Gas Fireplace Logs

[72Camaro]

We are looking to put in gas logs instead of wood due to the odor and how it affects my wife’s allergies. We are on propane via a 200 gallon tank. There is a pressure regulator on the outside of the house.

We are being told that we need a regulator in the firebox by one company and another company says we do not. We do have the typical square key to turn the gas on and off. The company that states we have to have a second regulator states that we must have a pilot light regulator vs just a on/off control valve. Propane is pretty expensive and I’d rather not run a pilot light 24/7, not to mention the price of the this addition regulator being $300.

Thoughts? We are located around Dallas, Texas, if that matters.

 

[72Camaro]

Wrong section, can mods please love this to “Free Parking”?

 

[NUTTSGT]

Actually I moved it here the Heating & A/C Section.

 

[nadogail]

I have gas logs in both my home and my son's house. They are for Ambiance, not for heat. We light them with a match when desired, this has been less than once a year.

We are on Natural Gas.

 

[ace10]

Don't gas logs have something close to 0% efficiency?

 

[C2tuck]

I have three of these in my house, one in the kitchen, one in the living room and one upstairs in the master. All of mine have a pilot light.

The ones I have put out a ton of heat! I’m constantly turning them down behind the wife and kids.

These do the same thing as a Deere born heater and those definitely weren’t known for their ambiance.

 

[ericm]

With a fireplace, wood or gas, most of the heat goes up the chimney. And with an uncontrolled draft it ***** the warm air out of the house which gets replaced by cold outside air through the inevitable leaks.

The wood fireplace we had would make the house colder. And it let some smoke into the house. We replaced it with a built in wood stove. It makes a good amount of heat and lets no smoke and little smell into the house, and only when the doors are opened to add wood.

They make gas heating stoves and also fireplace inserts (basically a stove that fits in your fireplace). Those will produce heat.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, the only heat less efficient than a fireplace is to open all the doors and light a fiRI have all fire in the front yard.

 

[FTG-05]

There are two kinds of gas logs: Vented and unvented.

The vented version is just like regular fireplace wood burning: The vast majority of the heat goes up the chimney. And, as one pointed out, it ***** a bunch of cold air into the house as it does it.

The unvented version does heat the house and it does it quite well.

I had unvented gas logs installed in my house in north AL over 20 years ago. One of the best things I ever did. It heated our entire two story +3200 sq ft house for years, unless the temps go into the low 20's, then the heat pump kicked on. Never had any gas smell except for the one time I didn't put the fake logs in the right place; the gas guy fixed that in about 5 minutes.

My wife can smell ants in the house. She never had a problem sitting next to the fire getting warmed up.

Heartily recommend them.

 

[yeldogt]

Unvented .... think about that. Unvented .... you are breathing all of the products of combustion.

Propane and NG are not the same .... you have to be more careful with propane.

A typical set up today with propane is regulator at tank and regulator at each house entrance.

When you only have one appliance --- the regulator is different and can only feed that one appliance. You need a system with a safety -- you can't have a simple valve

 

[HoosierBuddy]

At the gas co. we see a lot of problems with people trying to use unvented appliances (gas logs or gas heaters) in place of a furnace or vented heater as the primary source of heating for their home.

As noted above they are nearly 100% efficient, BUT they also **** in every combustible and oxygen from the home, burn it, and put it back into the home's air. Typically the first problem most people see is excessive moisture and condensation on windows or cold surfaces, as much of the combustion byproduct is water vapor. Next issue is smells and odors typically a problem if any time of solvent is used in the home (painting something, using some sort of thinner, even room deodorizers or certain cleaners can be an issue). Next problem that develops is sooting. Typically walls and ceiling near the heating source will start to discolor.

Pet hair can also cause issues getting sucked into the burner.

They are fine for part time or back up heating, (I have 2 myself), but I would never use them in place of a furnace or in any situation where they are running more than a couple of hours a day burner on time.

Just my opinion based on over 25 years of dealing with them.

Phil

 

[D45]

My gas log set, with the chimney flue open, heats the main family room (20 x 15) very well

 

[yeldogt]

At the gas co. we see a lot of problems with people trying to use unvented appliances (gas logs or gas heaters) in place of a furnace or vented heater as the primary source of heating for their home.

As noted above they are nearly 100% efficient, BUT they also **** in every combustible and oxygen from the home, burn it, and put it back into the home's air. Typically the first problem most people see is excessive moisture and condensation on windows or cold surfaces, as much of the combustion byproduct is water vapor. Next issue is smells and odors typically a problem if any time of solvent is used in the home (painting something, using some sort of thinner, even room deodorizers or certain cleaners can be an issue). Next problem that develops is sooting. Typically walls and ceiling near the heating source will start to discolor.

Pet hair can also cause issues getting sucked into the burner.

They are fine for part time or back up heating, (I have 2 myself), but I would never use them in place of a furnace or in any situation where they are running more than a couple of hours a day burner on time.

Just my opinion based on over 25 years of dealing with them.

Phil

my memory is that they limit out at 30k ..... many of the blue flame wall heaters are 15k if my memory is correct.

The heaters and manuals are very clear about they are to be used a supplemental and only for short times. We used to see the NG ones all the time out in sun rooms at the beach. I'm talking 40 years ago -- The rooms leaked so much anyway it was a way to take the morning chill off.

 

[ncfireman1918]

You mentioned allergies, so I'm going to relay our experience with unvented gas logs. We built in 2010, and I was adamant that I didn't want unvented logs. I described what I was looking for, and was told by my father-in-law (my general contractor) and a childhood friend of his who worked for one of the largest propane companies in the area that I didn't want vented logs because the heat all goes up the chimney. They installed a really nice quality unvented log set. We don't use them because when we do, they put out a TON of moisture, and cause respiratory trouble for my whole family. My wife, son and I all deal with seasonal allergies, and my wife and son have asthma troubles. We can't use the logs because none of us can breathe when they are going. I started doing some research last year, and am planning to install some direct vent logs. The moisture and products of combustion go out the vent, but there is an airspace around the fire box and a blower that pushes the heated (clean) air out to heat the space. There is a solid glass window on the front, so you get the pretty fire ambiance, and the way they are designed they put out a ton of heat.

I first experienced direct vent logs at my college girlfriend's parents' house, and they were awesome. My recommendation would be to do some research before making a decision, but for my money, I'd rather have a safer better option than the traditional unvented logs.

-Chris