Reclaiming a basement fireplace, go gas?

[sksmass]

For six years our semi-finished basement has basically been used as storage but I am finally ready to reclaim it as living space. It has a fireplace with an old smoke dragon installed. I've never lit a fire in it and don't intend to. I am sure that the stove is not installed to code.

I would like to either put a gas or pellet insert in there. I burn wood upstairs but I would be a newbie to gas or pellet.

I guess I have a pretty basic question about gas inserts... how does one run the gas line to an insert without it being totally exposed? It seems sloppy to just run a line over the surface of the wall. But perhaps these lines are smaller than I imagine?

Secondly, if a gas insert does not have AC power, how does it spark to ignite?

 

[DAKSY]

For six years our semi-finished basement has basically been used as storage but I am finally ready to reclaim it as living space. It has a fireplace with an old smoke dragon installed. I've never lit a fire in it and don't intend to. I am sure that the stove is not installed to code.

I would like to either put a gas or pellet insert in there. I burn wood upstairs but I would be a newbie to gas or pellet.

I guess I have a pretty basic question about gas inserts... how does one run the gas line to an insert without it being totally exposed? It seems sloppy to just run a line over the surface of the wall. But perhaps these lines are smaller than I imagine?

Secondly, if a gas insert does not have AC power, how does it spark to ignite?
View attachment 93150

I would have that install & the chimney inspected by a sweep to see if it is installed correctly. Looks like a nice ole VC, & not necessarily a smoke dragon... That being said there are inherent problems with basement install & house pressures, but they can be overcome.
Do you have NG run to your neighborhood or will you be installing LP? The NG lines tend to be bigger diameter...
Gas lines can be run thru the wall & hidden from view, but someone would have to look at your layout to see if that's feasible. I've also had homeowners hire another company to dig away the soil near the foundation, so the gasline could be buried before entering the back of the fireplace. It is then reburied...
If you are worried about power failure & you don't have generator, maybe you should rethink the pellet burner. Gas units that have standing pilots or battery back-up IPI pilots will work in an outage. No blower, tho...
HTH