I was sent over here from the Arborist forum by a member, he said you guys were the experts on this stuff. I bought a house that has a gas fire place but would prefer to burn wood in it, that gives me an excuse to have all the chainsaws. So how can I go about doing this? I have read alot of conflicting information some say just pull out the gas logs, some say that it is dangerous to burn wood in a gas fireplace. To me the fireplace looks like any other wood one I've seen before, but if there are pictures that would help just let me know what to take pictures of. Thanks.
Converting a natural gas fireplace to a wood fireplace.
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(Thanks for comin' on over here & welcome to the forum!)
It's a little late at night so you might noy get answers right away from the gurus here so hang tight for an answer!
In the meantime, do you have a make/model of your fireplace? Can you give details on your chimney (height, central chimney, outer wall chimney).
Can you post a photo showing a little more of the surface area of your fireplace surround?
Shari
It's a little late at night so you might noy get answers right away from the gurus here so hang tight for an answer!
In the meantime, do you have a make/model of your fireplace? Can you give details on your chimney (height, central chimney, outer wall chimney).
Can you post a photo showing a little more of the surface area of your fireplace surround?
Shari
I couldnt find anything on the fireplace that gave the model. It is inside the home with the front opening into the great room and the back and sides in the 4 seasons room. The second picutes is a small door on the rear of the fireplace that got tiled in so hopefully it isnt all that important.
you are in the same situation i was in when i started.
fireplace with natural gas ignition for real wood.
find out what your fireplace is rated for, find out what your chimney is rated for.
the easiest way to do this would be to have a "expert"(i use that term lightly as i had 6 people come look at my zero clearance fireplace before i made a decision, damn glad i did too, as 4 of the 6 people gaveme dangerous/misinformation onwhat i can and cant use in my ZC fireplace)
anyways, tell them to send out their resident expert on wood stoves(most places install pellets and gas as well). they should be able to tell you which options you have. i would say at aminimum have 3 people come look at it as in my case i had bad luck getting a educated person out to let me know what i can install in the fireplace.
fireplace with natural gas ignition for real wood.
find out what your fireplace is rated for, find out what your chimney is rated for.
the easiest way to do this would be to have a "expert"(i use that term lightly as i had 6 people come look at my zero clearance fireplace before i made a decision, damn glad i did too, as 4 of the 6 people gaveme dangerous/misinformation onwhat i can and cant use in my ZC fireplace)
anyways, tell them to send out their resident expert on wood stoves(most places install pellets and gas as well). they should be able to tell you which options you have. i would say at aminimum have 3 people come look at it as in my case i had bad luck getting a educated person out to let me know what i can install in the fireplace.
Looks to me like you've got a wood burning fire place that some one installed a gas log set in.
Pull the gas logs, burner & gas line out, clean everything & post another pic.
You'll have to plug the gas line hole unless the installer was smart & brought it in thru the
small ash cleanout door in the bottom of the fire box, which he may have done,
as there doesn't appear to be any gas line to either side of the log set.
You should get a sweep in to clean/inspect your chimney, also, just to be safe.
If everything's in good shape, that baby is a candidate for an insert or a hearthmount stove.
Pull the gas logs, burner & gas line out, clean everything & post another pic.
You'll have to plug the gas line hole unless the installer was smart & brought it in thru the
small ash cleanout door in the bottom of the fire box, which he may have done,
as there doesn't appear to be any gas line to either side of the log set.
You should get a sweep in to clean/inspect your chimney, also, just to be safe.
If everything's in good shape, that baby is a candidate for an insert or a hearthmount stove.
Thanks for the help guys. I'll pull what I can out when I get home from work. If I do convert it back to a wood burning fireplace will that increase or decrease the value of the home? Or is it so little change that I shouldnt even worry about it?
Shari said:
Figured that but its not going to get any use now that the tile is blocking it. So this is looking more and more like a wood fireplace originally.
madison
Minister of Fire
Non professional, but a been there opinion.
It would look like the hearth dimension, the distance from the front of any insert you may able to fit into the existing hole, will need to be addressed depending on what looks like tile floor and type of insert you can get into the existing "hole".
More pics as Daksy suggested, as well as your home description, location, goals, amount of dough you want to blow etc.
Get a couple of reputable ONSITE opinions, and consider that it may come down to "taking a sledgehammer" to the exisiting fireplace and hearth. If that is the case, it will be open up a lot of options rather than "shoe horning" an insert into the exisitng hole.
It would look like the hearth dimension, the distance from the front of any insert you may able to fit into the existing hole, will need to be addressed depending on what looks like tile floor and type of insert you can get into the existing "hole".
More pics as Daksy suggested, as well as your home description, location, goals, amount of dough you want to blow etc.
Get a couple of reputable ONSITE opinions, and consider that it may come down to "taking a sledgehammer" to the exisiting fireplace and hearth. If that is the case, it will be open up a lot of options rather than "shoe horning" an insert into the exisitng hole.
madison said:
I dont really want to replace the insert. I am just wanting to burn wood in it instead of the gas that it is currently setup to run.
madison
Minister of Fire
Opps sorry about misreading.
I do believe there is an issue with going back and forth between gas and wood burning within a tiled chimney.
I do believe there is an issue with going back and forth between gas and wood burning within a tiled chimney.
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
I agree that this is a wood burning fireplace - so no conversion is needed, just a proper removal of anything related to the gas.
Of course, it is always good to have the chimney cleaned and inspected.
Of course, it is always good to have the chimney cleaned and inspected.
madison said:
I dont understand, the only tile is on the floor of the porch that butts up agains the chimney. There isn't tile in the chimney.
madison
Minister of Fire
Tile chimney is another name for clay lined. Which is what see in one of your pictures up thru the damper.
I thought and could be totally wrong, that there was an issue with the gas appliances exhaust containing water vapor and/or acid gases causing some issues when converting to wood. Or visa versa. Again, I could be totally off base and will therefor butt out of this thread.
I thought and could be totally wrong, that there was an issue with the gas appliances exhaust containing water vapor and/or acid gases causing some issues when converting to wood. Or visa versa. Again, I could be totally off base and will therefor butt out of this thread.
Webmaster said:
Thanks, I made an appointment this afternoon to have a professional come out and take a look. For a 100 bucks they will get the gas logs out and plug the line. I figured that was worth having a professional take care of it.
The other issue development in theis fire place project is that we are having it rebuilt from the roof up due to cracking and water leaking in to the porch area. I let the contractor know that I was going to switchit to wood and he didn't seem to have a problem with that. Are there any special requests that I should make since they will be rebuilding it anyways?
golfandwoodnut
Minister of Fire
I think the tile being referred to is the chimney liner (probably a teracata flu liner). You will have no problem going back to wood burning with a gas starter. Just take note of where the shut off valve is, you probably have 2, one for the logs and one in the floor. Or perhaps just one in the floor. Just shut off gas and remove logs. You may want to add a pipe for the gas starter. My plumber just took a gas line with a cap on the end and then cut slits with a hack saw to go under the logs. Turn on gas, light, once fire started shut off gas.
later if you want an insert, highly recommended for efficency, you will have to remove the gas line for safety reasone.
later if you want an insert, highly recommended for efficency, you will have to remove the gas line for safety reasone.
madison
Minister of Fire
golfandwoodnut
Minister of Fire
Yep, as I expected. If you remove that cap and put a 90 degree on it, then a short pipe with slits in it and then another cap.
IMO, I would take the gas out of there completely if you plan on burning wood... I would sleep a lot better that way. I'd also put an insert or a free standing stove in, an open fireplace is such a waste. Also, if the top is in bad enough shape that it needs attention, I wouldn't just assume that the liner and the rest of the chimney is in good shape. In fact, I'd probably put a SS liner in it to be on the safe side. Have it thoroughly inspected at the least.
Again, JMO.
Again, JMO.
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