Our Company Blog

Will Oil Prices Stay Low, and What to Do About It?

If you’ve lived long enough to own a car or a house, you have probably noticed there’s one thing (besides taxes) that we can count on: fluctuating oil prices. Fuel prices may be low this summer, but you can be certain that when winter comes, sometime after the election, and maybe just in time to ruin your holiday plans, oil prices are going to rise again. If you depend on gas for home heating this may present a problem for you.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to gas heating! If you don’t want your budget to be subject to the rise and fall of oil on the other side of the planet, we understand. You might want to convert your heat system to wood!

What’s the Difference Between Gas and Wood

Both gas and wood are organic fuels, meaning they’re natural products of the earth, and therefore offer a clean burn. However gas burns more clean than wood, creating a more efficient heat system with very little byproduct left behind. Wood heat is a viable alternative to gas, however, because it is a fairly easy conversion, and wood appliances and fireplaces can heat large spaces.

Some benefits of wood heating:

1.  You can use the same chimney to vent both wood and gas appliances. If you switch from gas to wood, you won’t have to replace the chimney liner (although it should be checked for needed adjustments whenever an appliance is added or removed).
2.  You will not run out of fuel as long as you are able to chop wood. You can chop your own wood, buy rank wood, or buy pellets (if you have a pellet stove). Wood is one thing that doesn’t often fluctuate in price.
3. Heating an entire home with a wood appliance is definitely possible, depending on the size of the home and the appliance. A fireplace doesn’t have the capacity a furnace does, however.

Make the Switch Before the Fall Rush

During the “Fall Rush” you can count on your chimney sweeps being busy. It’s generally harder to schedule appointments during the fall rush, and it’s also not the time to make changes that require an inspection, and conversion of or work on the chimney. If you are making these changes in the fall, you might find yourself in the cold while waiting for it to be ready. Furthermore, if you switch to a wood furnace or fireplace, you need to burn only properly seasoned wood. This means the wood must sit for a given amount of time and dry out. If you wait until fall to make the switch to wood, you will end up buying wood that is seasoned.

At Beach Stove and Fireplace we put our customer’s safety and comfort as our top priority. We want you to be warm and safe, and we do our best to make sure of it. If you are considering a switch from gas to wood home heating, call a Beach Stove chimney sweep today. Our certified chimney sweeps are experienced with conversions, installations, repairs, and more. We offer the best wood heating products the industry has to offer, and are experienced and skilled in installing and maintaining them.

Before you run out of summer, call Beach Stove and Fireplace today, and discuss your fireplace conversion.

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.