Hello,
We recently moved from a NC home with ventless natural gas logs and blower (pilot light always on, light switch to turn gas logs on) and bought an existing home in TN. The previous owners installed vented LP gas logs in the fireplace and it works great. I miss the simple switch so I have to turn on the knob after lighting the pilot (and open the vent), but other than that it works great. We don't have a blower but since LP burns hotter than NG we like the heat output. I understand the vented system is less efficient than the ventless system we left. I'm also noticing a big price difference in cost to operate the logs. It seemed it cost less than $40/month in the winter to operate the NG logs. The previous owners simply bought the typical gas grill tanks (20lb, 5 gallon) to hook up to and fuel their logs. The current tank exchange price is $17.66 for a 5 gallon tank. I did some shopping and I can get a 120 gallon tank for $400 filled, delivered and installed, but it costs $99/year to lease and the current rate to fill a 120 gallon tank is $280. That's a better deal (and less hassle) to keep re-filling the small 5 gallon tanks. My question is, is there anything I can do to make these logs more efficient (such as a fireback)? Is there a way to convert a vented system to a vent-free system? Just curious. Thanks!
We recently moved from a NC home with ventless natural gas logs and blower (pilot light always on, light switch to turn gas logs on) and bought an existing home in TN. The previous owners installed vented LP gas logs in the fireplace and it works great. I miss the simple switch so I have to turn on the knob after lighting the pilot (and open the vent), but other than that it works great. We don't have a blower but since LP burns hotter than NG we like the heat output. I understand the vented system is less efficient than the ventless system we left. I'm also noticing a big price difference in cost to operate the logs. It seemed it cost less than $40/month in the winter to operate the NG logs. The previous owners simply bought the typical gas grill tanks (20lb, 5 gallon) to hook up to and fuel their logs. The current tank exchange price is $17.66 for a 5 gallon tank. I did some shopping and I can get a 120 gallon tank for $400 filled, delivered and installed, but it costs $99/year to lease and the current rate to fill a 120 gallon tank is $280. That's a better deal (and less hassle) to keep re-filling the small 5 gallon tanks. My question is, is there anything I can do to make these logs more efficient (such as a fireback)? Is there a way to convert a vented system to a vent-free system? Just curious. Thanks!
