Flames dancing in a room's dimmed light. Toe-toasting on a frosty night with a sweetheart and a glass of brandy. We Americans love our fireplaces. That hasn't changed. It's the type of fireplace that's gone through a transformation — out with the wood, in with the gas log. Out with formal living room fireplaces with stone chimneys and fancy brass tool sets, in with more casual family room fireplaces with wrought iron tool sets.

Direct-vent fireplaces, in which the piping goes out the wall behind the unit, allow for placement without a chimney. (Enquirer file photo) | ZOOM |

        Stats from the industry's Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association in Arlington, Va., tell the story:

        • Since 1992, the number of wood burning appliance shipments in the United States increased from 548,000 in 1992 to 609,332 by 2000, an increase of more than 11 percent.

        • Meanwhile, the number of gas appliance shipments zoomed from 149,000 in 1992 to 1,043,213 by 2000, an increase of more than a whopping 600 percent.

        Why?

        Americans want a quick fire fix, wherever we want — bathroom, bedroom or kitchen.

        “A lot of people want a quick, easy fire. If you want to sit by a fire and read, you just light the logs. You don't have to go outside, get logs and build a fire” with a gas fireplace, says Gary Gerwe of Bromwell's, downtown. No cord of wood to buy, store outside and haul in.

        The transition from wood-burning to gas “has been going on for the last three to five years,” according to Mr. Gerwe. Many people get their wood-burning fireplaces converted to gas and use gas logs.

        “In new homes ... builders are putting in more gas fireplaces, 60 percent to 40 percent over wood.They use a direct vent type of gas fireplace which is easier for the builder. They don't have to run a chimney. It's vented (usually horizontally) directly out the side of the house.” ”

        He points out, however, that some people switch from gas to wood because they like the smell and the variation in burning logs.

        Gas logs, usually made of ceramic fiber or concrete, don't compare to wood logs in appearance, though the newer gas logs are getting better-looking.

        A third type of gas fireplace, the unvented or vent-free fireplace, doesn't require any type of opening to the outside, making it even easier to enjoy a comfy fire in the kitchen, bedroom and those big bathrooms eating more people are opting for.

        “Most people have been buying vent-free fireplaces recently because they are so simple to install. You don't need a flue,” says Don Schmidt of Watson's in Evendale, which sells about 800-1,000 such fireplaces a year..

        They don't need vents because “they are 99.9 percent efficient, producing very little in the way of hydrocarbons,” he says.

        The big difference between the vent-free and the vented gas log fireplaces is the heat they produce.

        “The vent-free are going to actually put heat in the home, whereas vented logs and wood-burning fireplaces have 100 percent heat loss,” says Mr. Schmidt.

        The vent-free fire logs are not as realistic-looking as the vented gas logs; the flame is more blue in color, and they are more expensive. (Vent-free logs $200-$700, vented logs, $99-$400.)

        But not everyone is a fan of vent-free logs and fireplaces.

        They produce a quart of water an hour on high and can cause mold and mildew in the wrong-sized room, resulting in respiratory problems in older adults and asthma in children, according to Mr. Gerwe. “We quit selling them because they are temperamental.”

        Mr. Schmidt points out that vent-free fireplaces produce 36 percent relative humidity on a constant basis when 60 percent is allowable by industry standards.

        For safety, Dustin Geiger of the Fireplace Service Co in Monfort Height suggests “leaving the window cracked 1/2 inch when using a ventless fireplace. They burn off 99.9 percent of the gas, releasing 0.1 percent into the room. The window takes care of that, and the moisture, without the loss of heat, he says. And always have a professional measure your space and recommend the correct size for your room.

        The safety factor of the ventless fireplaces and logs has been addressed by adding an Oxygen Depletion Sensor (ODS) that shuts off the gas to the appliance if the oxygen level in the room drops to an 18 to 18.5 percent level (from a normal of 21 percent).

        Vent-free appliances produce trace amounts of carbon monoxide. According to firelogs.com, the American Gas Association code for vent-free logs and heaters is 20PPM. (A gas range is 400 PPM according to firelogs.com.)

        “You can also use vent-free logs in a regular fireplace,” converted to gas with the damper closed, Mr. Geiger says.

        Vented? Direct vent? Ventless?

        It can be confusing.

        The type of gas fireplace that's right for your home depends on the construction of your home, the size of the room, whether you have an existing fireplace, fuel availability and cost and what you want from your fireplace — heat, ambience or both.

        Talking to a professional is the best first step.

Accessories

        Almost every set of fireplace tools has three or four of the following: shovel, poker, brush and tongs. That much hasn't changed.

        But the the elegant look of brass tools has given way to our more casual lifestyles. Wrought-iron rules, according to Gary Gerwe of Bromwell's, downtown, a company that's racked up 180 years in business.

        “People are becoming less formal. Rather than having an elegant, formal fireplace in the living room, many have moved to a less formal fireplace in a family room,” he says.

        Prices depend on whether the tools are handmade, machine-made or imported.

        “Handmade in the U.S. is going to be more than machine-made in Taiwan,” says Mr. Gerwe, who gives a range of $75 to $1,300 for wrought iron. “though most sell for $75-$300.”

        For brass, Don Schmidt of Watson's in Evendale says you can expect to pay $30-$200 for brass-plated sets and $150-$250 or more for solid brass sets.

        Have a fireplace in any room

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