Propane Fireplace

[GRivera]

I am in the beginning stages of an addition to my house and want to buy a direct vent gas/propane fireplace. I want a traditional look on a perimeter wall. Any recommendations on brand. What to stay away from?

 

[GRivera]

Circling back on this one -

There has to be someone out there with opinions on these- also, I would like to be able to order on line and have my contractor install. The brick and mortar shops around me only sell if the install and charge thousands to do so.

 

[Randy in Maine]

I have a Vermont castings direct vent gas stove (mine is propane and black) that we have had for about 15 years. I think it was about $2K back then. I have never had to do anything to it.

 

[mcbassin]

As long as you stay away from the Vent-free gas log. I have one of those. It was a disaster after about a year of service. Great for heat but put a nasty black soot all over everything in our house.

 

[TractorJeff]

That is a nice looking Unit! (Vermont castings direct vent gas stove )

 

[ford33]

I have no recommendation on brand but will offer an observation.

I own a home with a built in propane fireplace that came with the home when I purchased it. I used it a few times and the cost of the propane necessary to power that fireplace was very high. I had visions of $20 bills being burnt every time I used it.

It was not energy efficient and cost too much to operate.

I do not use it anymore.

Not sure why OP wants to use propane when there should be other more energy efficient choices on the market place.

 

[mfs54729]

We put a Mendota gas fireplace in a few years ago. We really like it. I thought the logs/flames looked more realistic than other gas fireplaces I looked at ( Heat-n-Glo seemed to be the most prevalent). Don't know if they can be purchased online, we bought ours through a fireplace store and they installed it. You may run into warranty issues if the manufacturers "certified" installers don't install it.

 

[PNWguy]

Not sure why OP wants to use propane when there should be other more energy efficient choices on the market place.

Because he wants a fireplace, doesn't have natural gas and doesn't want to deal with firewood?

I have a Vermont Casting propane "wood stove" in my current place, and it's not too expensive to run. However, my place is very, very small. I think you could affordably heat a room with it, but not a whole house.

 

[kj_mustang]

Built a new home 2 years ago and installed one of these and love it, no issues using it.

https://www.fireplacex.com/ProductGuide/ProductDetail.aspx?modelsku=98500175

 

[Randy in Maine]

Very nice!!

 

[Pen & Wrench]

I don't have direct experience with propane, but we converted a wood fireplace to a natural gas fireplace insert and we really like it. It will run without electricity, even though it does have a fan for better heat circulation. It has a remote thermostat, and we can have a fire at the touch of a button. And the best part is no smoke, no cinders to clean up and no chopping wood! Sure a wood fireplace is really nice, but I think you will really like the convenience and cleanliness of what you are considering. I agree with the rest, vent it for sure, do not get a ventless one.

 

[Falcon67]

We had NG logs when we lived in Houston - very nice, very convenient. Would like to do propane here, but I'm not too hip on transporting a 100 gallon tank (no other gas use) and I'd have to take part of the siding off the back of the house to route the line. Other than that, piece of cake. We have a full wood burning fireplace but wife is allergic to mesquite and that's all you find around here.

 

[GRivera]

Thanks all. I currently have a wood fireplace (prefab) and don't care for the amount of work it takes to start/maintain a fire. I am in the process of building an addition during which I will be eliminating the wood fireplace and installing the propane one because I do not have access to NG. I will also be adding a propane cook top. Currently we are on 100% electric.

 

[stonesg]

I just bought a house and was very happy to see it was equipped with a ventless propane fireplace.

If you can deal with the moisture it puts out it's fantastic.

It's dry enough here in the winter and we don't run it all the time.