Why We Don’t Install or Service Ventless Fireplaces

January 9th, 2017

Risks of “Vent-free” Fireplaces not Worth the Benefits

Ventless fireplaces are simply too unsafe for us to work on and still stand by our commitment to your safety. While it’s true there are no documented deaths from ventless fireplaces, it’s also true that many people report headaches and other health problems that seem to be caused by them.

But if that’s all true, why are ventless fireplaces even allowed to be sold?

A Quick Guide to Vent-Free Fireplaces

Just like the name implies, ventless fireplaces have no vents. A typical fireplace has either a flue or a chimney. Why? Because fire is a combustion reaction, and it produces gases and other waste products that have to go somewhere. But with a chimney you also lose some of the desirable heat.

The theory behind ventless fireplaces is that if we can burn the fire clean enough and minimize the gases produced, we can reap the benefits of having more heat come in the home.

Also, they are less expensive and easier to install, and they can look nice as part of a room in places you don’t normally see a fireplace, such as the side of a wall.

Ventless fireplaces burn natural gas or propane, and they get their oxygen fuel from the air inside your house. They can be powered by electricity, or alcohol gels.

They typically come with carbon monoxide detectors that will automatically shut off the fire if the CO levels get too high.

And therein lies the main reason we don’t do ventless at B&C Comfort.

Are You Comfortable Trusting Your Life to a CO Detector?

We aren’t. With a ventless fireplace, you are knowingly producing deadly (and odorless) carbon monoxide and letting it into your home, as well as carbon dioxide, which is harmful too if you get too much of it in a closed room. At the same time, you’re using up the oxygen to burn the fire.

So, you’re reducing the oxygen you need to breathe, and you’re increasing the gases that can harm or even kill you.

Is that a comfortable way to live? Not to us.

Gas has to go somewhere. It doesn’t matter how clean the fire burns. It will produce carbon dioxide and water vapor – guaranteed. And if the combustion process becomes more inefficient, such as from a buildup of soot on the logs, then more deadly CO will also be produced. That’s basic science.

So if your CO detector fails, you are putting yourself at serious risk.

Some states and countries have even outlawed them because of these risks. And even businesses who continue to install ventless fireplaces agree that people with asthma or other respiratory illnesses shouldn’t use them.

If there were no risk at all, then their proponents wouldn’t agree even with these exceptions.

4 More Reasons to Remove a Ventless Fireplace If You Have One

They smell bad. Why? Because other waste products from combustion also get sent into your home.
They still require maintenance and cleaning. If soot builds up in your regular gas fireplace, you just lose some efficiency. That’s not good, and it’s why fireplace cleaning is one of our main services. But if soot builds up in a ventless fireplace, you’ll produce more carbon monoxide, and it will come into your home. That’s life-threatening. Cleaning now becomes about saving your life, rather than just keeping the fireplace working right.
Log placement is equally vital, for the same reasons as maintenance and cleaning. Again, this matters in regular gas fireplaces too. Click here for more information about gas fireplace log placement.
Ventless fireplaces also produce a lot of water vapor – another byproduct of combustion. Again, you can’t avoid this. It will happen, and it means your house will be more humid. Depending on where you live, some people want more moisture. But here in the northwest, more moisture usually means a greater risk of mold.

While ventless fireplaces certainly have some benefits – less cost, attractive appearance, easier to install, more heat – the risks they carry are simply too great.

We aren’t willing to risk the health and safety of our customers. For that reason, and all the others you’ve just read, we don’t install or service ventless fireplaces. And if you do get any health problems from a ventless fireplace, your cost savings have just gone up in smoke.

If you have a ventless fireplace and want it removed – contact us today and we’ll schedule an appointment.

For more about our award-winning fireplace repair and maintenance service, or to make an appointment:

Visit our fireplace services page

Tags: carbon monoxide, fireplace cleaning, fireplace maintenance, fireplace safety, fireplaces, ventless fireplaces
Posted in Fireplace safety, maintenance | Comments Off on Why We Don’t Install or Service Ventless Fireplaces

Did Your Fake Logs Fall Over?

September 14th, 2016

Read This Before Buying or Re-arranging Fake Logs In Your Gas Fireplace

Some Tasks are Do-it-yourself. Not This One.

The internet loves to give advice. When it comes to fake logs in your gas fireplace, you should ignore and run the opposite direction from most of it. Why? Three reasons:

1) Safety – it’s your life
2) Functionality – how long do you want your fireplace to last?
3) Compatibility – round pegs don’t fit in square holes

(Note: if this video is sideways – try viewing in Chrome, or update your Firefox to the latest version. Or just turn your head to the side 🙂 )

Fake gas fireplace logs are made of ceramic or a similar material. These absorb high amounts of heat without being damaged. Without them, most of the heat from the burning gas would just escape out the vent. By retaining more heat, the ceramic provides warmth and comfort for your home. They also look nice.

But sometimes the logs fall over or have other issues, and need to be replaced or put back in position.

Let’s take a closer look at the three reasons you should never arrange your own ceramic gas fireplace logs.

1. Fireplace Safety – avoid the silent killer

This is pretty serious stuff, and we can talk about it in common language or with science, but the conclusion is the same: Incorrect or improper log placement can lead to higher levels of carbon monoxide from your fireplace.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is known as the “silent killer.” This is the gas you’ve heard about that kills people just by putting them to sleep. It has no odor, so there’s no warning unless you have a CO detector.

CO deaths are more common in winter, when storms knock out the power. Someone figures they can heat their house by bringing their barbecue inside the home. Burning the coals or the gas produces excess CO. If too much fills the house, it puts everyone to sleep, and they never wake up. It’s a tragic and totally preventable situation.

What does this have to do with fake fireplace logs?

Logs are designed by the manufacturers of each fireplace brand. They give specific recommendations for how they should be arranged so they don’t interfere with the flow of gas. The right gas flow prevents what science calls incomplete combustion. With complete combustion, you produce carbon dioxide. But with incomplete, you get CO.

So if the gas flow is interfered with too much, you are potentially producing deadly amounts of carbon monoxide.

If you go in there and place the logs yourself, just purely based on how it looks, you are unlikely to place them how the manufacturer says they should be.

Too many websites out there tell you fake logs are only for “aesthetics” – for a visually pleasing fireplace since you aren’t using any wood.

Not true. They are also there to provide heat while improving safety. Place them incorrectly, and you risk unnecessary danger.

2. Fireplace Function – save money, make it last

Another consequence of incorrect log placement is the increase in sooting. Too much soot decreases the functionality of your fireplace and shortens the life span. It clogs the gas flow, reduces the heat output, and requires more frequent cleanings than should be necessary.

If you’re paying someone to clean your fireplace (and you should be), you’ll be paying them a lot more often if your aesthetically pleasing but wrong log placement makes your fireplace get covered with soot.

Why hire an expert cleaner? Because they know all the places to clean without damaging the components and will extend its useful life.

(If you live in the Snohomish County, Monroe, Lynnwood, Kirkland, Mountlake Terrace or surrounding areas and need a fireplace cleaning and maintenance, now’s a good time to make an appointment with B&C before the winter hits).

3. Fireplace Compatibility – any ol’ set of fake logs won’t do

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is a science safety testing nonprofit. They test and certify all sorts of products for safety and functionality, including gas fireplaces.

Their testing standards and results are based upon specific arrangements of the fake logs. This is why the manufacturers have the recommended arrangements. It’s not just for how it looks. They consider that too. But the safety and compatibility standards are based on rigorous testing by UL that presumes the logs are arranged in a certain way.

If you rearrange them how you want, you are deviating from the tested and proven standards. Any problems you face after that will likely be blamed on you if you were to try the lawsuit thing, should anything go wrong with your fireplace.

The bottom line is – logs sets are designed by each brand to fit that specific fireplace a certain way. That’s why you can’t just go buy any ol’ set of fake logs and assume they will work in your fireplace.

But What If My Ceramic Logs Keep Falling Over?

That can happen. If so, you’re best option is to have a professional come out and arrange them back in the proper way. If it’s been a while since your last cleaning and maintenance, your fireplace repair technician will probably fix the logs at no extra charge if you do it all at once.

Again, if your logs fall over, you should not use your fireplace. And you should not try to place them back the way they were. Have a professional come out and make sure it gets done according to UL standards and brand recommendations.