2 sided fireplace - gas vs. woodburning
gotlander
3 years ago
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Woodburning vs Gas Fireplace
Comments (33)As long as you have a gas line into the house, it won't be that expensive. The ducting for a gas insert is relatively simple. A wood burner, especially units rated as heaters, can be more expensive to install depending on the ducting and venting requirements. If all you want is the occasional fire, I would go with the gas unit. Much easier to operate and to keep clean. I have one with a hand held remote that has a tstat in it. I can put the remote anywhere in the room and the fireplace will adjust automatically to keep the room at the set temp. I love that feature. I have a wood burner too which we use to heat the house when we loose power. It is a chore to cut and split wood and to clean the fireplace, but I enjoy it. Both of our units are from Fireplace Xtrodinare - fine boxes. The gas insert install was simple. The wood burner was much more challenging. The wood burner unit and fires look the best and throws off the most heat, but is far more work to operate and control output temperture. Gas is great - push on or off and your done. The box looks great but the fires look OK (not as good as wood) , but keeping the room at a set temp is all done automatcially. Good luck with the build...See MoreReplace gas insert or convert to woodburning?!
Comments (3)Ditto! Wood! I agree there are many attractive stoves and inserts out there today. And they're EPA compliant so they're not "dirty". There are plenty of excellent manufacturers out there. Lopi, Regency, Jotul, Hearthstone, Avalon, etc. You can have the opening completely covered, or have an actual woodstove installed in the opening. That's what we did in our old home over 20 years ago. So when we built our current home here in VT, the FIRST thing we got was a woodstove! The fire viewing is excellent, and if you get the right size stove, it'll keep you warm without overheating you. Even though our home is new, (7 years old now) I don't regret making the woodstove the primary heat source. I have an oil furnace, but I use less than one tank of oil a year. And compare the price of gas today with the price of firewood. Wood wins every time! Go to your local stove shop. As a matter of fact, visit at least three. Get opinions of different stoves and inserts by various manufacturers. You won't regret it....See Morepellet vs. wood vs. gas fireplace insert
Comments (22)I purchased a used Quadrafire Castile pellet stove for the basement. I have a high efficiency heat pump and strips but wanted something for back up that would run off of a small generator if we have an extended power outage. I purchased 2 tons of pellets last winter and when the temps were below 30 or if we were in the basement we ran it on low which is around 1lb or 7500btu/hr. I would turn it to medium when was below 20 and ran it on high when it was in the teens or below and the heat pump was locked out which is 8lbs per hour. The warm floor made the house feel more comfortable which allowed the stat to be a little coolder. It is not hastle free by NO means. It requires regular cleaning and maintenance and the pellets can be a pain for some to deal with. I enjoy going down stairs and sitting in front of it after being outside and freezing all day. I grew up with heat from a wood furnace once you get used to that warmth a heat pump or even heat strips doesn't compare when it is in the teens outside. If the cleaning and maintenance is not kept up then the efficiency will head toward the toilet. There are some models that can go a week or more with no problem and others that need the ashes dumped daily. It isn't horrible by any means but it is not just a pour in the fuel and forget it device. The ability to have a heat source that will operate on stored fuel and less electrical power than a 200 watt light bulb it is pretty hard to beat....See MoreModern Fireplace Deisgn (3-sided, gas) - Pls Critique
Comments (1)Hi Germain - I commented on one of your other posts about this project and this is exactly my point - Spark doesn't offer any professional dealer support for projects. You need a fireplace expert to help with this project. I'm going to answer these questions in a very general fashion, because I would have to know a lot more about your application to be able to answer specifically. If you would like to have a more specific discussion, you can email me at tom@coastroadonline.com 1. The structure must be designed to be self-supporting. This is not a DIY project, unless you are a structural engineer. 2. The cement board and plaster should be non-combustible and suitable for this application. Do not use the lightweight cement board that has tiny Styrofoam balls in it. 3. The installation manual for the burner assembly will specify whether the burner can be recessed and, if it can, how you can accomplish it. 4. You may not have noticed, but the Spark LBS (linear burner system) can only be installed in a functioning wood-burning fireplace. You will not be able to make an aggressive offset as shown in your sketch (nothing more than 30 degrees from vertical for Class "A" chimney), and you very well may need to use a mechanical draft system, since the fireplace opening area is so large in comparison with the flue size. The best way for you to make this work is to let someone else do some of the engineering for you. Mason-Lite has built some similar custom fireplaces and will be able to help out....See Moregotlander
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