Hi All...
I appreciate any help!
We live in Central NJ and have a functional wood burning fireplace with a good draft that was built with the house in 1970. The chores and soot smell associated with wood has worn me down and I'm considering converting to natural gas. Here are some of the conditions:
-- We have a speaker mounted 10" above the top opening of the fireplace and the bottom edge of our plasma TV is about 4 inches above the speaker or about 14" above the top of the fireplace opening
-- I have easy access to a natural gas supply in the basement below the fireplace. I'd need to convert an elbow to a T and add a shut off and branch on the line already feeding the furnace
-- The fireplace has an ash pit in the back center of the fireplace floor that runs to the basement wall below. The ash pit door in the basement is a very manageable 8 feet or so from where the T on the new gas supply line would be located
So:
-- Because of the TV and speaker above the fireplace opening that are not moving (it's a nice symmetrical home theater) I've ruled out an efficient insert that would seem to require non-combustible space directly above the fireplace opening
-- For the same reasons as above and for smell and health reasons, I've ruled out a ventless log set
-- This leaves a vented log set that I know would be primarily for looks and not heat as I'm reading most heat goes up the chimney, just like burning wood and that's ok, I'm not trying to heat the house with this log set. However, Hargrove makes a "hybrid" that claims to be a vented set that's more efficient and does radiate heat out of the firebox.
Questions:
Installation:
-- Is the conversion a reasonable DIY job for a very handy homeowner that's done previous, simple NG work?
-- Is there a middle ground of me doing some of the installation to save cost but having a pro do some too for safety reasons?
-- Can the ash pit safely be used to run the gas line up to the firebox?
-- Is an accessible floor mounted NG shut off (decorative key-type) near the firebox necessary or only desirable?
-- Can 1/2" yellow stainless flex be used safely from the rigid supply shut off, to the "key" shut off, then across 5' of the basement and through the ash pit up to the firebox where it would be safely secured to an in-firebox shutoff at the rear of the fireplace floor. Depending on the log set, this is where flex or tubing would connect the log set burner
Equipment:
-- Am I on the right track to use a vented log set in my situation? Will the Hargove hybrid or similar, create too much of a heat hazard with the speaker and TV mounted right above the top of the fireplace opening on the brick above?
-- Is an electronic pilot with remote control unit worth the high increase in cost over a standing pilot? (Seems about a cost increase of 40-50% over standing pilot)
-- Any recommendations on log set manufacturer and model for the DIY'r. There seems like a ton of suppliers and models are out there. Peterson and Napoleon seem top shelf but Emberglow and Pleasant Hearth seem the value suppliers.
I's like to be at about $1000-$1500 DIY including a new set of doors at about $300. Possible? What would this cost done turn-key by a pro shop?
I know this is long winded but any help would be great. Thank you.
Jim.
I appreciate any help!
We live in Central NJ and have a functional wood burning fireplace with a good draft that was built with the house in 1970. The chores and soot smell associated with wood has worn me down and I'm considering converting to natural gas. Here are some of the conditions:
-- We have a speaker mounted 10" above the top opening of the fireplace and the bottom edge of our plasma TV is about 4 inches above the speaker or about 14" above the top of the fireplace opening
-- I have easy access to a natural gas supply in the basement below the fireplace. I'd need to convert an elbow to a T and add a shut off and branch on the line already feeding the furnace
-- The fireplace has an ash pit in the back center of the fireplace floor that runs to the basement wall below. The ash pit door in the basement is a very manageable 8 feet or so from where the T on the new gas supply line would be located
So:
-- Because of the TV and speaker above the fireplace opening that are not moving (it's a nice symmetrical home theater) I've ruled out an efficient insert that would seem to require non-combustible space directly above the fireplace opening
-- For the same reasons as above and for smell and health reasons, I've ruled out a ventless log set
-- This leaves a vented log set that I know would be primarily for looks and not heat as I'm reading most heat goes up the chimney, just like burning wood and that's ok, I'm not trying to heat the house with this log set. However, Hargrove makes a "hybrid" that claims to be a vented set that's more efficient and does radiate heat out of the firebox.
Questions:
Installation:
-- Is the conversion a reasonable DIY job for a very handy homeowner that's done previous, simple NG work?
-- Is there a middle ground of me doing some of the installation to save cost but having a pro do some too for safety reasons?
-- Can the ash pit safely be used to run the gas line up to the firebox?
-- Is an accessible floor mounted NG shut off (decorative key-type) near the firebox necessary or only desirable?
-- Can 1/2" yellow stainless flex be used safely from the rigid supply shut off, to the "key" shut off, then across 5' of the basement and through the ash pit up to the firebox where it would be safely secured to an in-firebox shutoff at the rear of the fireplace floor. Depending on the log set, this is where flex or tubing would connect the log set burner
Equipment:
-- Am I on the right track to use a vented log set in my situation? Will the Hargove hybrid or similar, create too much of a heat hazard with the speaker and TV mounted right above the top of the fireplace opening on the brick above?
-- Is an electronic pilot with remote control unit worth the high increase in cost over a standing pilot? (Seems about a cost increase of 40-50% over standing pilot)
-- Any recommendations on log set manufacturer and model for the DIY'r. There seems like a ton of suppliers and models are out there. Peterson and Napoleon seem top shelf but Emberglow and Pleasant Hearth seem the value suppliers.
I's like to be at about $1000-$1500 DIY including a new set of doors at about $300. Possible? What would this cost done turn-key by a pro shop?
I know this is long winded but any help would be great. Thank you.
Jim.
