A Vent Free Gas Fireplace is a Great Alternative Heat Source

No matter what the occasion may be, there is no other place that the people at a family event seem to gravitate to then the fireplace.  But not all people have the luxury of having a fireplace in their home.  While most modern built or even century old homes have fireplaces as the focal point of many rooms, lots of homes built during the middle of the last century do not.  However, thanks to modern technology, a vent free gas fireplace can be installed without having to bust out a wall or install a flue through the roof.  With these limitations removed, a fireplace can be installed most anywhere in the home that is accessible to a gas line.

While a vent free gas fireplace is not meant to be used as the primary heat source for a building, they do make great supplemental heat sources for rooms that may be difficult to heat or for just adding to the beauty of any room.  Since there is no flue, there is no heat going up the chimney and being wasted.  In addition to these benefits, this type appliance is also much cheaper to operate than say an electric space heater or one that burns kerosene.

The first thing people tend to question when you speak of a fireplace being vent free is what about the toxic gases produced by a free burning flame.  A vent free gas fireplace has a high efficiency burner that burns with a much hotter flame, thus consuming all the usual products of combustion before they are emitted out in to the room.  These units are required to have an oxygen depletion sensor installed to detect a lack of oxygen near the burner that will shut the burner off if the proper mix of air and fuel is not maintained.

With proper installation and maintenance, a vent free gas fireplace can be a good alternative to the traditional fireplace.  And, with the many styles and sizes available, you are sure to find one that works well for your situation and also compliments the decor of any room.

A Ventless Heater Can Be a Great Supplemental Heat Source

There are many ways to provide supplemental heat to those cooler rooms in a home.  You can use a fireplace if it happens to be in the room where the extra heat is needed.  An electric space heater is an option if your space is relatively small or if you need something that will provide a greater amount of heat, you could use a kerosene heater.  Each of these options are useful in certain situations, but one option that can be adapted to work in almost any situation is a gas fueled ventless heater.

A ventless heater can be turned on for just a few minutes to take the chill off in a room, or can be set on low to provide a steady flow of heat.  Where a kerosene heater needs a steady circulation of air for ventilation, vent free heaters can be burned without a vent as long as the heater can draw air from other rooms of your home.  Otherwise, do not place the heater in a confined space that is shut off from other parts of the house.  If the heater does not have proper air circulation, carbon monoxide can build up and could result in death with prolonged exposure.

The modern versions of these vent-free heaters do come equipped with an ODS (oxygen depletion sensor) device that is designed to shut the unit off if the oxygen level near the burner drops below the proper levels.  However, if you are using any type of gas burning device in your home it would be in your best interest to acquire and maintain a carbon monoxide detector for an additional safeguard.

You should also keep in mind that these devices are meant to be utilized as supplemental heat.  While they can be used as a short term primary heat source in the event of a power outage or some other emergency, they should be shut off for a while every 5-6 hours to insure the prevention of a build up of carbon monoxide or excessive moisture.

Ventless heaters come in a variety of sizes and you should have no trouble locating one that will serve your needs no matter what size room you need to heat.  By following a few well publicized safety precautions and having the unit installed and maintained by a qualified professional, your ventless heater should provide you with many years of safe and efficient operation and most of all, keep you warm and toasty regardless of how cold a punch Mother Nature chooses to deliver.

Pitfalls of a Ventless Gas Fireplace

We all love to sit in front of a nice warm fire on a cool evening enjoying the company of our family and friends. Unfortunately, not all homes have built in fireplaces. But now, with the development of the modern ventless gas fireplace, anyone can now enjoy the beauty of a toasty fire almost anywhere in their home. These modern units burn much hotter than their vented cousins thanks to high efficiency burners. These burners almost totally consume all of the products of combustion, therefore, there is no need to vent unburned gases to the outdoors. However, for all the benefits these new ventless fireplaces provide there are several issues you need to consider before you commit to the installation of one of these units.

While many of these self contained units look quite realistic as a whole, the ventless logs burn with a yellow flame and have glowing embers that tend to look less realistic than the vented logs. So no matter how much quality and effort manufacturers put into their attempts to make these log sets look like the real thing, they still fall short of that goal.

While these units do produce an adequate amount of heat to warm most any size room, they must be properly sized in order to do so. One of the problems lies here. If you encounter an inexperienced sales person, you could find yourself with a heater that is not the proper size for your room. In this case, you would actually have a worse problem if the unit you purchase is too large for the room in which it is installed. If your unit is too small, it just will not produce an adequate amount of heat to keep the room warm. However, if the unit is too large for the room, it may consume too much of the room's oxygen which could produce a dangerous situation if the included oxygen depletion sensor were to malfunction and not shut the gas supply off to the fireplace.

Another issue develops when someone tries to use their ventless gas fireplace for the primary heat source in a room. These units are meant to be used as a supplemental heating system and will cause issues with moisture if burned for more than 4 to 7 hours at one time. As with any gas burning appliance, moisture is produced when natural or propane gas is burned. With vented gas appliances, this moisture is carried to the outdoors with the toxic gases through the flue pipe or chimney. When ventless gas fireplaces burn, water vapor from the fire is vented into the home, which may cause condensation on windows, or in the long-term mold or mildew issues.

There is still some question about these non-vented fireplaces affect on the air quality in the home. Therefore, some state building codes do not allow the use of these type appliances. Be sure to check with your local building department if you are considering one of these units for your home. Before you make your final decision to purchase a ventless gas fireplace you might also want to check the web sites of the following agencies as they have issued air quality warnings about these units: American Lung Association(ALA); Center for Disease Control (CDC); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the Mayo Clinic.

While manufacturers maintain that their units meet or exceed all indoor air-quality guidelines as set forth by the American Gas Association, there is still some concern about fumes vented into the home as opposed to being vented outside. If you are considering the installation of a ventless gas fireplace in your home, be sure you purchase a properly sized unit, opt for professional installation and as with any gas fired appliance, be sure to follow all the manufacturer's guidelines concerning safety, use and maintenance.