# Any experience with electric fireplaces?



## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I'm looking at getting an electric fireplace for the lower level of my new house. I really want to have a gas fireplace installed but have been advised to try the electric first because the gas is such a mess to install and the electric ones take the chill off and are really nice. I've really not seen an electric fireplace so I don't know how 'realistic' it is. And I'm wondering if I'll see a big jump in my electric bill if I run it every evening during the winter. Any experiences and advice would be appreciated.


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## spookiesmom (Mar 28, 2010)

I think they run on 220, and would really be expensive to run. I'd think in your area gas would be more efficient and less costly.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

I have found that modern fireplaces are a total waste. They don't heat the room nearly enough to compensate for the energy they use. I have a gas starter and have never used it. Once upon a time, I thought a fireplace was wonderful, but not if you have to clean it..in the case of a woodburning gas starter...or PAY for it, in the case of electric. Any electrical appliance that produces heat uses a lot of electricity. Modern fireplaces loose warmth and do very little to heat a house. I have a hot water bottle to keep me warm on cold nights.


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

We have a wood burning fireplace that we never use except on holiday when guests are here as they seem to love it.... so mostly 'atmosphere use' not practical use LOL .
However we did buy a few Holmes electric space heaters. They get used mostly in spring and fall. Yes electric went up but had we turned oil furnace on...that uses electric too!! ..and we saved fuel oil ( which is mighty pricey too! ) .
Now we just use them to take chill off then shut them off. For instance I'm an early riser ( 5:30 or so and hubby isn't ). I get my coffee and come to my office ( small room) and put heater on for about 10-15 mins then turn it off. It takes the chill off and I didn't waste fuel heating the whole house. later when hubby gets up.. on work day I'm heading downstairs... he puts his on by his chair in kitchen till he feels the chill is gone than turns it off. Again since just in the small area of the kitchen.. he's warmed and the rest of house didn't get heated for nothing. 
As I said yes during those couple of months our electric bill was a bit higher but we found at years end we had saved a lot of fuel last year doing this. ( We only buy fuel once a year as we have multiple tanks so was easy to compare)... and!! we had a very cold nasty winter last year here! 
Ideally I think gas would be the way to go for the fireplace econiomically speaking..but hear that's going up as well ( figures!! )


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## MaryH (Mar 7, 2006)

Crystal, if you are looking for a "look" as well as warmth the gas fireplace would be a better choice. If you're wanting just a heat source have you thought about an infrared electric heater? They throw a good amount of heat and are much more energy efficient than a conventional electric heater or fireplace. Running any type of electric heater every night during the winter months will add substantially to your monthly electric bill.

Having just gone another few days without power thanks to an early snowfall, I'm going out tomorrow to start looking at woodstove fireplace inserts. I no longer use my fireplace because I don't want to stay awake long enough to make sure the fire is completely out before shutting the flue down and I don't want to leave the flue open all night and have heat escape up the chimney once the fire dies out. I'm looking for a backup source of heat in the event of a power outage but also something that I can use nights and weekends during the winter months as a supplemental heat source to lower my monthly gas bill. The pellet stove provides good low cost heat but also needs electricity to run so that's out. A gas stove won't help to cut my gas bill so that's out. So that leaves a wood stove. I love the smell of a wood fire, my fireplace is on the main floor so clean up and disposal of ash wouldn't be too troublesome, and the cost of a cord of seasoned wood (delivered) is not terribly expensive.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

We love our gas fireplace. And, it does warm up the rooms on that floor ... A family room, a den/guest room, laundry room, and bathroom. The gas heat is clean and much cheaper than electric. I grew up in homes with real fireplaces. They were nice ... but, looking back, they were a lot of work and tended to make the air in the rooms feel dry. I think our fireplace looks like a real one when turned on ... Beautiful, warm, and cozy!

We have an electric stove which looks beautiful ... But, I hate it. I prefer gas because it's easier to regulate temps when cooking ... For me, anyway. So, we are thinking about having the work done to have gas appliances installed ... it would be worth it for us. Our electric bills for the air conditioning, etc., always run much higher.


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Crystal, I agree with all the others about the electric fireplace. We have one, and yes it was pretty, we didn't use it too much, and didn't really notice a huge jump in the bill, but, it did not throw off the heat or warmth you would hope for AND thr eclectrical box died, and so now, we have a fireplace that is just basically a piece of furniture. So that is my experience with electic fireplaces, "thumbs down". Love you.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

We have a wood burning fireplace here in Greece & use it often---love a roaring fire! If I owned this home I would put in an insert like Mary suggested---warms the room more & is still very cozy. 
If all your heat sources fail you can always sleep in front of a roaring fire!


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

edelweiss said:


> We have a wood burning fireplace here in Greece & use it often---love a roaring fire! If I owned this home I would put in an insert like Mary suggested---warms the room more & is still very cozy.
> If all your heat sources fail you can always sleep in front of a roaring fire!


 
I have to admit my dream is to have a wood bruning fireplace. My MIL has one, and I love it. But Mary's suggestion is great.


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## Lindy (Mar 25, 2009)

I think they sometimes look nice. I guess it depends on the quality of the unit and what you are willing to pay.


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Lindy said:


> I think they sometimes look nice. I guess it depends on the quality of the unit and what you are willing to pay.


 
Lindy, mine is so pretty, it's Cherry wood, and was quite expensive, and you are right, it looks so pretty, but it really didn't throw off a great deal of heat, but did give a nice cozy feeling. We probably just have to get the eletrical box fixed, but just have not got around to it. But I still don't think I would go that route again.


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> I'm looking at getting an electric fireplace for the lower level of my new house. I really want to have a gas fireplace installed but have been advised to try the electric first because the gas is such a mess to install and the electric ones take the chill off and are really nice. I've really not seen an electric fireplace so I don't know how 'realistic' it is. And I'm wondering if I'll see a big jump in my electric bill if I run it every evening during the winter. Any experiences and advice would be appreciated.


Crystal, I have a Ventless Gas Fireplace (came with the house). I absolutely love it. It can heat this entire house in very short time. As a matter of fact, even set on low, I can't leave it on too long, it gets too warm in here!

No escape of heat up a chimney, there is no chimney!!! All the heat created is sent out into the house. Mine is started as you would a gas grill. You can do a search on Ventless Gas Fireplace and find out lots of info on them.

This is so easy to use and so efficient....I'm glad they put this kind in here.


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## njdrake (Apr 23, 2007)

I was going to say exactly what Claire just said.
We have the gas and love it. The only complaint I have is like Claire, I can't leave it on all evening because it gets too hot even on low. It heats most of the downstairs and has a thermostat on it and also a fan. It make the room so cozy and I love the look of the fire on a cold night.


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## mfa (Oct 5, 2009)

i agree with Claire and Jane. i have a gas heater and it will throw off much more heat. ive tried the electric ones and they dont really do much. but i found the electric oil radiator heaters to work well enough and they are totally quiet. if you need a lot of heat, go with the gas. :thumbsup:


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

A ventless gas fireplace is truthfully what I want. But in speaking to the contractor who built my house, I will have to wait a bit before installing it. It's pretty major construction for one and more then I can swing right now for another. We need to get settled into the house first before we do any major construction. Truthfully, this move was much harder on my parents then I anticipated. Some really good friends of my parents stopped by and the husband is showing some alarming signs of dementia or alzheimers. It came on really quickly and they are seeking medical help. Anyway, Mom mentioned to them that the lot right next to us was for sale and they could build right next to us. The wife's response was "Oh we're not ready to move from our house yet". Mom asked her how she was going to handle the lawn and mechanics of the house if she couldn't count on her husband to not only help, but cause repair needs as he's already done. She replied she has a very good son-in-law. But what she doesn't know is the son-in-law is a friend of mine and he and his wife recently shared with me that he's been taking care of his house and his parents home because his father does have alzheimers. He was really emotional about it and said he can't take care of 3 houses and deal with 2 dads with this condition. I had shared that with my Mom so she replied to her friend, "don't wait until you think you are ready because when you are truly ready, it's too difficult. Do it before you really think you need to do something like this". My parents are both pretty open about how difficult this has been on them. They are glad they did it but wish they would have done it a couple of years ago.

The heating/air conditioning is really well balanced. I'm living in the lower level and for the most part the temps are the same on both levels. But we have some really big beautiful windows that have a southern exposure. We've been blessed with some really gorgeous sunny days since we moved in and the furnace doesn't run in the afternoon or evening at all because the sun is keeping the house warm. Sometime in the middle of the night the furnace does kick on and then my level is the same temperature as the level my parents are on. And my level isn't freezing by any means. But would be cozier if it was a couple of degrees warmer. So that's why I was thinking maybe an electric fireplace that has the temperature gauge on it would be a good way to go. Simple to put in and I would only run it for a couple of hours in the evening.

Christine...when yours was working did you like the look of the flame? And did yours have a thermostat on it? There is one that I called about at a furniture store here in town and she said you can control the temperature with the thermostat. And that it looks like real fire.

My parents have a friend who has a 3 season room here and a home in Florida and they bought one of those Heat Surge's and they say they love it and use it to heat the whole house in Florida and it does not increase their electric bill here and only slightly in Florida. But I don't like that it doesn't look like fire but glowing fake wood. So I don't want to go that way if I can find an electric fireplace that does the same thing. Is there such a thing?


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> A ventless gas fireplace is truthfully what I want. But in speaking to the contractor who built my house, I will have to wait a bit before installing it. It's pretty major construction for one and more then I can swing right now for another. We need to get settled into the house first before we do any major construction. Truthfully, this move was much harder on my parents then I anticipated. Some really good friends of my parents stopped by and the husband is showing some alarming signs of dementia or alzheimers. It came on really quickly and they are seeking medical help. Anyway, Mom mentioned to them that the lot right next to us was for sale and they could build right next to us. The wife's response was "Oh we're not ready to move from our house yet". Mom asked her how she was going to handle the lawn and mechanics of the house if she couldn't count on her husband to not only help, but cause repair needs as he's already done. She replied she has a very good son-in-law. But what she doesn't know is the son-in-law is a friend of mine and he and his wife recently shared with me that he's been taking care of his house and his parents home because his father does have alzheimers. He was really emotional about it and said he can't take care of 3 houses and deal with 2 dads with this condition. I had shared that with my Mom so she replied to her friend, "don't wait until you think you are ready because when you are truly ready, it's too difficult. Do it before you really think you need to do something like this". My parents are both pretty open about how difficult this has been on them. They are glad they did it but wish they would have done it a couple of years ago.
> 
> The heating/air conditioning is really well balanced. I'm living in the lower level and for the most part the temps are the same on both levels. But we have some really big beautiful windows that have a southern exposure. We've been blessed with some really gorgeous sunny days since we moved in and the furnace doesn't run in the afternoon or evening at all because the sun is keeping the house warm. Sometime in the middle of the night the furnace does kick on and then my level is the same temperature as the level my parents are on. And my level isn't freezing by any means. But would be cozier if it was a couple of degrees warmer. So that's why I was thinking maybe an electric fireplace that has the temperature gauge on it would be a good way to go. Simple to put in and I would only run it for a couple of hours in the evening.
> 
> ...


 
Crystal, honestly, it was beautiful and I do beleive it did have a thermostat. Sorry, can't remember now. But it was beautiful. It came with a remote as well. All we really need to do, is call the store where we got it from, and I'm sure it's an easy fix. But my gosh it was beautiful when lit, and did look like real. It wa so cosy looking. The fireplace itself is really pretty. Just frustrating the box inside stopped working . Hubby and I just don't right now have the time, to even consider it LOL. But it was nice when it was working.

When I was younger, my Mom did have a gas firplace. Brick. Boy was that nice. And she didn't have a chimney. She was always scared to light the pilot, so she would call the gas company every year :blush:, and bless their hearts they would come out and do it for her. And that did throw of a good amount of heat. 

When my MIL was well, we brought her over to see the electric fireplace and she did love it. And it was pretty, but really didn't give off that much heat. But was cosy. The store came and installed it any everything.

If we had the time, (we just can't make it a priority now), we would have the electric box fixed in a heartbeat.

Hugs and love to you. Oh I can't wait till you are all settled my dear friend, you deserve it I love you.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

We have a wood burning fireplace in our living room in Vermont and I love it. It has heat-a-lators which are vents that allow the hot air out to warm the room and we have glass doors on it so that when we go to sleep at night we don't have to worry about closing the flue. We close the tempered glass doors, close the little vent below it and it's fine. We close the flue the next day when it's cooled down a lot. I love a big roaring fire up there and when we've lost power in our all electric house, we've hung blankets on the door openings and stay nice and cosy. Wouldn't want to do it for too many days since our water pump is also electric I want a decorative fireplace for the city. My neighbor has a beautiful one with a mantle and her plasma tv above it. She puts multi height big candles in the opening. Oh, she's a professor of interior design


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Snowbody said:


> We have a wood burning fireplace in our living room in Vermont and I love it. It has heat-a-lators which are vents that allow the hot air out to warm the room and we have glass doors on it so that when we go to sleep at night we don't have to worry about closing the flue. We close the tempered glass doors, close the little vent below it and it's fine. We close the flue the next day when it's cooled down a lot. I love a big roaring fire up there and when we've lost power in our all electric house, we've hung blankets on the door openings and stay nice and cosy. Wouldn't want to do it for too many days since our water pump is also electric I want a decorative fireplace for the city. My neighbor has a beautiful one with a mantle and her plasma tv above it. She puts multi height big candles in the opening. Oh, she's a professor of interior design


 
Oh Susan, I just love wood burning fireplaces, love them.


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Crystal, keep in mind that when you lose power in cold weather, if you select electric fireplace, you also lose that heat.

With my gas, (propane since we have no gas lines out here), I can stay warm when power is off. That's VERY IMPORTANT! That's when you need it the most!


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Malt Shoppe said:


> Crystal, keep in mind that when you lose power in cold weather, if you select electric fireplace, you also lose that heat.
> 
> With my gas, (propane since we have no gas lines out here), I can stay warm when power is off. That's VERY IMPORTANT! That's when you need it the most!


That's a great point. My Mom's now I'm going by memory, but I think it was hooked up to the gas line. It was really nice and did give off lots of warm wonderful heat, and was very pretty.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

We have a ventless gas fireplace and I love the warmth, but the gas smell is too strong. To me, it's as bad as cigarette smoke. Everything in our house, including our clothes smell like propane after we use it. I would never install a ventless fireplace again.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

vjw said:


> We have a ventless gas fireplace and I love the warmth, but the gas smell is too strong. To me, it's as bad as cigarette smoke. Everything in our house, including our clothes smell like propane after we use it. I would never install a ventless fireplace again.


Good points! Our gas fireplace has a vent. And, it's natural gas ... which has no odor. Something is added to the gas lines, however, that produces an odor only if one smells gas ...meaning there is a gas leak. Then one calls the ER gas company line!


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

vjw said:


> We have a ventless gas fireplace and I love the warmth, but the gas smell is too strong. To me, it's as bad as cigarette smoke. Everything in our house, including our clothes smell like propane after we use it. I would never install a ventless fireplace again.


Maybe you could have it checked; mine doesn't put off any smell.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's an article which explains why there's a rotten egg odor with ventless fireplaces:

Why do Ventless Gas Logs Smell?


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## njdrake (Apr 23, 2007)

Crystal, Claire has a very good point. I didn't think about it but I have used mine several times when the electric went out to warm the downstairs. I've actually slept on the couch with the girls when the electric has been off and we stayed cozy warm.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

njdrake said:


> Crystal, Claire has a very good point. I didn't think about it but I have used mine several times when the electric went out to warm the downstairs. I've actually slept on the couch with the girls when the electric has been off and we stayed cozy warm.


We've done the same thing here, too. 

I love relaxing in one of the recliner chairs, with Snowball snuggled up next to me, while the fireplace is lit ... it's so comfy and cozy.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

Crystal - the cabin I rent in So. Illinois has one of the decorative electric ones and it does look fake. I have a natural gas one in mymhouse and it's wonderful! Warms up thenhouse like you wouldn't believe and I have absolutely no odor. Maybe you could do a reasonably priced space heater until you can do the gas like you really want?


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

maggieh said:


> Crystal - the cabin I rent in So. Illinois has one of the decorative electric ones and it does look fake. I have a natural gas one in mymhouse and it's wonderful! Warms up thenhouse like you wouldn't believe and I have absolutely no odor. Maybe you could do a reasonably priced space heater until you can do the gas like you really want?


 
I was thinking the same thing about the space heaters. There are some really safe ones available. Sure would take the chill off the room.

When I awake chilled, I want to wait for Spring before getting up!!! I really don't do well in cold!


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## gigigirlz (Jun 18, 2007)

We have a ventless free standing gas stove....absolutely love it...it is in the family room...and looks great...it is by Vermont Castings....called the Radiance...will post a picture shortly....


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## gigigirlz (Jun 18, 2007)

this is a picture of our stove....


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

That's beautiful. The freestanding ones would probably put off more heat because the outside heats up too; helping to create more warmth.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Love the look of that woodstove. 
BTW if anyone is looking for a space heater that I find is great, I got this one Amazon.com: DeLonghi EW7707CM Oil-filled Radiator with ComforTemp Technology: Home & Garden It's safe because it's all sealed and you can adjust heat. Best of all it just oozes the heat out...I hate the forced air or radiant ones; they're so drying. I used one like this in the lower level of my VT house at my desk for extra heat in a year when it was minus 4 for weeks. Kept me nice and cosy.:thumbsup:


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## Silkmalteselover (Apr 1, 2010)

Crystal Enjoying reading everyone's posts.. getting me ready for WINTER! I have a gas fireplace with vent.. it heats my open living room, tv room, kitchen and dining room area well, looks beautiful.. and no smell and works if the eletricity is off. I have the very safe oil filled "radiator" look heaters as Susan posted that I love. Bought 2 Honeywell black ones on clearance last Spring at Wal Mart for $25. They heat an area quickly and take the chill off for sure this time of year so a furnace doesn't have to run for the whole house. After you turn them off they are still warming the area.


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## MaryH (Mar 7, 2006)

This has been a great thread, especially since I'm in the market for something to use as backup/supplemental heat. I've decided to go with a woodstove insert. I realize they can be messy but I don't mind the cleanup, it's an insert to an already existing fireplace so will seal off the fireplace from any leaks of existing warm air up the chimney, and wood is less expensive than gas in my area. Here's the stove I've decided on: HI200 Wood Insert - Hampton Cast Iron Stoves & Fireplaces - Regency Fireplace Products

I have to give final fireplace measurements to the fireplace store, wait time for install is about 3 weeks, and need to order 1/2 cord of wood and stack that. Hopefully I'll be sitting in front of a nice warm fire by Christmas. But I think Santa's going to have to come in through the window. :yes:


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Very nice Mary. What I liked best outside of it's good looks was this: 
Single load of wood providing warmth up to 8 hour! 
Bring on the winter!


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

I don't know, I have been thinking about buying one of those electric no vent fireplaces but have not decided yet. We did not have a real fireplace installed when we bought the house. My son in law who has lived in Arizona all his life said it is a waist of money. I agree mostly with him. We had a fireplace in Houston and barely used it, but it was in the formal living room where we rarely spend time. And frankly some Christmas we would have had to run the a/c in order to use the fire place. And it is the same in Arizona. 
Now the fire place we had in Houston was made to use with wood and we could start the fire with gas. But it's a mess to clean even if you use it only one time. So we bought some fake logs to use with the gas line. But never used it much either. Christmas we spend in Arizona with our daughter's family and when home rarely were in the formal living room to light the fireplace. 
Right now I am more thinking about buying a firepit for the outside. Not sure if it is worth it either. Lol, my son in law turns on the bbq when he is out on the patio during cold winter evenings.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

MalteseJane said:


> I don't know, I have been thinking about buying one of those electric no vent fireplaces but have not decided yet. We did not have a real fireplace installed when we bought the house. My son in law who has lived in Arizona all his life said it is a waist of money. I agree mostly with him. We had a fireplace in Houston and barely used it, but it was in the formal living room where we rarely spend time. And frankly some Christmas we would have had to run the a/c in order to use the fire place. And it is the same in Arizona.
> Now the fire place we had in Houston was made to use with wood and we could start the fire with gas. But it's a mess to clean even if you use it only one time. So we bought some fake logs to use with the gas line. But never used it much either. Christmas we spend in Arizona with our daughter's family and when home rarely were in the formal living room to light the fireplace.
> Right now I am more thinking about buying a firepit for the outside. Not sure if it is worth it either. Lol, my son in law turns on the bbq when he is out on the patio during cold winter evenings.


Oh, Janine ... I think the firepit sounds wonderful! You could toast marshmallows and roast hot dogs on it, right?


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

Love the idea of the vent-free gas stove that Jeanne posted. It wouldn't require much construction, just the addition of a gas line. It's not quite the same as a fireplace but it would cozy up your area and not take up too much space.


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