Submitted by Elegant_Amphibian t3_10ktqf3 in DIY
I’m thanking of converting my traditional fireplace in my house to burn gas. There is a gas line hook up there, but it hasn’t been used in over 30 years. Can I just add a manifold and use that? If so, can I still burn wood or would it have to be gas exclusive? TIA
Either gas or wood, not both And yes, you can.
Just in case you meant using gas as heating source, that is not going to happen. Burning gas is used to heat water in boilers not heating up rooms directly, it's not effective.
To add to this:
Modern gas fireplaces are typically ventless and directly dump heat into your home. That will result in you heating your living room and sweating some people out but it’s not really a heat source to heat your home (like the above comment stated).
Your traditional fireplace should have a vent leading out of the home through either a chimney or metal pipe. Turning this into a gas burning fireplace would work but all of your heat is going to vent straight out of your home. (Again, just reiterating that it would be an even less effective heat source than a ventless, gas fireplace already is.)
To add to this: modern gas fireplaces are usually not ventless. This both sucks oxygen out of the room and expels CO. This is why ventless fireplaces and stoves require you to have an open window when it’s on. Modern gas fireplaces are usually DV (direct vent) which means they take in air from outside and vent gasses back outside. They will still heat your room, just not too efficiently.
You’re not “adding to” but directly contradicting my statement. That is completely fine and I’m not stranger to criticism but you should probably do some more reading on the subject:
(1) Modern gas fireplaces in the US are more likely to be ventless than vented.
(2) ventless fireplaces do not require an open window when in use. That’s absurd. Imagine opening your living room window because it’s 15 degrees out and you want to warm the living room while you watch a movie on the couch with your family or because you want an ambience on Christmas Day.
It’s all based off of efficiency which results in cleaner burning and less fumes.
You’re right it is absurd to open your window when you’re trying to heat your room. That’s why ventless fireplaces are silly. No contractor worth their salt should be installing them. They’re banned in California for good reason. It’s functionally identical to trying to heat your home with your stove.
Ventless fireplaces are dumb. I installed a direct vent gas fireplace about 15 years ago to replaced a ventless model. It provides a ton of heat with no need to open windows or funky smells like the old one had. When we've had power outages it is capable of keeping our entire first floor warm.
I have a brand new house in Maine with a gas fireplace. You can definitely heat the house with it. You don’t need to open the windows for it and there’s no smells from it.
But gas is expensive and I have a giant solar array and Minisplits, so I mostly just use those to heat the house since there’s no fuel costs with them.
Of course there's no smell. CO is odourless. And deadly.
but real fireplaces are so nice! there is nothing comparable to a real fire.
Look for a professional
I used to install gas inserts and I can honestly say don’t do it they are trash would not recommend it
Parents have a gas fireplace, and my dad always just used the gas to start the fire. Boy Scouts taught me there is a better way!
They also make gas "wood" stoves that may accomplish what you're looking for.
How dare you!
While there are plenty of vented or ventless fireplaces on the market, I'd imagine different types are prevalent in different markets.
Mine is vented, and I'm looking to replace it, as I can feel cold air coming in through the vent. My house is clearly losing a lot of energy just from having a fireplace.From my brief reading on the topic, vented fireplaces are typically around 70% efficient, while ventless ones are generally in the neighborhood of 95%+ efficient. So that's a consideration.
However, given the recent research on how NOx and carcinogens can build up in the home from gas stoves (even when turned off), I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of putting a ventless gas appliance in the home.
I would say if your priority is energy efficiency, you should probably just seal off the fireplace and maybe put in an electrical insert if you want some type of ambiance. If you want a gas fire because you like having a real fire, I'd put in a vented gas insert. But realize it would be the least energy efficient way to heat your home.
You can, but that makes no sense.. Why? Efficiency, money, time, amount of work. And in fact, if you ask 'Can I', it make much less sense in any attempts. No offense, but getting professional to suit your fireplace to work on gas or cooperate gas and wood (ashes in nozzles.. Yuck) will be !such more expensive than gettinfg professional installation with gas fireplace cost.
And in case of anything.. I know it's DIY subreddit, but some things are just too dangerous to mess around with them without enough knowledge..
Well yes, but it's probably better just to change the fuel source.
yes, you can. but.... Look at your local building code and check with your home insurance provider. Fires inside your house are nothing to eff around with willy-nilly. I'd first check that you have enough room in your chimney/flue to fit the proper size vent. I'd avoid ventless gas just like I'd avoid an open fireplace, you don't want to be creating a lot of air pollution to be trapped inside with.
j____b____ t1_j5ss3gx wrote
Sometimes it’s better not to DIY.