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Reasons to Avoid Vent Free Gas Products

As the most recent fireplace fad, vent free gas logs have drawn a lot of interest based on their high burning efficiency of up to 99 percent. Companies also emphasize the ability to burn these logs with the flue closed, which only further entices consumers. These impressive features make this product seem like an obvious choice, but in reality, vent free gas logs actually pose some serious hazards.

Vent free gas products use natural gas as fuel and require no ventilation. Rather than utilizing the air flow up through the chimney, or the draft, of a traditional fireplace, vent free fires consume the oxygen in the house. Designed specifically to burn without any type of venting, these logs should not be substituted with any other types of logs for use in a vent free system.

Any time combustion occurs, imperfect burning always results in the production of some type of waste. Even though the vent free gas logs boast a nearly perfect efficiency, they can still leave up to eight percent of the fuel incompletely burned. This incomplete burning produces harmful waste materials, such as carbon monoxide. Fatal in high enough concentrations, the inhalation of carbon monoxide and other fumes is a real threat when using vent free products because the system offers no escape for these gases. In fact, there have been reported claims of aggravated asthma, allergies and other respiratory issues by people living in homes that use vent free gas logs.

In addition to harmful gases, vent free units also produce excessive amounts of water vapor. All types of fires produce water vapor, but because the vent free systems offer no escape, the vapor ends up condensing inside the house. This is evidenced by moisture on walls, floors, and furniture, which can also lead to a variety of problems. Water damage can ruin the walls and furniture, and the home will become uncomfortable humid. Mold growth throughout the house also becomes a valid concern.

For all the claimed efficiency, vent free gas logs cannot be relied on as a source of heat. Marketers promise the production of a lot of heat, but they fail to mention that the vent free units should not stay on for more than a few hours at a time. Burning for lengths of time beyond this recommendation can lead to a depletion of oxygen levels, an increase in toxic fumes, and an increase in humidity.

Another issue is in newer houses, where the airtight build can cause interference with the combustion process. When the house is sealed tight, air cannot enter quickly enough to provide the amount of oxygen needed for the fire to burn and this lack of oxygen will extinguish the fire. Some manufacturers suggest fixing this issue by opening a window, but this defeats the purpose of investing in a vent free system in the first place.

Vent free gas products might sound great in theory, but the problems heavily outweigh the benefits. Rather than investing money into a dangerous and unhealthy vent free unit, consider high efficiency traditional fireplace inserts or direct vent fireplaces. If you live in the area of Westhampton Beach, New York, contact Beach Stove and Fireplace for more information on fireplace options.

The Importance of Well Seasoned Firewood

Weather experts have predicted this upcoming winter to be as frigid as last year’s record breaking winter, and this has everyone thinking ahead about keeping warm. For some people, staying warm inside the house involves lighting a toasty fire in the fireplace or wood stove. However, burning a fire requires having the right fuel, and if the fireplace burns wood, that means stocking up on the best firewood.

Prior to deciding on the species of tree to burn in the fireplace, the most important aspect of the firewood is actually its dryness. Dry firewood has completed the “seasoning” process in which it has been stored out of the elements and allowed to dry for an amount of time specific to the variety of wood. Lightweight wood may only need about six months to season, while the densest woods could take up to two years.

Do your best to avoid firewood that has been stored outside because it has not had a chance to season. The water content in this wood is most likely very high, which results in cool smoky fires. When the wood contains a lot of water, the fire expends a lot of energy boiling the water away, and this produces less heat, creates more smoke, and costs you money in poor fuel efficiency. In the end, the firewood also burns incompletely.

Incompletely burned firewood leads to the production of creosote. This thick, tarry material first leaves the fire in a hot, vaporized form, but as it travels up the chimney, it cools and clings to the chimney walls. Over time, creosote can build up to the point of closing up the chimney completely, which can cause a backup of harmful gases like carbon monoxide into the home. Creosote is also highly flammable, so a stray ember in a creosote-filled chimney could result in a devastating house fire. Luckily, you can avoid all of this with regular chimney sweeps and by only burning well seasoned wood.

Once you have found the right wood with the longest seasoning time, you have to take it home and decide how to store it. The most ideal way to store firewood is to keep it indoors and uncovered. Storing the wood indoors protects it from rain and snow, which keeps it dry. Seasoned wood, especially, absorbs water very readily because of its dryness, so keeping it out of the elements is vital. Leaving the wood uncovered also permits any trapped water to evaporate. Completely wrapping the wood in a tarp can lead to trapped moisture and an increased water content. If storing the wood inside is not an option, you can store it outside, but be sure to cover the top of the stack. Any kind of water proof “roof” works well in an outdoor storage situation, such as a sheet of aluminum siding. Leave the sides of the wood stack open, so air can flow through to keep it dry.

If you have any questions about choosing or storing your firewood, get in touch with your local chimney and fireplace specialist. For an expert in the Westhampton Beach, New York area, contact Beach Stove and Fireplace.

Pellet Stove vs. Wood Stove

With snow already falling in many parts of the country, now is the time to figure out how to stay warm in the upcoming cold months. Effective and inexpensive home heating options are in high demand right now, and many homeowners face the question of which type to choose. For those looking to stoves to heat the home, another question comes up: wood-burning or pellet-burning stove? Both have great advantages with some downsides as well, so you should take into consideration how you intend to use it, the amount of heat you need, the availability of fuel in your area, and other factors.

How do Pellet and Wood Stoves Work?

Pellet stoves have gained popularity in recent years because they efficiently burn renewable energy. Wood pellets are made by debarking, grinding, drying and compressing wood, and then the pellets are electronically fed into the burning chamber. Wood stoves work just like any other wood-burning unit. Split logs start and maintain the fire and the heat in place of the pellets in a pellet-burning stove.

What Makes Pellets Better?

For one, pellets burn very efficiently, meaning more of the material burns and creates heat. This leads to warmer, more sustainable fires and fewer harmful emissions. Wood pellet fires can burn for as long as 16 hours without requiring a refill, which is ideal for working families who spend long hours away from the home during the day. Compared to a wood-burning stove, pellet stoves are highly efficient.

Another benefit to a pellet-burning stove is purchasing and storing the fuel. First, in the built-up Westhampton Beach area, forests and firewood are harder to come by than in more rural areas, making split wood logs scarce. Wood pellets are ideal options for this situation because they can be shipped into urban areas more easily and economically. Next, wood pellets take up one-third less space than traditional wood. A cord of wood takes up 128 cubic feet, and one ton of pellets takes up just 80 cubic feet. These volumes create the same amount of heat but take up vastly different amounts of space to store. For tight New York homes, this could be a determining factor.

What Makes Wood Better?

Conversely, wood-burning stoves have some advantages over their pellet-burning counterparts. One major factor is that wood-burning stoves do not require electricity to function. In the case of power outages, as is common in winters when ice builds up on power lines, the wood-burning stove continues to run, while the pellet-burning stove simply runs cold. Although battery back-ups can be installed, they only last up to eight hours, making this issue life-threatening depending on the length of the power outage.

Another advantage of burning wood is the cost of the fuel. On average, one cord of wood costs less than $200. Because pellets require significantly more processing, a heat-equivalent amount of pellets might start at $200. The price of fuel, in addition to the price of electricity to run the pellet stove, might make the wood-burning stove more attractive.

For more information and help deciding what type of stove best suits your home and lifestyle, contact Beach Stove and Fireplace of Westhampton Beach, New York. These experts can help you make the most informed decision.

High Efficiency vs. Zero Clearance Wood-Burning Fireplaces

Fireplaces have enchanted homeowners for many years. The allure of a softly crackling fire in the background has made fireplaces a must have for countless home buyers, and thus, many homes now feature them. With the advent of the movement for environment-friendly energy sources, fireplaces have received recent appeal as a practical source of heat, in addition to their aesthetic benefits. Because technology is constantly evolving, homeowners have a wide variety of fireplace styles to choose from. A decision some homeowners must make when looking to add or update a fireplace is installing a high efficiency wood-burning fireplace or a zero clearance fireplace.

A high efficiency wood-burning fireplace provides a suitable heating option for homes with enough space to accommodate them. These fireplaces feature a firebox separated from the interior of the home by a sheet of ceramic, heat resistant glass. Instead of being open to the home, the smoke and toxic gases from the fire are vented directly up through the chimney. The heat from the fire is shuttled into the home through a separate vent above the glass. This air flow construction keeps hazardous fumes from entering the house and keeps precious, heated air from escaping through an open fireplace.

There are a few downsides to a high efficiency wood-burning fireplace though. These fireplaces cost at least double the price of a factory-built inefficient fireplace. While the costs will quickly be made up as a result of heating bill savings, the upfront expense can be hard for some homeowners to manage. Additionally, these fireplaces do take up some space. For tight spaces that do not already have a fireplace in the floor scheme, a high efficiency fireplace may pose some spatial challenges.

On the other hand, zero clearance fireplaces are ideal for small spaces, particularly when installing a fireplace in a room that was not originally designed with a fireplace in mind. Zero clearance fireplaces are special because they can sit almost directly against combustible materials like walls, floors, furniture and wood. Their design includes fire-resistant bricks inside the firebox, so the installation does not require any masonry structures to protect combustibles from the heat of the fire.

The downside of zero clearance fireplaces is that they are generally pretty inefficient. They are almost always made with a traditional open design, meaning the doors are open when the fire is lit and the doors are closed when there is not a fire. An open fireplace with a lit fire allows toxic fumes to seep into the home and expensive, heated air to escape up the chimney. While you may be able to squeeze a zero clearance fireplace into your home, you should not rely on it as an efficient heating source.

If you are ready to add a beautiful new fireplace to your home, get in touch with an expert fireplace provider to help you make the best investment. Contact Beach Stove and Fireplace for a professional consultation on your new fireplace today.

Try a Fireplace Insert for Big Savings

With homeowners everywhere trying to save money on heating costs, many have turned to using fireplaces for zone-heating instead of paying to heat the entire home throughout brutal New York winters. Traditional fireplaces come equipped with a damper that stays closed when the fireplace is not in use and opens when a fire is lit to expel harmful gases. This means whenever a fire is burned to keep the home warm, a significant amount of hot air actually escapes through the chimney along with the smoke. Even when the damper is closed and no fire is burning, the imperfect seal still allows air to leave the home – expensive, furnace-heated air. In order to address this issue, more homeowners have turned to the option of a fireplace insert.

Fireplace inserts consist of a sealed, energy efficient box retrofitted into an existed fireplace. These boxes do not open directly into the home, meaning warm air inside the home will not be wasted through the chimney. Instead of a traditional fireplace, which opens directly into the home, inserts feature a glass pane to keep warm air in the house and a fan to direct the heat from the fire into the house. Fireplace inserts come in vented or vent-less varieties, but most experts recommend having an insert installed with a properly fitted vent to effectively release toxins. In addition, inserts work off an assortment of fuels, but the most common are wood-burning and gas.

Wood-burning fireplace inserts function much the same way as traditional wood-burning fireplaces. The fire still produces the beloved crackling sound and the cozy smell of a wood-burning fire. These inserts can burn up to ten hours before needing additional wood, and wood is a relatively inexpensive fuel averaging under $1,000 per year to heat a home.

Gas fireplace inserts have grown largely in reputation. They burn very efficiently, especially for zone heating, with 65 to 99 percent efficiency. This means gas fires produce very little pollution or smoke, making it safer for your home and the environment. These inserts also produce no ash or toxic creosote, so aside from a yearly checkup, they are very inexpensive to maintain. It is no wonder 70 percent of new heating appliances sold utilize gas fuel.

While the purchase and installation of a fireplace insert runs $5,000 to $6,000, the cost is made up quickly in savings on utility bills. Heating costs will drop by 10 to 40 percent with the addition of a fireplace insert. Note that proper installation of a fireplace insert requires a professional analysis. Oftentimes with older homes, the original fireplace has an unusual size, so retrofitting the insert takes expert precision. If you live in the Westhampton Beach, New York area, call Beach Stove and Fireplace for a professional consultation. These experts will provide you with the best heating options to suit you and your home.