Alright... Got that project itch again.

We elected not to go with a fireplace when we built. Why? Primarily to save some bucks and explore something down the road that would better suit our tastes, etc.

Given the house it already built and the location I was thinking of putting it, I think ventless is the best bet. But I don't know much about them. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

I just looked at the same.. Two choices Gas or Electric. Everything they sell at Lowes or Home Depot will just vary in size and whether it's gas or electric from what I gather.


Not much to them from what I saw.

Being in a townhouse I'm planning on doing the same and building the frame myself. I was surprised at how cheap the fireplaces were.

 

What about pellet fireplaces???

 

Too much money for me.. I didn't look into those at all..

 

My parents put one in their living room. Shove it up against the wall, connect a gas line, turn it on.

 

Problem I've read about ventless is their heat output isn't all that great since; you don't vent.

Yea, pellet stoves are $$$ but are super efficient from what I've heard. And given the cost of natural gas... Dunno.

 

I have a wood fireplace and honestly I have never used it. I guess when the electric bills get too high then I'll consider it.

 

Heard the same thing.. Even the guy at Lowes walked me over to a $60 portable heater and said "you'll get the same amount of heat off this."

 

Ventless fireplaces are more for looks than heating. Also if you haven't already try to find someone who has a gas fireplace and be in the room when its on. Many people have problems with the gas, such as headaches and burning eyes.

I have a wood burning fireplace and I can't wait to fire it up for the first time. Hopefully I will get to this weekend

 

You need some way of moving the hot air throughout the room. Something like this.

http://qtfpsfan.com/

 

Interesting info.

 

I use my wood-burning fireplace all the time. I'm already a 1/4 way through my first face cord of the winter, plus I burned all the scraps from my basement wood shop.

 

I have a ventless, it gets hot fast. Then again I only have a 1300 sq ft condo.

 

Still leaning towards a pellet stove. Specifically from Harman.

http://www.harmanstoves.com/list.asp...ellet%20Stoves

 

Fugly

 

What did you expect?

 

Ventless fireplaces are much more efficient than vented. They are warmer because the heat goes into the room and not up the chimney.

 

My brother had a pellet stove installed in his wood burning fireplace opening. It really puts out the heat and is very efficient. I beleive he told me a bag of wood pellets cost $7 and lasts him a week depending on how often he uses it. He doesn't have to run his gas furnace when he uses it. What I don't like about it is it looks very country craft and it has a power cord that comes out of the front of it to run the hopper so it doesn't have that finished look to it. His ran $3500 installed so it wasn't cheap.

 

We had a wood burning fireplace that we converted to ventless gas for a few reasons.
1. Ventless gas is much more efficient than either wood or vented, the heat goes into the room and not up the chimney.
2. No matter how careful you are wood burning fireplaces are just plain messy. Wood crap always dropping on the floor when toting the logs in. Then after a few fires cleaning out the ashes and charred wood..... and don't forget to have the chimney cleaned or you can expect a chimney fire.
3. When the power goes out(ice storms) the blowers in our furnaces doesn't work and so no heat. At least with the ventless gas we can pretty much heat the downstairs.
4. Our ventless puts out up to 45,000 btu's so it heats a large area. At full tilt it will drive me out of our 15x22 living room.

 

Bought a Harman Pellet Stove (P68). Will be installed next week.

 

Sweet! How much did it run you?

 

$2700 just for the stove and that's with $600 back from the manufacturer.

However, Obama's plan calls for a 30% CREDIT on these things for 2009 and 2010. The IRS needs to figure out the guidelines, but if what goes through that is on the table, I'm golden. So that's $1000 in my pocket.

 

What type of credit does it qualify for?

 

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index...wthread/35861/

As you are undoubtedly aware, the 2009 Economic Stimulus legislation was signed into law on Feb. 17th, which includes a 30% tax credit (up to $1,500) for homeowners who purchase a 75%-efficient biomass-burning stove in 2009 and 2010. Below/attached are FAQs that help answer basic questions concerning the legislation.

While the new tax credit takes affect immediately (and also applies to qualifying stoves already purchased in 2009), the Internal Revenue Service has not issued the exact testing guidelines to determine which appliances meet the efficiency requirements to qualify for the credit.

However, if the IRS accepts the HPBA’s and EPA’s recommendations, Harman has determined that all of the products listed below will qualify, regardless of the test criteria. These models include:
Accentra XXV Advance P38 P43 P61 P61A P68 ACC Insert
Oakwood TL300 WIN HydroFlex60 PF100 PC45 PB105

Frequently Asked Questions about the Tax Credit
Q: What is a federal consumer tax credit?
A: Consumers claim the credit on their federal income tax form at the end of the year. The credit then increases the tax refund or decreases the amount the taxpayer has to pay.
Note: With regard to tax credits vs. tax deductions, in general, a tax credit is more valuable than a similar tax deduction. A tax credit reduces the tax you pay, dollar-for-dollar. Tax deductions - such as those for home mortgages and charitable giving - lower your taxable income.

Q: When does this tax credit go into effect and how long will it last?
A: The tax credit goes into effect January 1, 2009 and is valid for the purchase of a qualifying biomass-burning stove in 2009 and 2010. The sales receipt must indicate that the purchase was made between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010.

Q: Who is determining the tax credit guidelines for the qualifying units?
A: The Department of the Treasury, and specifically, the IRS.

Q: How will a consumer know if a product qualifies for the credit?
A: We will certify each product that meets or exceeds the IRS efficiency requirements. At the time of purchase, the consumer will be able to download a “certification statement” from our website that certifies that the product qualifies for the tax credit. Consumers should keep the certification statement for their records, but are not required to submit a copy of the certification statement when submitting their tax return to the IRS.

Q: What should a consumer who already purchased a stove do while waiting for qualifying information?
A: He or she should save all receipts along with the stove manufacturer’s name and model information.

Q: How does the language in this legislation differ from what was passed in October 2008?
A: The new legislation 1) increases the tax credit from $300 to 30% of the total cost of a biomass-burning stove, 2) extends the credit to purchases in 2010, and 3) measures the stove’s efficiency based on the lower heating value.

 

So the pellet stove got installed this weekend.

Quite impressed with the unit. It gives off a tremendous amount of heat. So much taht it will heat our house throughout, including the second floor. We put up a hearth gate to keep the little guy away.

yes it is a stove, so it's a bit of a departure from the tradition recessed fireplaces out there, but my wife who is the most conservative person I know seems to like the looks of it.

 

Pics, of course!!

 

my parents have a ventless, i cant feel crap from it. even though we have a blower installed to it, still doesn't really heat anything up. but then again the living room is pretty big....

 

68,000 BTUs FTMFW!!!




Feeding the pellets in...




FIRE!!!!!!!!




Pellet hopper




Actual pellets

 

Wow that looks much better than I expected. I like the tax savings info too.

What's involved with the installation? Can it be self install? Can it be installed on a wood floor? How much do pellets cost and can they be picked up at Home Depot/Lowes?

I may like to do something like this in my dining room because the lower level of my house is a bit cool because of some HVAC mods that were required after the house was treated for termites.

So you are burning stuff, where does the smoke go?

 

Installation is pretty straight forward and can be done yourself. However, it cost me $200 for them to do it, so I figured it was a small price to pay. The vent pipe is incredibly expensive (it was $600 for pipe) because the inside is stainless steel (which has gone through the roof). And the pipe has to be sealed with high-temp silicone and screwed together.

You can not install it on a wood floor. It must be installed on a fire-proof material. I put down 1/2" of cement board and then tiled the area. You can buy a hearth pad that can lay down on any surface to meet code.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Woodst...er/Hearth-Pads

A ton of pellets (40lb bags each) can be had around here for about $239. Home Depot and Lowes do sell bags, but you have to be careful. You need to buy good quality pellets or you can run into issues from efficiency, to the pellets clogging the auger, etc. Hardwood pellets only, that are premium quality. Premium is defined at less than 1% ash. My dealer is just down the street so unless pellet quality suffers from him, I'll be going there to stock up.

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclo...d_pellets.html


You have to vent outside. And while the venting requirements are somewhat strict, you only need to out and up three feet. I'd take a pic of my install, but it's raining. I went up 7 feet on the house due to meeting code because the location of my utilities outside and the higher you go, the better natural draft you create. These things need an outlet to run the blower (5 amps is all) and should you lose power, you need the outside vertical rise to pull the smoke out. These things work on negative/positive pressure.

If you do get serious about this, I would recommend a Harman stove. They're the most popular in the market and have some really good things going for them over other stoves. They are expensive, but all non-big box makes are, but the efficiency and translated energy savings is really worth it.

Here's the manual for my stove. You can get an idea on the venting requirements, etc. Venting info starts on page 7. The manual will also give you an idea on clearance requirements.

http://www.harmanstoves.com/doc/p68m.pdf

Good luck. And certainly let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Looks good. It'll be really classy when you can take the fence down from around it.

 

Yea, have to keep the two year old away from it...

 

Thanks for all the info. Cool(err HOT) toy!