Having never had a conversation about gas fireplace inserts before we went a learned about fireplaces at the Fireplace Centre on Carling. Apparently for a house our size, the main issue is BTUs. It is recommended that we go with a unit with less than 30,000.
First of all, the reason we need a gas insert is that our existing chimney needs to be fixed or needs to come down (nice and twisted). If we wanted to fix the existing fireplace, we would need to fix the chimney. The best approach is to take the chimney down and put in a gas insert with a direct vent to the outside. I have not done my research but no one prompts wood burning fireplaces anymore.
At the store we learned about three companies – all who sell very energy efficient units. Napoleon is a Canadian company. Valor is also Canadian and would be considered more of a high end brand. It is apparently a BC company and very “green.” The thing about Valor is that you can to turn them down 50% while the normally you can only turn the heat down to 75%. The third is a US company called Martin. All have about a 2 year guarantee and 4-6 year warranty options.
If you made this far in the blog posting then you are interested in gas inserts so I am going to keep writing. I am also doing this to record what I learned for later.
In terms of decisions, we have to pick a company and the accessories. As is the theme for everything, we really just want clean lines (i.e., no mesh screen or louvers). I never thought about the inside of one of things but you get to pick between a fake log, little glass stones (very modern) or rocks. You can also have a plain back or a brick pattern.
One suggestion is that we go with a gas insert that works when the power is out. This is achieved by not having an electric ignition for the pilot light (or a remote). The disadvantage of this is that it will cost $5 a month in gas charges for the standing pilot light. You can’t shut it off in the winter because then cold air will get in (hopefully I represented this right). The other thing affecting whether or not you go with an electric ignition is the fan. This is not an issue for us as the room is too small for a fan to be needed (too hot) and it would add $250 plus requires maintenance.
Finally, if you want a gas insert on sale you need to buy it at the end of the season in April or in August.
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2 comments:
I am posting this web address here so that I don't forget about it. It is all about buying a gas insert and what questions to ask:
http://www1.epinions.com/content_2416025732
I just finished adding fan to a gas fireplace purchased for my mother about ten years ago. Without the fan, the mantle got very hot and eventually discoloured. It was much more expensive to add a fan later than to have it included at the beginning. It cost over $1000 to add one - including extra wiring and installation of all the components in the fireplace. I'd say, for $250 extra, go with a fan.
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