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Gas Fireplaces in Bedrooms

| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on February 27, 2002 12:39pm

*
I am building a lodge style ski/vacation house in central Oregon with gas fireplaces in the 4 bedrooms. They will be direct vent models for safety (and code) purposes. They will primarily be used for ambiance, as well as backup heating (on milli-volt thermostats). Since this is a vacation house, and will not be occupied full time, it is nice to have a backup heat source in case of power failure in an unoccupied house. (BTW, each bedroom also has a dedicated bathroom, so the heat will be in the right places).

The biggest problem I am facing is that most DV gas models produce too much heat for relatively small bedrooms. Of the models that I have seen, most put out over 20K – 30K BTUs. We like Fireplace Extrodanair the best from a style standpoint. They have a model (35CB) that is made without the sophisticated heat exchangers present in the rest of their line. I think that it simply allows a lot of the heat to dump out the vent, and operates in the 14K-24K BTU range.

What I am looking for is recommendations on a DV fireplace in bedrooms. What is your experience in terms of heat output? Do they generate too much heat to be useful in a small room.

BTW, the bedrooms range from 350 – 675 sq feet including attached bathrooms and walk-in closets.

/Jim Pappas

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  1. stan_ | Feb 20, 2002 12:36am | #1

    *
    Jim,

    I'm in a similar situation. I'm looking for a direct vent gas insert for a masonary fireplace, just for esthetics. All the units I've found so far put out 30-45ooo BTU and would add enough heat when used, to mess up the heat distribution in the entire house.

    1. Jim_Pappas | Feb 20, 2002 12:51am | #2

      *Stan,If it is only for esthetics, you can add a gas log to your masonary fireplace... open the flue, light the log and you will have very low (if not negative) heating. It would also be a lot cheaper to install. In my case, I am not going to have masonary fireplaces.In addition to the 4 bedrooms, I am planning a single larger fireplace for the Great Room (FPX 44-XXL) which will put out 58K BTU's of heat. That will be a large area, so I am assuming that it will take the heat in stride./Jim Pappas

      1. jonmarden | Feb 25, 2002 07:05am | #3

        *I have installed all of the FPX gas units as well as the wood-burners...it's true you can't find a better looking gas fireplace..check out the 32 dvs fireplaces...they are the smallest and come with the ember-fire burner (popular science award winning), if you install the optional wall thermostat or remote thermostat you can control the temp. much easier and both will still operate in the event of a power outage....with the 44 and the 36 you can also add the optional power ducts (these are 110 and will not operate during an outage) I also install and service the Lopi line which is under the same parent company as fpx, Travis Industries....check out the freestanding gas units called the Berkshires....same ember-fyre burner, realistic looking and brilliant design, (I own one) you won't be dissapointed...best of luck

        1. Jim_Pappas | Feb 25, 2002 09:47am | #4

          *Jonmarden,According to the FPX website, the range of the 32DVS is 16,000 - 32,000 BTUs and heats 500-1500 sq feet at 80% efficiency. By contrast, the 35CB is 14,000 - 24,000 and heats 400-1350 sq ft (efficiency is not stated).My understanding is that the 35CB does not have as sophisticated of a heat exchanger and lets more of the heat go up the flue. As you point out, it also does not have the fancier ember fyre burner.I have been trying to optimize for lowest heat output possible, because of the relatively small bedrooms. All of the fireplaces will be on wall mounted thermostats, which should keep my house warm in the event of a power failure.At the low end (14,000 vs 16,000) the units are pretty comparable... but at the full flame height, (24,000 vs 32,000) the difference is substantial.In your opinion... should I go to the 32DVS and bear with the extra heat (meaning that the fireplace will shut off more often than we want)... or should I go with the 35CB and be able to run it longer./Jim Pappas

          1. David_Thomas | Feb 26, 2002 01:47am | #5

            *If one of those bedrooms is downstairs, and you leave the doors open, your plan to rely on them for power-failure heat (using un-powered T-stats) sounds good. If all the bedrooms are upstairs or far down the hall, you might be unpleasantly surprised by how much air can stagnant, with the cold air staying downstairs.Not that adding heat is a bad thing. But if you heat only on the second floor, the first floor pipes might only be safe to 20F outside temp. If the heat source is low in the house, the same pipes might be safe to -20F in a power failure with your supplemental fireplace heaters running.Glad to hear that you are using DV models and therefore are not going to be killing your tenents with carbon monoxide. -David

          2. jonmarden | Feb 26, 2002 04:38am | #6

            *Jim- Your right there really isn't much difference in 2000 btu's on the low end, provided the home is well insulated and coupled with the wall mount thermostats, the units will just not stay on quite as long....you can allways override the thermostat via the normal on-off switch when prolonged use for ambiance is desired. I'm partial to the ember-fyre burners...they're much more realistic....

          3. Jim_Pappas | Feb 27, 2002 12:39pm | #7

            *David... there will be 5 fireplaces total. Two will be downstairs in the great room, and the master bedroom. The one in the great room will be very large (58K BTU).Upstairs will have 3 additional bedrooms, each with a fireplace.Jonmarden: Thanks for the tips. I will have to go check out the burners more carefully. I am worried about the higher output of those units when I have them on a higher flame, but it is worth checking out./Jim Pappas

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