LOML wants a propane fireplace in new house

[Wild Turkey]

Anyone know much about them?  Net searches show prices from Harbor Freight to ridiculous.

Looking for one that will serve as backup heat for house -- found some that were 22k BTU.

Any experience?  Good sources for info?

[dg152]

We have a built-in propane fireplace in our house. Fuel comes from an underground 100 gallon storage tank buried in our back yard. We use the fireplace sporadically so the tank only needs to be filled every year or 2. I don't know the btu capacity of the burner but it's enough to keep us warm enough in case the power goes out.

If I was installing a new one I'd get a remote control (yes, I'm that lazy!). The best thing to do is talk to your local propane supplier. It's likely that they also sell and install these things. They'll also be able to properly size the unit for your house. And while I do business with Harbor Freight from time-to-time I would be hesitant to purchase a propane fireplace insert from them. I'm not sure I would trust something like this to "Made in China".

[fredhargis]

This place we just bought has 2, basement and family room. The house used to have a heat pump with electric backup...as best as I can tell when it got really cold they just used whatever heat the heat pump would put out (it's a ground source unit) and supplemented it with the fireplaces. These are 1998 models, and the new ones might be better but the fan seems noisy though the do heat well. These units both have thermostats in their respective rooms (no remote) and sine they need electric for the fan they would be useless in a power outage, but useful if the furnace crapped out. These are Heat N Glow units, and it seem like the BTU rating was 35K each. No idea if that is input or output BTU. I'd compare the new models at a fireplace shop, all the while taking all the sales talk with a grain of salt.

[Wild Turkey]

The best thing to do is talk to your local propane supplier.

Good idea -- but first I've gotta find them

[Cub_Cadet_GT]

Anyone know much about them?  Net searches show prices from Harbor Freight to ridiculous.

Looking for one that will serve as backup heat for house -- found some that were 22k BTU.

Any experience?  Good sources for info?

We had one in our last two houses. Both were Heat n Glow brand. No problems with either. Make sure you get the fan option and wire it in separately so you can choose to run the fan or not. 

Puts out a lot of heat but depends on the location in your house. Our last house was 2 stories and over 4500 sq. feet. It would keep the family room toasty but I would not consider it as backup heat....

[Stwood_]

The best thing to do is talk to your local propane supplier.

This. Stay local in case you have problems with the unit.

[FS7]

We have one in our house. Superior, I think, though many of these are rebranded. The flame isn't overwhelming like a wood fire, and it seems like most propane fireplaces are the same way. I have seen better and I would like a bigger flame, but I don't care that much. I think some of this is due to installation practices and some is due to the nature of propane (it burns a lot more efficiently than natural gas).

The fan is noisy, which is to be expected since it's a compact blower in a small space. I lubricated the bearings and placed neoprene washers between the sheet metal and the fan, and it's a lot quieter now. I imagine a higher-quality unit wouldn't have this problem.

It puts out a decent amount of heat and will effectively warm up our great room/kitchen, which is roughly 1000 square feet. I wouldn't consider it backup heat, though in an emergency you could certainly stay near the fire.

I wouldn't go cheap, I will say that. The builder-grade fireplaces (like mine and my father-in-law's) leave a lot to be desired. My dad replaced a wood one recently with a higher-end propane unit, and my mom's custom-built unit is a higher-end one as well. Those are both way better than mine.

[lift mechanic]

Take a look at the Valor Windsor Arch Front gas stove. I put one in the house I sold a few years ago, loved it so much I put one on the place I am building right now. I an also going to get another one for my wife's "she" shed we are adding on next summer. They work great not too hard to install. Can be used with or with out fan ( fan is a little noisy) I did not get one in the last one. They work on NG or NPG. The flue is the intalk air and exhaust gas. Needs 120v 15 amp circuit.

[fredhargis]

Good idea -- but first I've gotta find them

Be sure to do that before you install one!!!

  They won't work nearly as well without LP.

[R Clark]

Like Fred, we have two propane-fueled units:  one in the family room on the main level and one in the basement.

Ours are Heatilator brand units.  I think the rated heat output is about 6-7K BTU.  They’re 50% efficient AT BEST, so the input is about 15K BTUs of propane per hour.  They have automatic fans that are controlled by an internal thermistor switch.

These units were installed with the house construction in 2004.  We’ve been in the house since 2014.

I like fireplaces; I don’t like these fireplaces.

I have had to put about $1200 into maintenance of these units since we moved in, including rebuilds and parts.  They’re running OK now, but I’ve paid close attention to what the service guy did the last couple of times I had him out to work on them.  I’m becoming conversant with how they work, and recently had to replace the fan speed controller and thermal switch on the family room unit.  I was successful getting inexpensive aftermarket parts from Amazon and then installing them.  That saved me a $200 service call.

We’ve had to use the two fireplaces as an emergency heat source during power outages; they are not reasonable for that use.  Last year, I had the local fireplace guy quote me replacements in order to get better units.  Higher output units are available, but very expensive.  It was going to be about $9K installed.  Subsequent to that our heat pump bit the big one and I had the whole thing replaced with a unit that can be pushed by a backup power generator.  Getting a new 22KW generator in a couple weeks, and so now I have a better emergency plan.

If I was building new, I don’t know which way I’d go.  If I want heat from the fireplace, then it would be wood-fired.  If I want the look and convenience, but don’t care about heat, then propane is the way to go.  If I was planning for heat when the power is out, I wouldn’t look to a fireplace for that solution.

Just my $.02.