Vented Gas Fireplace: to open vent or not to open vent?

[BeverlyK]

Hello,
We just bought a house that is approximately 12-15 years old. It has a vented gas fireplace; one that has a chimney and a vent that you can open or not open. We have been told two different views on what to do with the vent. The first view is that in order to get more heat from the fire, we need to make sure the vent is completely closed when we turn it on. We did this for a very short time…several minutes…and did see a difference in the amount of heat. The second view is that we need to open the vent in order to allow the carbon monoxide fumes and/or gas fumes to escape out the chimney. We are unsure of which view is the correct one and are afraid to do either until we find out for sure what is the correct one to do. What is the correct way? Your input and advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
BeverlyK

[homebild]

The answer is: It depends.

The situation arises when gas logs are retrofitted into an existing formerly wood burning chimney with a damper.

The real solution is to determine what type of logs you have.

If they are logs made for vented application only, then you MUST vent them or you can die.

If they are unvented logs, then you can keep the damper closed with no problems.

Under the logs there should be attached several metal plates (by law) which indicate what type logs you have and for what purpose they have been designed.

If you can’t find the attached plates or cannot determine what type logs you have, do not use them until you can have a professional advise you what you must do to operate them safely.

[Anonymous]

You need to have the dampner vent open whenever you operate the gas. Like the water heater and furnace although we don’t vent gas ranges. Fireplaces are inefficient and heat does go up the chimney. If yours is only 15 years old then it probably has some heat capture features.

[Unregistered-Dodgeman]

IF this is an unvented design gas log set, you will find a lot of moisture build up in the house if you use it for a while. I would keep the vent (damper) open.
INVEST IN A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR! This would be cheap insurance against a malfunctioning appliance and should be in every household.
Good Luck!
Dodgeman

[Author]

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