Wood burning Fire place conversion

[alldodge]

Have decided to seal off both fire places and make them vent free propane. Looking into two possible conversions so far;

Close the dampers and go to the rook and pour some gravel down, cover the flew and install gas logs

Close the damper, cover flew:

Install an insert, then add logs
get complete insert which says uses infrared

 

[poconojoe]

Watch out, those ventless fireplaces emit large quantities of moisture. Look it up on the web before you decide. My daughter had water dripping down her walls. We thought the roof was leaking. I forget the ratio, but it is surprisingly huge. Like a gallon of water every 3 hours from what I remember.

 

[alldodge]

Was it one of the vented ones which use the two pipes? One draws air in to the combustion chamber and the other exhaust. I have seen where they do put out the moisture. Appears they are 80% efficient these days from what I can find.

The new vent free appear to be 95+% efficient but does have some by products left behind.

After more reading I might want to go for the vented two pipes out the chimney.

 

[rbh]

If you live in an area that has power outages in the winter I would suggest you go with a good wood air tight insert with a built in blower.

 

[alldodge]

Currently have a wood burning insert in the basement, gas logs in the great room. The wood burner will last 8 hours but still makes a mess and is only about 50 to 60 % efficient. So when the wood is being burned, air comes in thru various cracks/leaks. House has some leaks so plan seal everything up tight and install geothermal heat/cooling

 

[bigdee]

Watch out, those ventless fireplaces emit large quantities of moisture. Look it up on the web before you decide. My daughter had water dripping down her walls. We thought the roof was leaking. I forget the ratio, but it is surprisingly huge. Like a gallon of water every 3 hours from what I remember.

So true but not an issue unless used for main source of heat. I heat with unvented propane and I only have issues with condensation at beginning of heating season when humidity is still high. Later on in winter cold air it is much drier and the humidity created by the heater is actually a benefit to me. Of course it all depends on how tight the house is and the size of the area. Early in the season I use my forced air heat to knock down humidity then as it gets colder I use the gas more.
I would caution you about putting gas logs in an insert.....all gas logs have a oxygen depletion sensor and if logs are placed in a confined space you may have issues with them shutting down.

 

[alldodge]

So it's the actual burning of propane inside without any venting which produces water on the walls? Guess I'll look into that further

 

[64osby]

We installed a blue burner in our fireplace years ago. The reason was for emergency heat if the power went out. Blocked off the flue with cement board.

Use an old wood burner in the basement and forced air propane for keeping the house warm.

 

[poconojoe]

So it's the actual burning of propane inside without any venting which produces water on the walls? Guess I'll look into that further

Exactly. It's a by-product of the propane. Something like .80 gallons of water is produced for every gallon of propane.

 

[thumpar]

The moisture would only be a problem in some areas. We normally run mid teens for humidity so have to run a humidifier or two in the winter. I have an Osburn high efficient insert wood stove and it dries the air out more than what it is already at.

 

[alldodge]

There is several write ups on the moisture and they pretty much say the same. As mentioned if it's not used as primary there shouldn't be as much of an issue. The plan is more for aesthetics then heat but gaining heat is a plus. Currently and in the future would use it when the HVAC would need help due to cold.

Leaning toward the vented type which uses two pipes but will check with manufacturers to see what they say

 

[poconojoe]

I have the vented type but it has a sealed (gasket) glass front and I've never had a moisture problem. The blower grabs the room air and passes it through a plenum so I guess it's like a heat exchanger as someone here has mentioned.

 

[dingbat]

^^ Same as above. We have a stink bug roast the first time we fire it up every fall (climb down the vents tubes) but other than that, no problem.

 

[alldodge]

Appreciate all the comments

 

[Scott Danforth]

I personally love the smell and crackle of a real wood fire.

 

[alldodge]

I personally love the smell and crackle of a real wood fire.

I do also, but sure hate to haul all that wood up the steps

 

[Scott Danforth]

Cutting and splitting wood is relaxing to me. I actually miss it. I used to get 3-5 oak pallets a day from work when I lived in Wisconsin. It kept my shop heated

 

[alldodge]

I would split more then that in one kneeling, have pile of wood and hydraulic splitter, kneel down and split away.

Now I'm here to help ya out in relaxing all ya want. Come on down and I'll let ya split until your so relaxed we may think we need to get ya an ambulance :noidea: I'm here to help

 

[jbcurt00]

I think NOT HAVING to split wood is 1 reason Scott's now nearly as far south of Wisconsin as he can get in the US....

 

[Scott Danforth]

I think NOT HAVING to split wood is 1 reason Scott's now nearly as far south of Wisconsin as he can get in the US....

no, it was the removal of 12" of snow in -30 temps with a 24" snowblower from a 350' long driveway the day after a blizzard, because Dad needed the plow truck. after 3 hours of that, I was officially done with winter