Direct Vent Fireplace: Great Looking/Low Heat Needs

16 years ago

It's chilly here today in central Florida and a great day to consider the fireplace plan. Have already decided on a direct vent but not much else. The great room is 34 x 18 with 10' ceilings. I want built in bookcases to flank the fireplace on a 13' wide wall, no raised hearth.

Could someone give advice on the proper proportions for the fireplace plus surround? I was hoping to have each bookcase at least 3' wide and this would leave approx. 7' for the firebox, mantel, etc. How wide and tall should the firebox be for a 13'wide by 10' high wall?

Also, about 30 days a year it gets chilly enough here to be miserable and damp without being cold enough to justify heating the entire house and I don't like forced air heating anyway. If we had a direct vent fireplace capable of heating the great room I doubt we would ever have the heat pump running at all in daytime and only at night very rarely.

Any suggestions for a good looking (realistic flame) direct vent product that doesn't need to be a blast furnace?

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Comments (4)

fandlil
16 years ago
We recently installed a Jotul direct vent gas insert into our 20 year old prefab fireplace. It throws off a lot of heat into our 25 by 15 living room here in North Carolina, and we use it early in the morning and in the evening. We're very pleased with the performance of the system although we have a cosmetic problem with its installation that the installer has yet to fix. Jotul also makes a direct vent gas fireplace that we considered, but we decided against it because we would have had to tear out our existing fireplace, and that seemed like overkill. I would go to the Jotul website and check out the gas fireplace. But I would also hunt on Google for other brands of direct vent gas fireplaces.

I think your questions about the right size that you need for that wall where the fireplace will be built are best answered in terms of the appearance, not the performance. Of course, you may need a certain minimum size to get the amount of heat that you want, but once you go over that minimum size, you have plenty of wiggle room to select what will look right. There are plenty of websites accessible from the google search engine. Unfortunately, Consumer Reports does not rate these things by brand like they do refrigerators. So once you have narrowed down your choices to a couple of brands, post another message on this forum and see what people think. Happy hunting.
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flseadog
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you haus proud. Yesterday I visited a local dealer who sells both the Fireplace Xtrordinaire and the Lennox brands. He felt the Xtrordinaire as way too much for this part of Florida and how we intend to use it.

From the brochures it seems the Lennox Elite Series ELDV-35 or ELDV-40 would suit us. Could anyone comment on looks and performance of these fireplaces? My only further concern is having young children around the hot glass front. I was thinking of using a traditional wooodburning fireplace screen to stand on the hearth in front of the glass to get some separation between the kids and heat. Would this work or could you suggest something else? Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
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We had a Jotul DV gas insert installed into our prefab fireplace a few months ago. Some impressions that might be useful to you: They start heating gradually and after a little while start to feel like a blast furnace. But it's radiant heat, so that the farther you are from the source the less heat you feel. Therefore, a means of circulating the air in the room is a good idea. We have an old fashioned Hunter ceiling fan that we've owned for over 20 years, and it's still going strong. The nice thing about this fan is that you can "twist" the position of the paddles so that instead of blowing air down, which you want in warm weather, it blows air up. That produces a gentle circulation of air throughout the room and evens out the temperature. The other thing you should definitely consider is to get a remote control thermostat. I think the remotes are better than the ones you install in the wall, because you never know in advance the best position for the remote that will give you the best result. Finally, because of a disappointing experience we have had with the installation of our insert (we're still waiting for a final piece that, fortunately, only affects appearance, not operation or safety), I think it's very, very important to select an installer who can independently demonstrate that he knows everything he needs to know about the fireplace you select. If a GC has expressed doubts about a particular fireplace that you like, it's probably because he doesn't know it and is not sure he can do it. Our insert was a really complicated installation that took over a day. A whole fireplace is likely to be even more demanding. Good luck with your selection.
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I do not understand why you figure the unit(s) you are considering will heat the whole downstairs and part of the upstairs. I think the only way that could happen is if the downstairs is all open with no closed off rooms -- say, a living room, kitchen, dining area that are all part of the same open space. Your fire will heat that whole space if it is located centrally, but most of the heat will be near the fireplace and it will be less warm the farther you stand from the fire. If the unit(s) you are considering are equipped with a circulating fan, that will help some to distribute the heat. But some of the fans can be pretty noisy especially at the high speed setting -- low speed is usually okay. If that's a concern, you should try to check out the noise factor in the systems your considering. I think the only way the fireplace will also heat the upstairs is if (1) it is located near the stairwell leading to the upstairs -- then the heat will rise to the upstairs, but is not likely to penetrate much into the bedrooms; or (2) your chimney is equipped with a ducting system that pumps heated air from the fireplace to the upstairs. That would be great if yours is designed that way. In that case you can figure on getting some serious heat upstairs, especially if those heat ducts are strategically located where you want heat. My one concern is that if you are calculating the required BTU based on the total area you want to heat, make sure that your room arrangements, ductwork, etc. will pump the heat throughout. Otherwise you risk producing too much heat near the fireplace and cannot get it distributed. Our experience with our DV gas insert (Jotul) is that it can get pretty hot, and will warm our living room nicely, and the remote thermostat will shut it off when it reaches the desired setting, but the other rooms are only marginally heated. So it really depends on how your rooms are arranged and whether you have an open floor plan or not, and whether you have a means of circulating the heated air where you want it.
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fandlil
16 years ago
You could use a screen if you wish. Our son has one in his.

Some of the inserts come with a screen as an option at small extra cost. We didn't get one. When our grandkids come over, they're 10 & 8, we warn them never to touch the glass on the firebox. So far,they've stayed away. These systems tend to get so hot, that even being within a foot or so can feel uncomfortable. So I do not think they'd be tempted to touch the thing, but they might accidentally bunk against it in rough play. Just tell them not to get too close.
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thesullys7
16 years ago
we are in the process of installing an Excalibur Direct Vent...I spent quite a bit of time looking for the prettiest yet warmest one and am very excited about this one. Can't take pictures yet but check this website for more info...

Here is a link that might be useful: Excalibur Web Site
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Direct Vent Fireplace: Great Looking/Low Heat Needs

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Direct Vent Fireplace: Great Looking/Low Heat Needs

Comments (4)

fandlil

flseadogOriginal Author

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flseadog
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