Do you have a fireplace?

[squirrel dog]

How does the gas usage compare to before you converted? Does your furnace run less? Was is expensive to install and did you do it yourself?

gas usage is more,but not by much($20) I had the pipe already in place inside my wood burning fireplace,so I went to a gas log shop here local,picked out a nice looking pile of ceramic logs,went home and connected the stainless line from the gas logs to the pipe I had in place.Took about 30 min.The logs cost I'm thinking about @250~300 ish(ten years ago).Use it all the time when it gets really cold,fireplace was built with a fan,so it puts out the heat,I never leave it on when we go to sleep.Also have several co monitors around the house,as my furnace and hot water heater are nat gas also.I went from wood to gas for the convenience and I tired of the wood smoked smell that would permeate the house.Yes the furnance runs less,but not by much,maybe 2~3 degrees.

 

[crownjules]

Not in my apartment. My parent's have one, but it hasn't been used in years. Used to be lit on Christmas and really wintery days when I was growing up.

 

[Squisher]

gas

 

[1sikbITCH]

We have a fireplace and we use it frequently; usually for football games if we are having company for the game, and then when February gets here and it's 20 degrees out. If it's just chilly we'll just use a pre-made fire log for the ambiance and a little warmth but when February gets here we will make a few "real" fires.

This year my GSD is really old and skinny and has severe hip problems, so I bought a whole case of those fire logs and will put one on every evening while in the basement working on my hobby. The dog lays in front of the fireplace and it keeps his hips from stiffening up.

 

[Dulanic]

Enclosed gas fireplace, use it all the time.

 

[Zedtom]

Thanks squirrel dog for the information.

I have my flat panel tv sitting in front of the fireplace on the hearth so I look at my "electronic fire" when I watch tv. The expense of running a gas line to that area is a deal killer for me.

 

[allisolm]

I live in FL, have a wood-burning fireplace, and use it as often as the temperature allows. I don't care if it steals heat from the rest of the house, husband and I like the cozy warmth of a real fire. We have no gas lines available where we live, so it's pretty much the only option (not going to bury a propane tank just for a fireplace.) We always seem to have wood available to burn.

 

[Jeff7]

i think mythbusters tested it, normal fireplaces are cosmetic, fire for the lulz..special occasions, cuz it sucks air through all the rest of the house and makes it colder in the other rooms.

And really, it's simply an antiquated way of producing heat. It was built that way because that's the only way that people knew how to do at the time.
- Yes, there's the problem of pulling cold air in to replace what goes out through the draft up the flue.
- It doesn't distribute the warm air throughout the residence.
- All that heated air goes outside in a big hurry. Maybe it heats the flue a little bit, but that's it.

Thanks to studies of things like thermodynamics and heat transfer, something like a wood pellet furnace will try to extract heat from the exhaust before sending it outside. It also pulls outside air in through a dedicated duct and uses that for combustion. Much more efficient.

 

[HeXen]

i got a fake electric one. the fire effect looks pretty good and brings in that ambience/romantic look while the electric heater built in suppliments my gas furnace, at least in the bedroom.

i wouldnt want a real fireplace.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

My fireplace is very efficient. All the wood I have is free. Cut a oak tree down in the front yard. Free. Have found a few different people that have just wanted trees removed so I cut all I wanted then loaded it up. Again free. Have enough wood now for this year and probably next year neatly stacked in my homemade firewood racks I built with 2X4's and some nails.

Cost to heat home has been pretty much nonexistent. House stays warm and I have a nice relaxing fire going in my house anytime it gets below 50f.
/shrug

 

[Anubis]

2, both are gas
1 is a open gas fireplace
the other looks like a cast iron wood stove

 

[FoBoT]

propane
we used to use it once in a while for the fun of it
now, it is just for emergency use, if the electricity gets knocked out by an ice storm, it would keep us from freezing to death

 

[Imp]

Yep, but it's been sealed since parents got the house about 30 years ago - probably longer before then.

No plans to use it. It's pretty, but why risk the fire/CO poisoning when my 40" TV has a stupid HD channel for that. I can bask in its 150W glow...

 

[Fingolfin269]

Wood burning fireplaces are great.

 

[vi edit]

Intentionally deleted it from my new home when building. I've had them in prior houses and never used them. It's another thing that needs a gas line and pilot running and they take up floor and wall space. Plus they are a heat loss with air cold air drafting down and warm air drafting out.

If I had a craftsman or lodge style home I would put in a full wall height stone fireplace and hearth as they fit the style of the home.

 

[D1gger]

We have two gas fireplaces. One is not very functional (it doesn't seem to put out much heat), but one of them is very good and nicely heats the room and much of the house when the power is out (like yesterday).

 

[Insomniator]

We have a wood burning stove... 300 bucks a winter for wood + you get a nice fire to sit near vs ~$1000 for oil + baseboards making creepy noises all day... easy choice.

 

[waggy]

And really, it's simply an antiquated way of producing heat. It was built that way because that's the only way that people knew how to do at the time.
- Yes, there's the problem of pulling cold air in to replace what goes out through the draft up the flue.
- It doesn't distribute the warm air throughout the residence.
- All that heated air goes outside in a big hurry. Maybe it heats the flue a little bit, but that's it.

Thanks to studies of things like thermodynamics and heat transfer, something like a wood pellet furnace will try to extract heat from the exhaust before sending it outside. It also pulls outside air in through a dedicated duct and uses that for combustion. Much more efficient.

yeap.

my wood burning stove pulls in air from outside. Also with those the idea is to get it hot. since its cast iron it holds the heat for a long time.

it warms the house really well.

 

[Jadow]

I've got a pretty awesome Kozy Heat natural gas fireplace, love it.

 

[NuclearNed]

we have a wood fireplace that we use maybe once a week, just for fun. A couple of years ago the power went out for several days one winter; it was really nice having it then. But yeah, it sucks all the heat out of the house.

 

[Wyndru]

Growing up our house had a Better 'n Bens woodstove. I loved that thing, we used to get it really warm in the house. My grandparents house had a fireplace but they didn't have an air circulator, so it wasn't very warm, was more for show than heating.

Now I just have one of those gas heaters that I never use since the manual says to only use when a window is cracked which defeats the purpose. It's supposed to burn clean, but I don't want to take my chances.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I don't have one.
When I was a kid, my grandparents had a woodstove in their "summer house", but they took it out when they moved up there fulltime to have a bigger living room...

I really really loved that wood burning stove. It was awesome. Some day, I would like to have a wood stove, but that'll only happen if at some point I buy or build a new house...

 

[JulesMaximus]

We have one but it is gas. When we bought the house it was wood burning only but I converted it. It is expensive if used frequently so I generally don't use it much.

Wood fires are messy and I hate the smell of smoke in the air.

 

[AstroManLuca]

There's one in the house I'm currently living in (renting). Never used it, and the landlords said they'd want to take a look at it before we start using it. But we've never really felt the need to do so. Honestly it's just taking up valuable space in the small living room.

 

[Rastus]

I have one and I poke the fire until the hair on my arms gets singed.