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Top vent or direct vent gas fireplace

18 years ago

We are rehabing a condo and would like to put in a gas fireplace for ambiance, not heat. I've been talked out of vent-free, but am wondering about the pros and cons of top vent (regular chimney) versus direct vent. Installation? Cost? Appearance? Flexibility? Safety? Additionally, I would like to hang a piece of art above the fireplace and do worry about too much heat. There are two floor above the living room and the fireplace will go on an inside wall.Help!

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Comments (2)

formulaross
18 years ago
IMO, go direct vent.

The top vent (regular chimney) is just that, a regular chimney pipe - a single pipe carrying combustion products out of the home. When using a regular chimney, the combustion air comes from somewhere else, usually leaky windows, doors, bathroom fans etc. To me that means you lose comfort (it's drafty) in those areas where you're pulling combustion air into the home. And the pipe gets hot so you have to respect the proper firecode installation rules.

On the other hand, direct vent chimneys are double-wall pipe. The center pipe carries the hot combustion products out of the home and the surrounding outer pipe brings in the outside air. That cuts down on the drafts at doors and windows, plus the outside of the vent pipe runs cooler, so it should be safer from a fire standpoint (you still install it per the firecode).

The safety of direct vent IMO would be higher. I don't think there would be any major difference between installation, cost, appearance of the fireplace, or flexibility between the two options.
metal
18 years ago
Safety wise any system you install should be UL listed and installed according to the installation instructions and local codes. If you go with direct vent you will need less pipe, since you can go out the side of your house and you will not need to build an enclosure/chase up the side of your house. If all things were equal according to price, I would go with direct vent, but get estimates for both just in case.
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