If anyone saw my squirrel in the chimney thread, I did get the flue capped today, my contractor came back and sealed off the smaller flue that was for an old furnace and put a rain cap cage thing over the bigger flue to the fireplace and also fixed the cracked chimney crown.

The chimney guys who fished the dead squirrel out were local and I got talking with them about gas fireplaces and if they installed them and they told me yes they did. Gave a rough estimate to bring the gas line over from the manifold and run the set of piping up the chimney and insert install and it sounds like it may be less than I had originally thought.

They told me if I purchased the insert myself they will just charge for installation. They seemed to like Quadrafire and Napoleon brands but I know next to nothing about gas inserts and what’s good and not good.

Have any members here had one installed? What are some good brands to look for? And what are some brands to avoid?

The fireplace appears to be a wood-burning one, although not used in many years. I’d love to have some thing I can just press a button that lights up and put a little heat out, but looks nice, not really looking for something to heat the entire house maybe just the living room.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m a complete newbie at this topic.

Buy it from your chimney guys, that way when you need support or a repair, you can call them.

Most people dont mess with gas fireplaces and they are a PITA to work on, as it kills your lower back!

Forgot to mention, another reason to buy from the local guys, finding parts for a repair can also be a challenge.

Yes, I'm kind of confused about them offering to install something you buy on your own.

I presume you are looking at what is called a direct vent gas unit. These not only vent their exhaust out but bring the combustion air in from the outside. The fire is actually sealed from the home. One of the benefits of most of these good units is that not only are they decorative but they actually put out heat. They are what I call a listed heating appliance which means they have a heat rating and you know how much heat you get from how much gas you burn. Vastly different fram standard gas logs....

I'm not familiar with Quadra fire ... but I know Napolians have been around for a while. I'd go with what ever they recommend.

Shop around.

Around here, the cost installed was double between the highest and lowest estimate.

Most dealers around here were pushing heat and glow, I went with Regency.

Better price and reputation.

I found out they sub out the installation.

They have one guy that just goes around installing the inserts for them.

The insert puts 30,000 BTUs

A lot of time we put it on instead of turning on the heat on the first floor.


We put in this one.

https://www.regency-fire.com/e...as/Gas-Inserts/LRI4E

Yes, direct vent right up the existing fireplace flue: intake and exhaust?

We removed ours, it finally failed to light, been sitting for several years, internals rusted out, typical with external air access to damp FL air.

Part not available for repair, quite expensive to replace.

Put in an electric insert, realistic fire look, it has a built in heater you can run 110/220 for power (more heat) no more propane connection, use a remote to fire it up, then again, in FL we don't use it for heat.

Heat N Glow is who we used.

Have to disagree with HRK...

Most of the good direct vent units will put out the same amount of heat even with the power off. In fact Valors don't come with a fan... you can get one as and option. So, if the power goes out, and most folks homes these days rely on power for their furnace.... you still have heat at least in the room with the fireplace.

For about 20 or more years I installed one - three a year in my business and I never had a customer regret getting one.

I installed Regency for the last 10 or so and my only complaint was they were over engineered .... dern remote control on them takes some learning.