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snobunyz24

fireplace conversion?

3 years ago

Hello all-

We have a wood burning fireplace that we never use- small kids/too much effort etc.

Our city is offering full credit convert it to gas for free (external pollution etc) . We already have the gas line so it's an easy conversion.

Thoughts? I was on board until the reports about gas stoves (which we also have and use all the time)

Are people happy w gas stoves? Regrets/ etc?

Comments (10)

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    Adding Gas Logs to your fireplace are an easy DIY project, or can be installed by a plumber.

    You can view our Gas Logs Here and then give us a call to get your questions answered by a gas log expert.


    BTW: In reference to Gas Stoves are you talking about a range or actual free standing stove?

  • 3 years ago

    that gas stove thing is just a talking point.

    I'd go for it.

    You don't have to use it.

    It's like fixing the recall so it's ready for the next user.

  • 3 years ago

    @handon- I meant gas fireplaces- are people happy with their gas fireplaces :).

    I loved our gas stove until I got worried about indoor air pollution

  • 3 years ago

    @lyn- sorry I meant are pp happy with their gas fireplaces :)

  • 3 years ago

    They are a large space heaters really. We put in a gas fireplace in our first home. The only issue is keeping kiddos away from the glass. It gets very hot. In our current home we had a woodstove in our basement. We converted it to a corn/wood pellet stove. They need 'stoking' less often. We have a wood burning fireplace upstairs. Of the three the gas fireplace is still my favorite. Anyone can turn it on. It's soo much cleaner than the others. Be sure and get a fan on it so the heat is pushed out into the room. I have no idea what they cost to use. We have sooo much free wood due to dead fall, it's silly not to burn it.

  • PRO
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Get the proper venting for your gas stoves I have lived for 76 yrs with gas ranges in all kinds of spaces still here still healthy. IMO the issue arrives with the sealed interior air in new homes and I think we need to stop re breathing stale air no matter what range you have. I would follow the rules about install of a gas FP and no it is not IMO as simple as running a gas line and some logs. Talk to a good FP shop BTW I love my wood burning FP but where we live not often used

  • 3 years ago

    Thanks everyone!! It's a really neat program- you "register" your wood fireplace with the county and they send a gas/fireplace company out to get quotes and do the conversion for you. With the county credit, it ends up being free for us!

  • 3 years ago

    I had to swap my wood-burning (with gas ) FP to a gas insert due to some remodeling making the chimney not high enough etc etc...


    We'd never burned wood in it and have only occasionally used it now with the insert (which is probably what you'll get?). It is nice. I don't like the fake logs but made the FP installer install it behind the original and extremely dated 1950s brass mesh FP screen so I can pull the curtains on it and nobody will know better.


    You should do it. Even if you don't use it!


    But...if you live someplace that gets cold and has power outages when it IS cold, keep in mind that a wood-burning FP can be a good thing. (My insert uses electricity for the fan and ignition--it won't run without power. Check those options if needed.)

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    Does the county credit cover gas logs, gas inserts or both? And, do you know the difference? If you need heat efficiency, a gas insert is likely best. Gas inserts normally have a somewhat unattractive large metal surround with a sealed glass front, so they are not that realistic.


    Vented Gas Logs can be left as an open fire just like real wood, and also burn with a much more natural looking flame, but they put out a lot less heat. will give you a much more realistic open fire, pretty much like real wood.


    Ventless gas logs are the most heat efficient and, like vented gas logs, do not have a sealed glass front or black metal surround, although the are slightly less realistic than vented gas logs.


    So, what does the credit cover and is heat efficiency a concern, or now it looks?



    Gas Insert - Requires a wide metal surround with a sealed glass front that cannot be opened.



    Gas Logs - Looks like a real fire and does not require a sealed glass front or large black metal surround. You can dress up the fireplace just as if it were a wood burning fireplace.



  • 3 years ago

    I'd keep the wood... more fuel options and you aren't dependent on another utility. Plus, wood burning fireplaces smell amazing. There's polution and then there's polution. Why are wood burning fireplaces even on the radar? Seems like the main beneficiary is the local gas company. Follow the money.