If your fireplace actually puts out heat, do you use it often?

[Anonymous]

I do not currently use my wood-burning fireplace because of a small crack found during the chimney inspection. I'm wondering if it's worth getting everything fixed up, likely with a liner and wood stove insert. I would want to run it during the day as supplemental heat.

I know people who live in the mountains and do this, but curious if anyone around here does. If you do, how effective is it? Do you go through a lot of wood and cleaning?

[Anonymous]

If you're buying wood it's not cost-effective. People do it in rural areas because they can get logs for free and cut and split them and save on their heating bill.

Wood needs to be dried for at least a year, you need some place to store it. Not an issue in the country but a problem in the city.

[Anonymous]

Yes we have a wood stove insert and use it frequently in the winter. I keep a cord of wood outside.

[Anonymous]

We use our wood stove insert regularly in winter. I like knowing it’s there as backup heat. We keep wood in the yard and restock when neighbors take down trees. It’s probably not for everyone but we grew up in the north and it seems honey to us.

[Anonymous]

We live "in the mountains" on a farm and we converted two wood burning fireplaces to propane gas Heat-N-Glo fireplaces. They can heat our entire house and have back-up battery starts in case we have power outages. We use them both daily, the remote can control flame, embers, fan speed, and temperature.

Even in the country, wood is not "free" - you still have labor associated with cutting up dead trees, splitting, stacking, etc. It is not fun work. I think the going rate for wood delivery out here is $200/cord, from what I've seen on CL and FB marketplace. Also, wood piles attract rats, skunks, woodchucks, anything looking for shelter from the elements (and the critters that eat them), especially out here and we didn't want that close to the house. Gas fireplaces also do not need the same type of cleaning as wood because gas doesn't result in creosote build-up in your chimney. I have our two serviced once a year to make sure they are cleaned and the embers need refreshed.

[Anonymous]

We live in Bethesda and use ours a lot in the winter. More for ambiance than heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live "in the mountains" on a farm and we converted two wood burning fireplaces to propane gas Heat-N-Glo fireplaces. They can heat our entire house and have back-up battery starts in case we have power outages. We use them both daily, the remote can control flame, embers, fan speed, and temperature.

Even in the country, wood is not "free" - you still have labor associated with cutting up dead trees, splitting, stacking, etc. It is not fun work. I think the going rate for wood delivery out here is $200/cord, from what I've seen on CL and FB marketplace. Also, wood piles attract rats, skunks, woodchucks, anything looking for shelter from the elements (and the critters that eat them), especially out here and we didn't want that close to the house. Gas fireplaces also do not need the same type of cleaning as wood because gas doesn't result in creosote build-up in your chimney. I have our two serviced once a year to make sure they are cleaned and the embers need refreshed.

Thanks. When you say propane do you mean a propane tank, vs piped natural gas?

This is OP, I have this one weird room with a fireplace but no heat registers, which I'd like to heat. (It's open to other rooms so it does get / steal conditioned air from there.) I have no gas running to the house now and didn't really want to add it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live "in the mountains" on a farm and we converted two wood burning fireplaces to propane gas Heat-N-Glo fireplaces. They can heat our entire house and have back-up battery starts in case we have power outages. We use them both daily, the remote can control flame, embers, fan speed, and temperature.

Even in the country, wood is not "free" - you still have labor associated with cutting up dead trees, splitting, stacking, etc. It is not fun work. I think the going rate for wood delivery out here is $200/cord, from what I've seen on CL and FB marketplace. Also, wood piles attract rats, skunks, woodchucks, anything looking for shelter from the elements (and the critters that eat them), especially out here and we didn't want that close to the house. Gas fireplaces also do not need the same type of cleaning as wood because gas doesn't result in creosote build-up in your chimney. I have our two serviced once a year to make sure they are cleaned and the embers need refreshed.

Thanks. When you say propane do you mean a propane tank, vs piped natural gas?

This is OP, I have this one weird room with a fireplace but no heat registers, which I'd like to heat. (It's open to other rooms so it does get / steal conditioned air from there.) I have no gas running to the house now and didn't really want to add it.

Quoted PP. Yes, we have a 500 gallon buried propane tank with a line into the house for the fireplaces and range. I think there are also tax credits for converting to energy efficient fireplaces - I know our accountant wanted all the paperwork for our tax returns when we installed them. We fill the tank once in the fall and that usually can get us through most of the year, depending on how cold it is in the winter. We do have electric HVAC, and we have solar panels on our barn - the fireplaces are used as supplemental heat, and they do add nice ambiance to a room.

[Anonymous]

We converted our woodburning FP to gas (log insert vented through chimney and connected ot our gas line like appliances). We use it almost daily when it's cold. In contrast I think we used the wood burning fireplace twice in 5 years.

[Anonymous]

We bought a wood-burning insert to fit into our fireplace when we moved in, because our son has asthma and open grates expel a lot of fine dust into the atmosphere. The insert is much more efficient than the normal fireplace at pushing heat back into the house, vs up the chimney. It cost us 5K and since it's made of cast iron, very heavy - had to be installed by professionals.

We use it every winter, every day when temps are below freezing. We live on a small lot close to a downtown, but had to cut down a lot of trees on our property over the years, and use that wood. My husband splits logs in the approved woodcutter fashion (axe, wedge, hammer) and it gives him a workout in winter. He stacks the logs to season in the back yard.

[Anonymous]

But isn't it bad to breathe that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But isn't it bad to breathe that?

+100 isn't that toxic to breathe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But isn't it bad to breathe that?

+100 isn't that toxic to breathe?

Smoke goes up the chimney. Have you never seen a fireplace?

[Anonymous]

It works. I don't like to use it unless power is out or its raining and having fire seems warm and romantic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But isn't it bad to breathe that?

+100 isn't that toxic to breathe?

Smoke goes up the chimney. Have you never seen a fireplace?

lol lol You are wrong they are seriously toxic all the particles, fumes and chemicals don't all magically leave thought the chimney. The whole house in affected.


https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2020/01/why-a-wood-burning-fireplace-could-be-hazardous-to-your-health

https://www.epa.gov/burnwise/wood-smoke-and-your-health

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/that-cozy-fire-could-be-hazardous-to-your-health/