Your fireplace

[Danny Tanner]

Danny, the faux log set up is a lot easier on your back than cleaning out ashes.

Yeah, until it's time to change out this smell-good sparkley cat litter looking bedding crap.

 

[dieseltech09]

I have ventless gas logs in our house. IMO they dont do much but increase my gas bill. My parents have two fireplaces with inserts in their house. They will keep it warmer than you want to be regardless how cold it is outside

 

[RETOKSQUID]

We have one of those fake log inserts as well. Hate the hell out of it, because all it does is provide that "ambient mood" crud, and run up the gas bill without heating any part of the house. Cant remove the dang thing without a major overhaul to the fire box due to the way the previous owner had it installed.

Next house we build or buy will have a proper fire place, or two, maybe even one of those walk in kind for the kitchen. Time to get mid-evil on some cooking.

 

[shotty]

Pellet stoves don't rely on draft of a chimmney, you can vent them out of the side of home if you wish, like a dryer vent. Although they will "pull" fresh air from the inside, it is greatly reduced because the stove is a closed system and very efficient, also you can connect a flexible hose and run it outside as well. Turn on your fan only for the cental unit, it will distribute warm air to the entire home. Have a pellet stove but changing to wood insert this year. Quadrafire is a good brand.

 

[shotty]

Gas logs are just for show, open up the flue and all the btu made by the flame go up and out. Don't want to sound like a know it all, but my father runs a stove warehouse in Colorado and my brother is a chimmney sweep and a stove/insert installer.

 

[JB Books]

Gas logs are just for show, open up the flue and all the btu made by the flame go up and out. Don't want to sound like a know it all, but my father runs a stove warehouse in Colorado and my brother is a chimmney sweep and a stove/insert installer.

We burn ours just for show. In fact, I think I am going to have the one that is between the master bedroom/master bath replaced with an electronic one.

If I move offices, I am going to put electric ones in my office lobby and one in my personal office.

 

[bigfug]

mine is a gas insert with fans, heats the whole house, cant replace it easily because of the way its installed, pretty much all sealed up

 

[RidgeHunter]

A soapstone stove is my primary heat source. I used my central heat a total of about 2 hours last year. It'll easily burn for 10-12 hours plus on a load, and keep coals longer than that. Very economical on wood consumption. It will burn you out of the house, it really needs a bigger house to heat or temperatures below zero to be in it's element. Have not lit a fire yet this year, but it's coming.

Some of the best money I ever spent. My heating "bill" is laughable (in a good way), as are power outages. Plus I like fire and burning things.

 

[Perrone]

Danny, the faux log set up is a lot easier on your back than cleaning out ashes.

Two words sir. Shop Vac.

I have an open one, but I live in a place that was built in the 80s so I doubt it is working like it should. Lucky I'm still alive I suppose.

 

[-Pjackso]

Shop-Vac the ashes?
That's fine if the fire has been out for a week. I've found out first hand, those ashes can fool you.

Last year I let my fire burn out. I let the ashes set for a full three days, shoveled it into a metal can, and then dumped it into the trash-can.
...Yep, I walked by the trash-can 20 minutes later and it was smoking from under the lid. The rest was all frantic, but everything turned out OK.
Actually if it were a movie, it would have been a stupid comedy with the events and how I reacted.

Anyways, For you guys burning real wood. What do you do with the ashes?