

For some reason $5700 for ours sticks out in my mind. I can check for you if you need me to. Ours is a Regency Horizon. Works great! We are still without power, and even without the blower, the fp heats up the room very, very well. TOASTY!

Here is a link that might be useful: Regency Horizon gas insert

nosoccermom...check the Victorian Fireplace website. They have a great selection and no where near as expensive as that !! We have the President by Valor in our kitchen..it is the freestanding style but they also have it in the type that fits into the opening. Valor is a very good brand name and they are about 3500 or so. You need a stainless steel liner in the chimney I believe. See website link

http://www.gascoals.com

Here is a link that might be useful: valor

I just looked mine up. It was about $6000 for our Town and Country 42" gas burning fireplace, installed. Of course that does not include trim and finish work as this was in a spot that had no fpl.

Thanks so much for all the info. Should we have the chimney lined or go with a direct vented fireplace? What are must-have features?

here are some links that answer that exact question ..hope this helps. But the short answer is maybe or maybe not : to lining the chimney:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/11/will-sandy-turn-new-yorkers-into-bike-commuters.html

http://www.fullerheating.com/fhonline/hvac/residential/information/chimneys.html

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/fireplaces-heating-stoves-flues-chimneys/206228-gas-fireplace-options-chimney.html

I love gas fireplaces, would love to have one but due to the placement of our gas line - at the other side of the townhouse - it would be very expensive to convert our wood fireplace to gas (> $5000). We can't use wood because I am very allergic to smoke and I also hate the smell of the cold ashes and the mess etc.

So what we've done is buy the gel fuel cans - Sungel. We burn them in our fireplace and they are great! No smell, no mess, no worries about cleaning the chimney (these can be burned with no chimney as they are clean burning) no worries about "spare the air" days in CA! I was very pleasantly surprised at the nice big flame and flickering ambiance they give off. No noticeable heat, however.

debrak asked if anyone has a ventless and doesn't like it. Me!

We put one in about 10 years ago, maybe longer, and not only does it smell but it makes a lot of condensation on the windows. We don't use it anymore, and when we get around to redoing the den, we are going to get rid of that one and put in a vented one.

Tinan, what's the difference between the gel cans and the Real flame logs you can light in the FP?

Our FP is woodburning, but when I just want some ambience I light the log, then add wood to it later.

How wide is the fire from the can, and I can use it without opening the flue?

I call my logs (my dh doesn't use them) my "girlie fire." lol.

Ventless gas fireplaces cannot be used in bedrooms. Too many people wake up dead. It is against code to have them in bedrooms.

There are two kinds of vented gas fireplaces. One kind is cheaper and burns using the air in your house and then that warm air and a lot of other warm air from your home goes up the chimney with the heat of the fire. These are the gas fireplaces that used more BTUs than they produce. That is because they are taking the warm air your furnace heated and sending it up the chimney. It feels warm near these fires, but your gas bill tells the real tale.

The second kind of vented gas fireplace is sealed. It takes air from outside for burning, not taking any air from inside the house, so your heated air does not go up the chimney. You get radiant heat from the front glass on these units, plus the blowers are used to blow your warm air over the fire, warm it up more, then blow it back into your room, warmer. These are very efficient, but costly units. The flu has two tubes, one for fresh air for the fire, one for exhaust.

With gas fireplaces, you pay upfront, or pay with every use. That is why I have a $600 electric one. Someday I hope to have a sealed, efficient gas fireplace installed.

Here is a link that might be useful: first link I found with illustration

We are doing the valor fireplace.. Similar to trailrunner's president stove.. Our fireplace is wall mounted from the portrait series. A couple of things.. This is the shallowest fireplace in terms of the depth required in the interior walls. This was the main reason I picked it. Valor is also very adjustable in terms of how much heat it puts out.. I love the coal look as opposed to logs or modern looking stones. Even the small valor fireplace puts out a lot of heat. Fires of tradition does custom facades for valor as well.

Could not live without mine! We have two, one in livingroom and one in family room. Both were originally wood burning. Hard to get a spot in front...one of the three dogs or all try to get there first. Also great when we have lost power during snow storms (Buffalo)..the whole family sleeps in the family room and are all nice and toasty!

Actually in New York state you can have a ventless gas fireplace in your bedroom. (Its possible NYC has a different code) I was just reading the code yesterday. Up to 10,000 btus. Must have an oxygen sensor. There is a requirement based on the size of the room (air mass, you have to do a calc). So unless your bedroom is super tiny yes you can have a ventless gas in your bedroom.

I just googled and found zero news stories on a ventless gas fireplace causing death unless it was a suicide.

I don't think they are the best way to go but if you follow code and use common sense I don't see a problem.

If we get one we only plan to use it occasionally on cold nights for about 15 min before bed. The room is large and opens to other rooms. Our house is dry to the little added moisture would be welcome. We are still researching as it is difficult to find one that is only 10,000 btus.

We have many Rumford fireplace boxes - shallow, tall and little width and the sealed Valor President fit best. $700 for plumber to bring gas to this location (already have gas in house) and hook up fireplace; $600 for two liners (one for intake air and one for exhaust) in 2.5 story chimney on a slate roof; $375 to install and I think around $2050 for the unit. All under $4000 in the expensive Boston area. I want to add a few more but there are other projects waiting for money.

We have two ventless propane fireplaces and love them. We have a large propane tank for them. If you don't like the look of a propane tank, you can have them buried I believe - I think my SIL and DB's is underground. One advantage to the ventless fireplaces is that they use much less propane than the vented fireplaces. I cannot smell ours. One thing I would recommend is a remote control. I love being able to adjust the fire without getting up!

Bostonpam: What's a Rumford fireplace box? When I google Rumford fireplace, I get information about a certain kind of fireplace, not gas fireplace inserts. Under 4k sounds great, maybe similar in our expensive DC are :)

oakleyok, the gel fuel is basically ethanol (pure alcohol) and some tiny bits of paraffin wax to make it crackle and give color. It's a liquid gel that burns inside the metal can. So there is absolutely no smoke or smell, it burns clean and they are allowed in CA even on spare the air burn ban days and can even be burned without a vent indoors (though for fire safety must be in an enclosure).

The logs that come in the wrappers are sawdust, wax and some other ingredients. THey produce noticeable heat when burned. They do not burn clean they produce significant smoke and are only for use in a functioning wood fireplace.

nosoccermom - Rumford fireplaces are a design from the early 1800's (like our house). It's the shape of the fp "box" and were suppose to be very efficient. The link explains them and shows many pictures of Rumfords.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rumford fireplace

nosoccer...as I posted we have 2 of the Valor's . One , the President , is 10 yrs old and the other was put in by the po in our home and is about 14 yrs old. They are both excellent and have never had any service issues. They put out a lot of heat. The president is well under $4000. c

I love my gas fireplace! It's in the basement family room. I wish I had space for more elsewhere. My husband and I always smile at the other when one of us says "Should I build a fire?" and then flips the wall switch.

Full disclosure: I also love unabashedly fake jewelry and Christmas trees :)

{{!gwi}}