the mendota website doesn't mention ceramic glass. what do they use? what are its pros & cons? i want to get the fullview41. i was surprised to discover it has a blower. maybe that's because the glass doesn't radiate heat as well as ceramic glass would?? for the price of the FV41, seems it should use the best glass out there.

We are interested in putting in this system. The heat will be dumped into the duct system for the room so it is more evenly distributed. Currently, we heat our great room (30x3O with 9 ft ceiling) with a gas fireplace with a blower fan. We are in Seattle, so this is more than enough heat to meet the demand. However, there are cold spots, and we would prefert to have more evenly distributed heating in the room. The fireplace we have is almost 20 years old and has limped along with issues that we have managed to make do.... It needs to be replaced. Has anyone used such a system? Any other companies make a similar system? What is the additional cost to the fireplace?

Thanks paulbm...I'm getting conflicting answers and also asked this question at a different forum and got all sorts of answers mostly by people that had no idea what I was talking about...HAHAHA! Anyway, luckily my damper has nifty little notches in it that open it to different widths. All my old wood burning fireplaces just opened up or closed up, no notches. I was also thinking that if it was opened too much, there wouldn't be much heat, just didn't want CO to build up in the house though but I have a CO detector. Thanks again.

Greg here from Hansen Wholesale, where @tigerdunes purchased his ventless logs. I am also the one who has published all of the details at the Hansen Wholesale website regarding the pros and cons and differences between vented and ventless gas logs. Truth is, there are many considerations and we handle each case separately when dealing with our customers. In some cases, ventless makes sense, but in most cases vented gas logs are the best choice. The original thread here is 3 years old, but as I read the entire thread there is some confusion about welding the damper open when installing a direct vent gas log. I think Anapolitan may have confused "Vented" gas logs with a "Direct Vent Insert". There are no "Direct Vent Gas Logs". Direct vent refers to sealed metal box that you insert into the fireplace. There are two ducts that get run up the chimney with a special chimney cap installed at the top. One vent draws outside air down the chimney for combustion while the other is used for exhaust. It is an air tight sealed unit. Because there are 2 ducts, the damper would have to be propped open to feed the ducts up the chimney. Vented gas logs require that the damper is open when they are burning. Some municipalities may require you to weld the damper open when using a vented gas log. The reason vented logs need the damper open is because they burn more like real wood where they intentionally do not completely burn the gas. This creates a wafty yellow flame very much like real wood. It also produces Carbon Monoxide (lethal gas), Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapor and Soot. Hence the reason the damper needs to be open. With the damper open, most of the heat goes up the flue. Because ventless logs burn the gas completely, at least in an ideal situation, the byproducts are Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor, neither of which present a health issue when used in moderation. Since the damper is closed, 99.99% of the heat produced by burning the gas will come into the room, so ventless gas logs produce a LOT of heat, sometimes too much. The R. H. Peterson ventless gas logs are rated as both vented and ventless. Technically, if they are intended to be used as vented logs the damper must be propped open permanently, but most people ignore that. The best solution to the issue of leaving the damper open all the time is to add a glass door to the fireplace so you can close the doors when the fire is off. Anyways, I have much more detail on our website and in the heads of our gas log experts. Anyone reading this may want to talk to us directly because each case really does need to be handled on an individual basis. Profided by: Greg Tillotson Hansen Wholesale: Gas Logs and Fireplace Doors Feel free to email me directly. If you do, be sure to include some pictures of your fireplace along with the inside dimensions: gregt@hansenwholesale.com P.S. If this comes through all in bold, I tried turning the bold off, but it wouldn't listen.