We have had a vented gas fireplace, unvented gas heater, and a vented gas Franklin stove. The Franlkin stove gave off the most heat. The heat radiates from all 4 sides of the stove and stays warm for over 15" after the gas is off. The heater was hot at the time, but the heat just rolled forward and not at all like the Franklin-style. The fireplace gives off little real heat quickly, but after several hours the room heats up a little. This is just from our experiences. We are adding a sunroom and hope to go with the vented Franklin if we can afford it.

Yeah, a wall thermostat can cycle it on/off just like your furnace. Also, wireless remotes are available too. I think the style of some stove lends itself very well to the rustic look. Some stonework behind it would look great. You may want to visit a fireplace shop to see many stoves or fireplaces in operation. That helped me make my decision. Also, when choosing a spot for your stove or fp, keep in mind the exhaust vent can't be near any windows, doors or intake vents. There are specific code requirements. The fp shop can give you more details on that too. enjoy! -jasper

The crackler has two input leads that attach to the two "TH" terminals on the valve so that it works in parallel with the fireplace when your turn the flame on with your wall switch. You can place it behind the fireplace bottom louver. The pine cone works as an insulator to protect it from the heat, but it doesn't really get that hot down there typically. There are a lot of battery operated remote controls that go down there, too, and they are no less susceptible to heat issues. If you have a really high efficiency gas fireplace, you might need a heat shield, but that would still work. The crackler still requires 3 AA batteries, but it would work from your wall switch. FYI, the power that actually turns your fireplace on is generated by the thermopile at the pilot. It's not a cheap speaker that makes it sound like static. It's a random sound generator, not a pre-recorded fire. I agree that is possible to do it, but there apparently isn't a big enough market to make it commercially viable, since I've seen a number of ideas come and go. Your bluetooth idea is probably the best one. The trick would be hooking it up so it would sync with the fireplace. As long as your fireplace fan is plugged into a straight 120V outlet and there no speed control up in the wall, you could plug the power adaptor into the outlet underneath and it would work without have to recharge it or relying on battery power. The coolest place under that fireplace is right behind the louver at the far right or left. For 25 bucks, it might be worth a little more experimentation.

Your vision for a two sided fireplace is a grand idea but will involve a lot of construction work to remove the center brick and then support the added weight of two chimneys at the center of the fireplaces. Having two direct vent type fireboxes and not changing the structure of the house will be the most cost effective way to move forward. The nice thing about having two units, will be the two fires will be closer to the front of each fireplace front, versus having one fire in the center of the 36” deep fireplace. You need to find a local fireplace speciality shop that can guide you with a safe, cost effective solution that will give you the look you desire. Each speciality shop will have a different choice of vendors offering some great solutions. If you're in the Chicagoland area, we'd be happy to recommend some vendors.