Posted: 8/30/2011 10:11:31 AM EDT
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I've come to the conclusion that my fireplace is mostly cosmetic, and I want to get a gas fireplace insert to burn propane (same fuel source as my generator). I'm sure I'll use it a few times throughout the winter, but the main reason I want it is for back-up when the power goes out in my all-electric house. I'd honestly rather have a stove, but the house already has a fireplace so I figure an insert is the next best thing. It's sure to kick ass compared to my fireplace. What are some good resources to get information on these? I've seen countless websites from stores that sell them, but they don't give a lot of info besides basic manufacturer's specs. I'll be stopping by the local store soon, but I'd like to know a little more before I go. Funny side note, I was trying to research them last night, doing a little reading and looking at them on youtube, etc., and the a/c kicked on. For a split second, I thought "where is that draft coming from, I need to turn up the heat!" Then I remembered it was 100deg outside, 77 in the house, and it was just the a/c keeping me comfortable!  |
| Put one in my house, as I am all electric and the thought of loosing power in the winter and loosing heat worried me, as we had a winter storm in N Ala in 1993 and saw many people without power for a week. It now has become my primary source of heat as my Heat pump sucks, it runs all the time and the air coming out the vents is tepid at best. Best $600 I have ever spent on my house. Get the insert, you will like it. |
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We had an empty ventless/decorative fireplace in our home doing nothing but collecting dust. I installed one thinking it would be useful as a backup heat source if we ever lost power during a winter storm. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how well it works. I've kept track of how much we spend on propane and compare it to previous electric bills and it has more or less paid for itself in the two years we have used it. It keeps the house compfortable and keeps the heat pump from running all the time on those really cold days when the heat pump is inefficient to use.
I bought the cheap $179.00 32,000 BTU model from Lowe's. I installed it myself and plumb it to a 100lbs propane cylinder. I keep a spare 100lbs cylinder filled all the time just in case. My pets and kids love the thing. I do not run a blower on mine, but we kick the ceiling fan on low to push the heated air back down into the room. The only down side to it is if you run it on high all the time it will start to build up an odor after about 4-6 hours. CO monitor in the room has never gone off even running it 24/7. |
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We have a Vermont Castings gas fireplace insert and like it a lot. We got it because we were without power for about 3 days due to an ice storm and the temps in the house got down in the low-40's. At the time ,we had gas logs but no insert and the gas logs didn't do squat to keep us warm. I think we will do much better next time we have a winter power outage.
Our insert is supposed to be about 70% efficient. Of course, that is low compared to our gas furnace (90+%), but much better than an open fireplace. |
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