Coal stove vs. gas stove insert

[gadgetgary]

A friend of mine is considering taking out her coal stove(too much of a hassle for her since her husband died...the model is a Gibraltar).
She is considering installing a gas burning VENTLESS stove in its place. My concern is the ventless aspect. I told her that since she already had the flue in place for the coal stove, she should just vent the gas fireplace, but, the company installing it talked her into going ventless.
What are your thoughts on ventless gas fireplaces?

BTW..She will be using bottled propane for her new gas insert.

 

[tomturbomatic]

John Lefever knows the particulars of this, but here is what I remember. In a very nice condo in the area, a customer of his or their neighbor had a ventless gas fireplace with a very nice painting hanging well above the mantel on the wall above it. I do not remember if it was the combustion by products of the pilot light or the actual infrequent use of the fireplace, but the stuff coming out of the burning gas ruined the oil painting. It was not the heat that caused the damage, they were told by the expert called in to see what had happened to the painting, but a chemical reaction between the paint and the fumes from the gas combustion.

I would say that if you have the ability to vent a gas appliance, especially one used as a primary heating source, vent it, especially if it uses LP gas. Remember though, it is not your house and you can only offer advice, not force her to take it. If you do not spend a lot of time there, it is not your death that will be hastened. If you visit and develop a headache or watering eyes, leave. On the other hand, if it is an older house, it is probably not as well sealed as a new one and it might not make much difference.

 

[polkanut]

I too feel that if a flue is already there, by all means use it. While I'm a proponent of gas appliances, I still respect the hazards that can present themselves with their usage. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

 

[mattl]

I looked into vent free gas logs and I found many people talking about the large amounts of moisture it dumps in the house. Now, this may be a plus or a minus depending on the situation. I also found that you need a fair amount of fresh combustion air, and that many manufactures recommended opening a window when using the unit - kind of defeats the purpose..

I think a little more research on her part may be in order.

 

[sudsmaster]

I wouldn't use a ventless heating appliance.

A kitchen gas range is one matter. It runs for just a fraciton of the time a heating appliance would run.

But a ventless heater is just asking for trouble. Besides the moisture there is that moldy gas combustion product aroma. And there is always the chance that it will malfunction and pump out lethal amounts of carbon monoxide while the family is sleeping.

 

[ronhic]

Vent...

..would be my suggestion...

If you are concerned about her going ventless, it may be useful to be able to provide some information to her about any fumes (including carbon monoxide) that may affect her health...

 

[westie2]

Ventless gas heater/logs

They do have a sensor on the new ones sold today but still leave the smell and also the yellowing of things. Growing up on a farm in SW Oklahoma there was always a story in winter about some family dying in there sleep do to the gas stove giving off the CO. We had a gas log system in our house as backup heat incase of losing the power during a winter storm but was vented.

When my dad passed and we moved my mother here to my town the house we bought had a ventless gas log fireplace with the sensors on it. This is for anytime we do lose power to be extra heat. I told mother to open a window about an inch when using. Normally if we lose power I or one of my kids will go get her and bring her to our house where we have a wood burning fireplace insert.

 

[norgeway]

We Used..

Ventless gas heaters for a while, they do have a slight odor, now we finally got a heat pump installed, much cleaner.