The Chimney Sweep Online Fireplace, Woodstove, Gas Stove and Barbecue Shop
Vent Free Gas Product Dealers, Installers & Owners
Defend Their Products
Q: After visiting your site and reading the selected letters concerning Vent-free Gas Logs and Fireplaces, I couldn't help wonder who these people purchased their units from? As it seems
they knew little about vent-free gas products.
I have been in the hearth business for nine years and in that time I have learned a lot and continue to learn. 98% of our annual hearth sales are vent-free gas heating appliances.
First, proper sizing of the BTU output is very important. Despite what the customer might want .. more is not better. Especially in new home air tight construction. However, for 3 years we
have been selling and installing a vent-free fresh air plus intake firebox which has literally solved the problem of airtight construction.
As far as odors are concerned there are several sources. Of course the first is new appliance burn off. However, if the smell hasn't dissipated after one hour of burn off, more than likely
the customer has a ceramic (simply means molded) fiber log set and there is a fracture in one of the logs or it's broken entirely. Once the seal on a fiber log set is compromised, it will
stink forever. The best advice is don't purchase a fiber log set, buy refractory concrete.
The second is what's called after product burn smell. This comes from the improper sizing of the BTU output. The other source for odors is cleaning products, fresh paint, new carpet,
kitchen odors, etc. that the vent-free gas appliance picks up and recirculates
Sooting comes from several sources. Misaligned log(s) impinging the flame. Burning scented candles while operating the appliance (e.g.. Scented candles soot anyway. Add the warm
moist heat from the vent-free appliance and the candles will soot 50 times more). Or not maintaining (cleaning the burners and log on a regular basis). Vented or vent-free... neither are
maintance free. Occasionally, the burner may be out of adjustment. But, I have found this to be a rare occurrence.
Vent-free gas appliances are not intended as a primary heat source except in an emergency. They are supplemental to the customer's primary heating system.
However, just using it 3 hours a night through the coldest parts of the Fall and Winter, can lower their primary heating costs by up to 30%.
The bottom line to all of this, is buy from a reputable dealer who knows vent-free gas appliances and can size and properly install the appliance. You're not just purchasing a product,
you're also purchasing their knowledge.
Rich Landrum
American Hearth and Home
Wednesday, September 13, 2004
Hi Rich,
To answer your opening question ( ...who [have] these people purchased their units from? ), they bought them from vent-free product dealers like yourself, whom they assumed to be
reputable.
You also seem puzzled as to why the contributors to our letters page weren't supplied with all the information about vent-free products by their dealers, stating that "it seems they knew
little about vent-free gas products." Believe me, your fellow vent-free dealers know as much about their products as you do. I suspect they just omit or gloss over the negative aspects,
because they're fearful that if they told each prospective customer the entire truth about vent-free products, they might not make the sale.
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To illustrate, let's pay a pretend visit to the American Hearth and Home vent-free product showroom, where Rich is dedicated to making sure his prospective customers know everything
there is to know about vent-free products before making a buying decision:
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Prospective Customer: My furnace seems to burn a lot of gas. I'm considering installing a set of vent-free gas logs in my fireplace to heat the place instead. I see in your ads that these
vent-frees are something like 99% efficient, and I figure if I use them instead of my furnace, they'll drastically lower my heating bills.
Rich: Well, you really can't use them in place of your furnace. Vent-free gas appliances are not intended as a primary heat source except in an emergency. Plus, if we properly size the
vent-free logs for your house, taking into account health and odor considerations, the vent-free set we recommend to you probably won't be powerful enough to actually heat the whole
place. And most importantly, you're never supposed to burn vent-frees for more than two or three hours a day. The rest of the time, you'll still need your furnace.
PC: Two or three hours? How much gas could I save in two or three hours?
Rich: Using a vent-free gas log set for three hours a night through the coldest part of the Fall and Winter could lower your heating costs by up to 30%.
PC: Wow! My house is heated by a 40,000 btu/hr gas furnace. During the coldest nights of Fall & Winter, my furnace burns 120,000 btu's of gas in three hours, or 960,000 btu/day. If your
vent-free gas logs could save me 30%, I could save 320,000 btu/day! This sounds almost too good to be true: let me get out my pocket calculator and double-check.
Let's see... if this 40,000 btu/hr vent-free gas log set you've got here could heat my 1800 sq.ft. house in place of my 40,000 btu/hr furnace for three hours every night, I would save... 0%,
because in those three hours, the 40,000 btu/hr gas logs would burn the same 120,000 btu that the furnace would have burned. How would I get any savings?
Rich: Good point, and right in line with our sizing policy; like I said before, for health and odor reasons we're probably going to recommend a smaller set, and smaller sets burn less gas.
PC: As I understand it, smaller sets also put out less heat, and I have my doubts that a 30,000 btu/hr heater could heat my entire 1800 sq.ft. house in the dead of Winter, but let's look at
the numbers anyway: my furnace would shut off for the three hours I'm allowed to burn the logs, saving me 120,000 btu of gas. During those three hours, a 30,000 btu/hr gas log set would
burn 90,000 btu, so my net reduction would be 30,000 btu. At the end of the day, I would have burned 930,000 btu of gas instead of 960,000 btu, for a net heating savings of... 3%.
Rich: Maybe we could go a little smaller yet. Try your calculations on a 20,000 btu/hr set.
PC: Will a 20,000 btu/hr vent-free log set heat my entire 1800 sq.ft. house?
Rich: Well, not the whole house, but wouldn't you be willing to sacrifice just a little comfort in exchange for big savings on your fuel bill?
PC: Possibly, if the savings were as big as you say. Let's see, if I closed off the bedrooms, family room and kitchen, turned off the furnace and fired up a 20,000 btu/hr vent-free gas log
set for three hours every night, I'd save 120,000 btu in furnace gas while burning 60,000 btu with the gas logs, giving me a net reduction of 60,000 btu. For the day, I would have burned
900,000 btu instead of 960,000 btu, for a net savings of only 7%. And a large portion of my house wouldn't be warm.
And by the way, 7% is still not even close to the savings you're talking about. In fact, I don't know how you came up with 30%, because according to my calculations, even if you could sell
me a set of vent-free gas logs that could heat my house for three hours every day while burning no gas at all, my heating cost savings would be just 13%. Since I don't really want to leave
a large portion of my house unheated for three hours every day, it looks like my savings would be more like 3%.
Rich: Did I mention how a cheery fire can improve the ambience of a room?
PC: Yes, I suppose it would. We really don't like to hassle with burning wood, so if we install the vent-free logs we'd at least be able to have a nice fire in our fireplace for a couple hours
whenever we want.
Rich: Not quite any time you want, I'm afraid. Another thing about vent-free logs is, there's times when you really don't want to burn them.
PC: Like when?
Rich: Like after you paint. When paint fumes hit the flames, it stinks to high heaven.
PC: We don't paint all that often, so if that's the only time we can't use our logs, that doesn't sound too bad.
Rich: Well, there's actually other times when you don't want to use vent-free logs. Like for a few days after you install new carpeting. Or when you're using cleaning products. Or room
deodorizers. Or hairspray. Or whenever you're cooking. Or when your dog or cat is in the room: burnt pet hair smells to high heaven. And you don't want to try to mask the smell with
scented candles: scented candles are sooty enough by themselves, but a burning vent-free will increase the amount of soot in the room from those babies by about 50 times!
PC: Wow. Are there any other times I might not want to use vent-free gas logs?
Rich: Only if you give any weight to the recommendations of the American Lung Association, the Center for Disease Control, the Emissions Protection Agency or the Mayo Clinic.
According to them, you might want to avoid firing up vent-free logs whenever there's any young children, small animals, pregnant women, senior citizens, or people with diabetes, asthma
or cardiovascular problems in the house.
PC: Sounds like there might be health problems associated with vent-free gas logs. Are they dangerous?
Rich: Not to worry, each of our vent-free log sets is equipped with an Oxygen Depletion Sensor. If the emissions from the vent-free in your home build up to anywhere remotely near the
level that could kill you, the ODS senses the low oxygen level and shuts off the flames. I'll admit I've read cases of headaches, lethargy, nausea, nosebleeds and lung disease, but there's
never been a single reported case where anybody actually died.
PC: My house is pretty tight. What if the exhaust builds up thick enough during my three hour burn to bother me or my family. What do I do then?
Rich: You can simply open a window, or open the fireplace damper an inch like you'd do with a vented set. Of course, if you open the fireplace damper, the exhaust will go out the chimney
and take the heat with it, so we recommend opening the window.
PC: We're talking about the coldest nights of the Fall and Winter here. Wouldn't the introduction of cold air into the house affect your advertised 99% heating efficiency quite a bit?
Rich: I suppose that would depend upon how cold it was outside at the time.
PC: I guess you're right, it's not always THAT cold outside. You know, when I think about it, I can imagine times late at night when Granny and the baby have gone off to bed and the pets
are outside, and we don't have any company over who might have health problems, and we're not smoking or cooking or cleaning or using any aerosol products or room deodorizers or
candles, when we might want to open a window and have a nice, cheery fire. I like the looks of the set in this magazine picture I brought.
Rich: You don't really want that set. Those fiber logs might look more attractive than the cast refractory concrete logs, but once the seal on a fiber log in a vent-free set is compromised, it
will stink forever. We recommend refractory concrete logs, like the ones in the set we're burning right over here.
PC: I guess I could put up with the looks of the concrete logs, but where are the glowing embers, and what's with those flames? The set in this picture looks much better than that one
you're burning.
Rich: Those are vented logs in that photo. I'll have to admit, you're not alone in your opinion that vented logs produce a much more realistic display than vent-frees, but there's a good
reason for that. Vent-free sets can't have the tall, yellow flames that vented sets have, for odor and health reasons. They also can't have glowing embers under the grate like vented logs
do, as this can cause sooting with vent-frees. We do have a few sets that simulate the glowing ember effect in a different way, without risking a sooting problem. The glow is on top of the
burners and grate instead of down below where it would be with a real wood fire, but it still looks almost as realistic as the glowing embers you'd get with a vented set.
PC: I suppose I can live without the natural-looking flames and glowing embers. One more thing though: I've heard that vent-free logs require a lot more routine maintenance than vented
logs. Is that true?
Rich: How much and how often the vent-free log set is used determines how often it should be cleaned. Vent-free gas-heating appliances do not generate dust, but are a magnet for it due
to the way they operate from natural convection currents of air in the home. We recommend the burner and grate be cleaned a minimum of every 4 weeks during the heating season and
again the following fall before start up. It is an easy procedure that takes about ten minutes and can be likened to changing the filter in your central heating system on a regular basis.
Unlike vented log sets, vent-frees require this monthly maintenance, because an improperly maintained vent-free set can rapidly soot up your house.
PC: Well, I don't have to change my furnace filter six or seven times per heating season, but I suppose I could find the time to service the vent-free gas logs that often. I sure wouldn't
want my house all sooted up! Sooting sounds like a nightmare: if it ever happened to me, how would I clean up the walls and furniture?
Rich: Trust me, you don't want to go there. We suggest you religiously adhere to the maintenance schedule.
PC: So, if I perform the maintenance on my vent-free log set every month, I won't have to worry about sooting?
Rich: Lack of maintenance isn't the only thing that can cause sooting. Aside from the scented candles I mentioned before, another thing that can cause sooting in vent-frees is improper
log placement. If the flames impinge upon the logs, it causes sooting.
PC: So who sees to it that the logs are placed correctly?
Rich: Our technicians are very meticulous about exact log placement at the time of installation.
PC: But who ensures perfect log placement after I remove them to perform the monthly maintenance?
Rich: You do.
PC: And how will I know if I didn't place them right?
Rich: Every time you don't, your walls and furniture will quickly get covered with a layer of soot.
PC: You know, given all the facts about vent-free gas logs we've discussed, I think I'd feel more comfortable with gas logs that are sealed away from my breathing space so they vent their
exhaust outside and don't burn up my oxygen. Then, I could burn them all day every day if I wanted and heat my house without worrying about bad smells, health problems or sooting. Do
you sell those?
Rich: Not exactly. You're describing a direct vent insert, and we don't carry them. However, if it's the oxygen depletion that bothers you, some of our newer models offer "fresh air plus
intake fireboxes" to stop them from burning the oxygen out of the room. If you don't like the idea of gas exhaust coming into your house, we now have some models that are
cross-approved for partial or total outside venting. The only drawback is, if you install a vent-free appliance with these options, you lose the heat.
PC: Well, I guess I'll be going then. Thank you for your honest answers; without the information you've shared, I might have bought vent-free logs!
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#2: A letter from a professional installer:
November 16, 2005
Hi there sweep, I have been installing ventless fireplaces for seven years. During this time I have lost count of the number but it is about 148-175 per month right now. It has not always
been so busy but like all contracting companies peeks and valleys. Well, to the point I am a gas specialist and install both unvented and vented boxes. I not only put these inserts in but
very often convert woodburners to depending on the customer vented gas logs or ventless gas logs. I always go by the book and use as much information as possible to help my customer
design a system that will fit the life style and room size that they have. yes tightly built homes are harder to feel out than drafty old house but, if these people that are having problem with
there systems think they are the majority, I am here to set the record straight. There are some states that do not sell ventfree hearth products. But not as many that don't as there are
that do, and I know for a fact that water vapor and CO that everyone always talks about is so misconstrued, for every cubic foot of gas that is used there are two cubic feet of carbon
dioxide, one cubic foot of water vapor, and one to one and a half cubic feet of hydrogen so with that said this is for natural gas. This is going to be produced from any ventless system the
numbers are higher for vented because these systems can be forty to sixty percent efficient. With propane we do not measure the gas in cubic feet but if in pounds and it goes something
like this one hundred pounds of gas per every two pounds of carbon dioxide, one pound of water vapor, and about one pound of hydrogen. the ventless gas logs are limited to 40,000 Btu/h
and if anyone has a system putting out more than that should contact the company that installed the system. also if there is the wrong gas supply to the logs on ventless there will be
sooting. I cannot make these people on your site change there minds about ventless gas products, and I feel very sorry from what I read and the problems that they have had or may still
be having. But in my personal experience it is much safer to have ventless fireplaces burning properly in your home than to drive on the roads in America and be around drivers on cell
phone. Also i have been to many large cities on the east coast and seen first hand the air pollution that we are breathing just being outside so maybe you would like to put a chimney on the
world or that car that smokes and produces carbon monoxide which for the record is the one that will kill you. thank you for having a site that people can go on and express there
experiences but I feel that you should at least post the numbers of satisfied customers with ventfree versus the select few that has had problem systems or unintelligent companies that
put the systems in.
my name is Joe Willoughby
Hi Joe,
After several readings of your letter, I'm convinced that the point you're trying to make is that vent-frees are OK with you, but I am actually not sure what your arguments might be to
support that opinion. If I read you correctly, you make the following points:
1) You're aware that vent-free fireplaces produce CO gases, hydrogen and water vapor that vent directly into the house (although you're a little hazy about the exact quantities, and skip
over a few nasties like nitrogen dioxide).
2) You have personally exposed thousands of households to these gas exhaust components by installing vent-free fireplaces in them.
3) You think this exposure is safer to the occupants than driving a car, especially when the other drivers are using cel phones.
5) You think the outside air in many large cities on the East coast is more poisonous than the air inside the homes in which you've installed vent-free fireplaces.
6) You're aware that only some states have banned the installation of vent-free fireplaces.
Joe, I know from you letter that you make your living installing vent-frees, and am sure you must somehow need to justify that occupation to yourself, but let me ask you this: don't you
think your customers who have just endured polluted city air all day, and then survived the drive home in rush-hour traffic surrounded by cel-phone users, deserve to come home to an
indoor environment that isn't polluted by the gas exhaust from a vent-free? Even if vent-frees haven't been outlawed in their state?
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#3: In defense of Vent-frees: nearly two years without a hitch
Thursday, February 1, 2007
It simply amazes me how you have distorted the facts on your website with regard to vent-free products.
I doubt you will add this email to your posted list of letters that you so pleasingly paste on the site. You certainly are entitled to your opinions, but you should offer up the ability for the
consumer to read the other side of the argument and come to their own conclusions.
I have been running a freestanding natural gas fired vent free stove for close to 2 years without a hitch. I have NO soot issues, NO fume issues and it performs flawlessly.
Your constant QUOTING of the same old studies that are well outdated is pathetic.
Did you happen to make note of the fact that the American Lung Association has a partnership with the 3 brands of Hearth and Home Technologies? HHTI receives much visibility with
this partnership which promotes their products exclusively! Sounds a little fishy to me. Yes folks, HHTI does not sell vent free products......a likely decision given the fact that they are in
bed with the ALA.
FOR THE RECORD: HHTI is the biggest outspoken critic of vent free technology! Gee, I wonder why.
Again, I highly doubt you will post this message because it helps expose the sham against vent free that you are so proudly a part of.
Let consumers read both sides of the argument and make their own decisions. They have seen your side of the argument, let them see another side! http://www.ventfree.org/
Aaron Abelha
Hi Aaron,
We're just as pleased to "paste" your letter on our site as the other letters you see here and on our vent-free complaint letters page. We're glad your vent-free is performing flawlessly,
and that you have no soot or fume issues with it, but if you read the other letters on that page, you'll learn that others have not had the same happy experience.
For the record, Hearth & Home Technologies is not a "partner" of the American Lung Association. HHT is one of the largest manufactures of hearth products in the country, offering
three extensive lines of gas products, all vented. This industry giant has taken a strong and very vocal stance against vent-frees in the home. The ALA has taken a similar stance against
vent-frees, and has posted a link on their website to a short movie about vent-frees on HHT's website at http://www.fireplaces.com/media/healthy_hearth_lo.wmv. We like the movie clip,
and are happy to post the link as well. And we're not "partners" with either the American Lung Association or Hearth & Home Technologies.
Also for the record, the link you included in your letter (twice) is to the Vent-Free Gas Products Alliance website. The VFGPA is an organization comprised of manufacturers of vent-frees,
and it is not surprising that their entire website is devoted to pro-vent-free material: selling vent-frees is their business.
You challenge the facts presented on this website, and accuse us of quoting "old studies that are well outdated." You don't seem to have subjected the Vent-Free Gas Products Alliance
website to the same scrutiny:
As evidence that vent-free products don't adversely affect indoor air quality, the VFGPA website repeatedly cites the same study, performed by AGAR back in 1996.
This was not an independent study: it was commissioned and paid for by the VFGPA. In contrast, the letters that appear on our website were sent in unsolicited.
The AGAR study was not a real world study: the findings were arrived at by means of computer simulations, using data supplied by the VFGPA. The complaint letters published on our
website are all from real owners of vent-free products.
The AGAR study happened over ten years ago. The oldest complaint letter on our vent-free complaint letters page is newer than that. The latest one came in last Saturday. Whose
studies are outdated?
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#4: Aaron again, in defense of vent-free dealers and engineers
Date: Sunday, February 4, 2007
You guys will NEVER be at MY service. I value my dealer who keeps himself well informed through research, staying current with product design changes and improvements and who
gives me fair and balanced information from both sides of the fence without letting his personal opinion turn into a crusade. You guys make it seem like all of the engineers that have
continuously improved and developed vent free technology don't give a crap about people's health and safety and are only interested in making a profit. Thank God that people with real
knowledge and expertise have taken the time to develop, refine and scrutinize the product which has given us, the consumer another choice in home hearth solutions.
The fact remains that for some reason you are on a personal crusade against the product yet the facts have proven that if you use the product as it was designed, install it exactly to the
specifications by the manufacturer, keep it clean and use it ONLY as a secondary source in rooms with planty of volume they are absolutely fine.
Aaron Abelha
Hi Aaron,
We think the engineers who design vent-free products do it because that's what they were hired to do, in much the same way as engineers working for the military design nuclear weapons.
We don't for a minute think that they "don't give a crap" about people's health and safety: we think they do as good a job as they can to make vent-frees as safe as possible.
We just don't think that's safe enough.
Speaking of jobs, something about the vehemence of your pro-vent-free stance and some of the phrasing in your letters (home hearth solutions?) has us wondering: you wouldn't be
employed somewhere in the vent-free hearth product industry, would you?
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#5: Aaron again, on censorship and cooking turkeys
Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Why haven't you added my rebuttal (below)? AS I SAID PREVIOUSLY, YOUR SITE IS ONE-SIDED AND SIMPLY DOES NOT CARE TO SHOW BOTH SIDES OF THE
ARGUMENT. YOU PEOPLE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES. CENSORSHIP AT IT WORST!
No I am not in the hearth business. I am an IT professional. The verbiage I have chosen is likely due to an increase in my vocabulary as a direct result of a consumer doing smart
research on both sides of the debate over a 4 month period before pulling the trigger on a vent free stove. I chose the words "home hearth solutions" to cover freestanding, built-ins and
fireplace inserts as a whole.
You showed your true colors with your inquiry into my profession and your undertones surrounding my stance on vent free. You need to look in the mirror. I'm not the one using the
internet to stand on a soapbox as the messiah of doom regarding vent free. You are the one doing that so proudly. I am simply defending something I believe in as a consumer and I
frankly can't stand to see your scare tactics posted without debate.
Be sure to open up your windows when you cook your next chicken or turkey dinner. That gas stove will put out more harmful contaminents than my Honda automobile does in a weeks
worth of driving.
Aaron Abelha
Hi Aaron,
To tell the truth, we haven't published your third letter before now as a kindness to you. But, since you insist, your letter appears above, and our response appears below.
It was never our intention to publish an unbiased web page about vent-frees. We're biased against them, and make that perfectly clear on our website page titled Vent Free Gas
Appliances - Our Opinion. For the record, here's a short list of others who publicly share our bias:
Consumer Reports Magazine
The American Lung Association (ALA)
The Center for Disease Control (CDC)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Mayo Clinic
The vent-free owners whose letters appear on our vent-free complaint letters page.
You state that our anti-vent-free bias is the reason you're so perturbed, yet the Vent Free Gas Products Alliance website you cited in your first letter above is about as far from unbiased
as you can get. Thanks to you, we now have a link to their website on our website: do you think you'll ever find a link to our website on theirs?
The only positive factor we can come up with about vent-frees is that they can be easier and less expensive to install than vented products. In our opinion, this is one case where cheaper
is not better.
As to unvented kitchen ranges, we have published our stand against them on our vent-free letters page, where we also make the point that all the gas ranges we sell are vented. And even
if you're trying to make some point about unvented kitchen ranges in your letter above, your comparison to "weeks worth of driving" in your Honda is patently ridiculous. To validate that
comparison in an indoor air quality discussion, you would have to park your Honda in someone's kitchen! And that person would likely not survive your experiment.
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#6: Massachusetts Contractor says Vent-Free OK
Date: Saturday, November 3, 2007
Hi there,
I stumbled on your site looking for info on vent free fireplaces. I'm a builder in Massachusetts and our state, according to the the fire chief, and building commissioner in my town, does
allow vent free stoves and fireplaces. You might want to update your site info.
For ten years now I've been installing vented fireplaces, they're a nice feature but are very inefficient. I tell most of my buyers to use them sparingly. I'm considering putting in vent free
units instead, they're much cheaper, can be placed on an inside wall, and are very efficient.
Houses, even new houses, are not as tight as everyone thinks. Certainly tighter than a 17th century home, but plenty of breathing room. I install vented gas boilers in all my homes and
these boilers all use internal air for combustion. I used to install oil burners, again using house air for combustion. I've never had a problem with either system type in 20 years, and our
inspectors require no "make-up air" systems
I personally use two pro-com, 25,000 btu, vent-free gas heaters. One in my home, and one in my 14x16 pool cabana, that we use all winter. I'm a safety nut, and have hard wired, as well as
digital plug in, co2 detectors everywhere. I've never seen a digital reading above zero, it's like they're broken. Even after hours in the cabana. I also don't understand the problem with
moisture, if anything we like the moisture in the winter, the air is very dry here.
At first glance the letters on your site are horrifying, but after poking around awhile, your number of letters in opposition to vent free, proportional to those for vent free, seem quite
unbalanced. I can't imagine that for every experience like mine, there are ten people going to the hospital with lung problems. These units would be outlawed everywhere in seconds if this
really was the case.
I haven't looked at what you folks sell, but I'm guessing by the name you folks like chimneys. If your goal is to run a biased site that's your prerogative. I just haven't experienced, nor
has anyone else experienced that I know, the types of problems your contributors are having. Hell, we have a gas cooking stove, and with forty people over for thanksgiving, that stove,
with two ovens, goes on at 5:00 am and runs till 2:00 pm, with most of the top burners going. What's the difference between a vent free gas cooking appliance, and a vent free heating
appliance?
Thanks,
Joe Brennan
Hi Joe,
Thanks for the input! The State of Massachusetts loosened their absolute prohibition of vent-free products a bit in 2004, but still prohibits installation in bedrooms or bathrooms, or as the
sole source of heat in any room. Unless you've got a source of heat other than the vent-free in your cabana, Massachusetts law would prohibit that installation.
I don't know what brand of vented fireplaces you've been installing for ten years, but your use of the term "inefficient" just doesn't hold water in today's marketplace. We sell
furnace-rated direct vent gas fireplaces that achieve up to 86.4% delivered efficiency. Hundreds and hundreds of our customers heat their entire houses with their vented gas stoves,
inserts and fireplaces, and many have reported that they experience significant savings over their gas furnaces.
The vented gas and oil boilers you install might certainly find adequate combustion air in even a tightly constructed house. But, unlike vent-frees, those boilers vent their exhaust outside.
Vent-frees not only consume the oxygen from the room, but also foul the remaining air with CO, CO2 and NO2 gases.
Today, more and more health care professionals are becoming concerned about chronic exposure to CO levels below 30ppm. If you purchased your CO detectors after the year 2000, they
won't even measure CO levels below 30ppm.
The main difference between unvented gas cooking appliances and vent-free gas heaters is daily exhaust exposure. A household gas range produces the exhaust from an average of 6,400
btu of gas per day (this average is computed on an annual usage rate, and includes the peak usage season during the Holidays). Even if you limit your usage to the recommended three
hours per day, each of your small vent-frees introduces nearly twelve times that much exhaust into your breathing space. In just three hours!
Another factor about cooking with gas: these days, most gas ranges are installed with exhaust vent hoods, and more and more states now require them for all new installations. When used
with an exhaust hood, a household gas range causes zero daily exhaust exposure.
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To read about how much CO2 a vent-free fireplace exhausts into the breathing space, click here.
To read about a recent study of the effects of long-term exposure to CO gases, click here.
To read postings from vent-free gas exhaust exposure victims, click here.
To read about respiratory irritation from vent-free exhaust in the breathing space, click here.
To read a posting about vent-free gas appliances from an indoor air quality scientist, click here.
To read exerpts from a recent Consumer Reports article about vent-free fireplaces, click here.
To read our opinion about vent-free gas appliances, click here.
The Chimney Sweep, Inc.
913 Harris Avenue
Bellingham, WA 98225-7032
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