adding a fireplace / woodstove

[wilheldp_PE]

My suggestion is to get a professional installer.  It will be pricey, but size of the fireplace, size of the room, and available make-up air (i.e., how tightly sealed your house is) make a BIG difference in choosing a gas log burner.  I get somewhere on the order of 40 gas logs in my lab every year with people reporting soot losses in their house due to improperly installed gas logs.  Also, be sure to clean the burner and make sure the logs are oriented exactly per the manufacturer's instructions because any change in air flow near the burner will result in sooting.

 

[willsee]

We had a ventless fireplace in our old house and we never ran it as my wife complained about the gas smell all the time.

 

[Ship Wreck PE]

Our dog really likes our ventless gas log fireplace.

 

[Supe]

I've got a gas with a vent.  Zero maintenance in the 16 years the home has been standing and works just fine with the flip of the light switch.  It doesn't feel like it puts off a lot of heat, but it does a pretty good job of augmenting the furnace in the winter months if you flip it on.  I'll sometimes use it in the morning to give the room a "boost" while I'm getting ready.

Mine does have the fake log, and they will never look real.  The lack of embers/glowing red and flame front just always make them look fake.

 

[csb]

My suggestion is to get a professional installer.  It will be pricey, but size of the fireplace, size of the room, and available make-up air (i.e., how tightly sealed your house is) make a BIG difference in choosing a gas log burner.  I get somewhere on the order of 40 gas logs in my lab every year with people reporting soot losses in their house due to improperly installed gas logs.  Also, be sure to clean the burner and make sure the logs are oriented exactly per the manufacturer's instructions because any change in air flow near the burner will result in sooting.

I find when the burny guy says something, it's best to listen. 

 

[Road Guy]

Well usually “professional” for these type installations means some high school dropout hick, who can’t keep the one job he has, who if doesn’t cancel, will be at least an hour late..

 

Now if you can’t turn a wrench call someone, but these are pretty easy to install (easier than changing the oil in your car)

 

[csb]

You bought me a car?!

 

[knight1fox3]

Although the install doesn't seem too involved, to @wilheldp_PE's point, it would give more peace of mind to have a professional do it I think. I spoke to a local retailer and gave them all the specs. They quoted me $750 for everything including the install. I also asked about vented vs. non-vented and he said since I already have a traditional fireplace with a chimney, I wouldn't realize the benefits of non-vented. This isn't something I plan to use all winter either. Probably only have it on weekends we are home and when people are visiting.

In addition to the concerns above, there's also some parts I'm unfamiliar with (see photo below). I assume this is some sort of regulator/diffuser? Can that just be taken off and then connected to whatever inlet assembly there is for the gas log? Assuming I can even remove it to begin with. It's looks pretty worn. Or do I leave the large part and just remove the gas tube? :dunno:

View attachment 8573

 

[Road Guy]

Yeah you take that off (lol, looks like it's had a hard life) and then you would connect the gas feed to that.

I'm

Assuming the large part near the hole in the wall (filled with great stuff?) Comes off leaving a thread to attach too...

You can buy a lot of firewood for $750 republic credits!

 

[knight1fox3]

Yeah you take that off (lol, looks like it's had a hard life) and then you would connect the gas feed to that.

I'm

Assuming the large part near the hole in the wall (filled with great stuff?) Comes off leaving a thread to attach too...

You can buy a lot of firewood for $750 republic credits!

Yes, I'm just hoping that the threads are mostly intact. Will try to clean them up with something to remove the corrosion. The part with hose clamp looks to be "fixed". So I also assume that is my threaded hook-up point. In the basement, I have access beneath the fireplace and can see the yellow gas line that runs up to that point through the floor. So I suppose if I had to replace something in the supply line, I could. And I agree, $750 is quite a bit. But not more than what some of those non-vented gas logs cost! If I go with vented, I'm looking at $230 plus my time to install and hope nothing else breaks or needs to be replaced. What have I gotten myself into?

 

[wilheldp_PE]

 I can see the yellow gas line that runs up to that point through the floor. 

Make sure that CSST is electrically bonded.  It wasn't required prior to 2009, but a series of house fires caused by lightning strikes caused a change in plumbing codes and CSST manufacturer's installation instructions.  If your gas line isn't bonded, a lightning strike can cause an arc to jump from any grounded metal surface to the CSST.  This blows a hole in the gas line, and it has plenty of fuel to take it from there.

 

[Supe]

I want your job, wilheldp.

 

[knight1fox3]

You'd like this one too @Supe. Especially when we do arc fault testing on motor control centers. Some times in the control room, the resulting concussion knocks coffee cups over. :thumbs:

 

[Supe]

Yeah, but you guys only get to blow things up electrically.

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

You'd like this one too @Supe. Especially when we do arc fault testing on motor control centers. Some times in the control room, the resulting concussion knocks coffee cups over. :thumbs:

We've done some fun stuff like that, like using collapsing electrical fields to crush pop cans and shrinking quarters to the size of a nickle.

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

makes a nice pop

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Yeah, but you guys only get to blow things up electrically.

My two favorites so far were:

- Delayed ignition of a vented fireplace (soft of a natural gas fired pot belly stove).  We filled the firebox up with natural gas, then hit the igniter.  Blew a fireball about 10 feet out the top and front of the fireplace.  The loss we were trying to re-create was a personal injury where the glass front of the fireplace blew out when the user was trying to light the fire.

- Pouring water on a grease fire.  We built a room out of 2x4's and drywall outside, put a stove in it, put a pan on one of the burners, put vegetable oil in the pan, heated the oil, ignited the oil, then poured a cup of water (attached to a long stick) into the pan.  The fireball was absolutely insane.  It went to the ceiling, then rolled out of the front of the room.  Everything above about 5 feet high would have been singed.  

 

[knight1fox3]

@Road Guy, looks like the state of WI decided for me what type of gas logs to install. There are exceptions, but only for homes that were built prior to 1980 (ours was built in 2000). So vented is the only option at this point. Thanks for all the other helpful feedback. If I research a home improvement project enough, I get more comfortable doing the work myself.

(b) Unvented furnaces and space heaters. The use of unvented furnaces and space heaters fueled by natural gas, kerosene, alcohol or other fuel shall be prohibited due to concerns about oxygen depletion; contamination from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and other combustion related contaminants; and water vapor buildups.

 

[kevo_55]

Newer homes are too air tight......

 

[NJmike PE]

Pouring water on a grease fire.  We built a room out of 2x4's and drywall outside, put a stove in it, put a pan on one of the burners, put vegetable oil in the pan, heated the oil, ignited the oil, then poured a cup of water (attached to a long stick) into the pan.  The fireball was absolutely insane.  It went to the ceiling, then rolled out of the front of the room.  Everything above about 5 feet high would have been singed.  

Yeah I've seen this during many demonstrations. The grease on the walls is additional fuel to that fire. You can use water, but you have to inundate the seat of the fire with it in order to overcome the fire.