Gas Fireplaces | GTAMotorcycle.com

Gas Fireplaces

nakkers

nakkers

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We installed a Napoleon gas fireplace at the previous house.

30,000 btu.

Manual adjustable flame. No fan.

Heated the basement area excellent.

We bought for $1999.00 plus tax and installation was included.

We had to build the base/surround. Etc.

They did the vent, gas hook up etc.


New house. Basement is finished. suppose to be our forever home.

Any others gone through the process? Experiences? Good? The bad?


The heat was awesome. Once the house was warm, it turns off and you lose the ambience of the flame.

Don’t want to go electric.

Not sure if the unit we got last time will do the trick at the new place?

Guess I should go to the place we bought the first one and get some info. The pros should know. Eh?




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Just bought the kids a gas insert for there place,they are loving it.I really like having a second source of heat if the furnace goes out or we loose power.I spent 4k all in on the kids.
 
One of the best things I ever spent out for in our house was the gas insert. Thinking of putting another one in another room when I have the cash. The one I have works on a remote with a thermostat, think it’s Valor but I could be wrong.
 
Got a millivolt 36k btu Napoleon direct vent installed in our living room. Heats the whole upstairs when it's on. A couple of years back an ice storm knocked power out for over 12 hours. This thing kept us warm.

I wouldn't hesitate a second about putting one in the basement, especially direct vent. The new ones look fantastic with the glass media. My house is all copper gas line but I would just run CSST to it.
 
Dang...forgot about mine. It's in the activity room above the garage that gets colder than the rest of the house. Gonna go fire it up.
 
just replaced a Napoleon with a valor, Nap was 8 yrs old and the gas valve went, repair quote was silly. We looked at a new Nap but was told they are not what they once were, the valor was very recommended by an HVAC guy that doesnt sell units just fixes them. About 4k +- all in, I'm very happy.
 
Great feedback as always. Thank you everyone.

Direct vent and the ability to run during a power-outage will be must haves.

Mulling over a few things.
 
Previous owners had one installed in our first house.
We eventually ended up having it taken out.
It took up way too much space, turning a rectangular room with a pass through and a balcony door, into a U-shaped one.
It made the room unusable, except for sitting by the fire.

Watch how much space it's going to take up.
 
My one is in an old wood fireplace. Along with the extra heat it does double duty....stops draughts from the old flu and looks nice/adds ambience. I’m not sure I would have added one if I didn’t have an old fireplace.
 
On the manufacturers website you'll find the build and spec sheets useful. Mine required an additional 20" of depth off the drywall. Some of the smaller ones are 14"-16" of depth. Easy enough to build a frame for it.

Manufacturers really seem to be pushing remote control and mobile app functionality but for me I want solid reliability in a power failure so personally I wouldn't bother with it.
 
DJM said:
On the manufacturers website you'll find the build and spec sheets useful. Mine required an additional 20" of depth off the drywall. Some of the smaller ones are 14"-16" of depth. Easy enough to build a frame for it.

Manufacturers really seem to be pushing remote control and mobile app functionality but for me I want solid reliability in a power failure so personally I wouldn't bother with it.
Click to expand...

Right along my thinking. Second heat source that can operate as a back up.

Of course, something that looks good too.

Just don’t want to spend thousands on a mantle and the rest.

Or junk that needs replaced in a few years.




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Riceburner said:
forgot, need to fix the fan in mine...gonna be a pain to get it out.
Click to expand...

The fan totally changed my use of mine. Before I installed it, I rarely used the fireplace - since installing the fan, which turns on & off automatically based on the heat of the fire, it's on almost every night.
 
nakkers said:
the ability to run during a power-outage will be must haves.
Click to expand...

This one is the key point. They neighbours fireplace didn't work during the last long power outage because of a poor design. It is fanless so it really shouldn't need power, but it required power for the control system (probably because of a stupid reason like electronic controls were needed for a remote control). Make damned sure that before the installers leave you have a working fireplace when it is not plugged in.

EDIT:
If possible, adding a return duct from close to the fireplace to the furnace that can be capped is a great upgrade. If the furnace burner craps out, you can suck the heat out of the basement and distribute it throughout the house. Modern houses don't passively distribute heat well.
 
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Am I the only one that would still install a good old fashioned wood burning fireplace still?

I know gas is more convenient, but I still absolutely love the smell and look of a real wood fire. Gas just doesn't compare.

I think I'd install a pellet fireplace before resorting to gas, in the end - at least you still get the real flame, but less hassle vs logs. I have a pellet grill and am very happy with it.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Am I the only one that would still install a good old fashioned wood burning fireplace still?

I know gas is more convenient, but I still absolutely love the smell and look of a real wood fire. Gas just doesn't compare.

I think I'd install a pellet fireplace before resorting to gas, in the end - at least you still get the real flame, but less hassle vs logs. I have a pellet grill and am very happy with it.
Click to expand...
Wood is far too expensive to install it will be 15g or better for a new wood fireplace and chimney installed to code. If you can do an insert in a old fireplace or a wood stove it can be more reasonable but gas is a fraction of the cost to install.
 
As much as I love wood too, modern homes aren't designed to deal with wood heating. My parents have indoor wood storage to dry and store the wood right next to the stove. For recreational fires, bringing in a few logs at a time works, but if you want to burn wood as a primary heat source that quickly becomes a huge pain. Add to that municipalities passing by-laws to ban wood burning, no gas outage in ontario in recent memory, and the ease of a gas fireplace and in the GTA, gas quickly pulls ahead. Hell, if you are buying wood in the GTA, with the prices many people pay, burning gas will be cheaper to operate.

If I lived in the country with a proper airtight stove and access to my own wood, I would definitely lean towards wood (although if SS has the numbers right and wood is 15K now that will never pay off financially).
 
previous owner did the wood to gas conversion, we took it up one more notch and refaced it, it's nice but it can produce a lot of heat and makes the room uncomfortable, too warm even if the fan is turned on and the flame set to it's minimum, but it's nice when you want it or need it...it's a Napoleon insert as well

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nice job on the reface. Guess it's actual bricks and not a brick veneer, since it was a wood fireplace originally? Wasn't too much of a hassle when I moved my old one. Was in a south facing room that didn't need extra heating. Moved it to the basement.
 
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