THE WIKI COMMUNITY

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Gas Fireplace Inserts Advantages And Disadvantages

By Bill A. Alamazan

There are many kinds of gas fireplace inserts and choosing which one will work best for your home can be a little confusing. This is true especially if you do not know that much about them. In this article we will teach you about some of the many options you can pick from and how they work. First you should know just what an insert is.

Inserts are defines as any type gas, electric etc, which can be inserted within an existing wooden stove or fireplace structure. All gas inserts which are not labeled as vent-less have to have professionals install a liner for your chimney made of reinforced stainless steel. This is to keep you and your family safe from fire and also helps with the ventilation by keeping it cleaner.

Inserts that are labeled having efficiency ratings of 99 percent to 75 percent are consider as being highly efficient. Some problems with these types are that due to them keeping the heat within the rooms so well they tend to build water condensation up around the systems of ventilation. This can cause problems to arise and possible malfunction of the inserts there selves.

Another drawback is that as the heat stays within the room so can the poisonous carbon monoxide vapors as well. A safer bet if your home had never had a fireplace within it is to install or buy a faux fireplace. Gel fireplaces are one of the most popular of these types.

They have no need for any hooking up to gas lines and no installation by a professional is needed. These do not use wood to burn in them they use cans of pure grain alcohol which emits the same flame effects as real wood and also heat the entire room. Every canister can last a maximum of three hours burn time.

The propane inserts should only be installed by a gas installation professional. These come in the options of being vent-less or can be place where an existing chimney stands as long as it is in working order. These propane inserts heat your rooms very quickly and newer models have remotes were you can make the flames larger and brighter or smaller and dim. These remotes also adjust the heat settings from high to low.

You can also use gas log inserts which look like the real things but are actually a type of ceramic. These come with a gas burner covered over with the firewood of ceramic or other fireproof materials. You can choose vent-less or vented options on these as well. You can use these in any old still standing fireplaces to give off the same flickering and welcoming effects as any real fire wood when lit in there.

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