Gas Furnaces, Heaters or Fireplaces, Do’s and Don'ts
Nov 02 '09 (Updated Nov 04 '09)
The Bottom Line The thrust of this piece, is to use your common sense, don't believe everything the manufacturer's write in their glossy brochures and safely survive another winter.
From time to time, but most particularly, at this time of the year, I receive emails asking questions that I must have covered in some of my several (?) reviews. However, there are often a few I haven’t covered and it would be cruel of me to point those who write to me to my past scribblings, and force them to read a plethora of information before getting the answer to their questions I felt ambitious enough to try and cover the more common ones in a new review.
Here then is a somewhat updated list of what I view as the most critical things to do when you live with a gas appliance, what you can’t do and even, what you should not do.
Vent-Free Gas Fireplaces:
No,… my opinion on ventless, vent-free and unvented gas fireplaces/heaters has not changed one bit over the past decade. They continue to be dangerous to operate and bad for your health. I don’t see any changes in the technology that would alter this opinion that I first put to paper back in 1995 or earlier. If anything, they have become so accepted by society in general that they may even be more dangerous than they were ten years ago. Those that are now in aging condition and have received very little attention to maintenance are certainly more dangerous today than they were a decade ago.
So if you own one, Do take time to have it cleaned, serviced and checked for defects in either the burner system or for broken logs. Do, have a good quality carbon monoxide detector installed and regularly check it or replace it to ensure it is functioning. (Most have a five year life expectancy.) Do Not alter the log configuration in a vent-free gas fireplace or add more glowing embers. Do Not attempt to convert one from propane to natural gas, these products are not convertible.
Operate them only as a supplementary source of heat, and try to limit their use to a few hours per day. Ensure there is fresh air available to the room by either opening a window or opening up the room to the rest of the house or both. These products were never intended to be used as primary sources of heat, as stated by the American Gas Association Research Division report, dated 1996. They were never tested for continuous use at gas input rates in excess of 20,000 Btu’s per hour, again per AGAR’s report of 1996. Nothing has changed in that area since the 1996 report that is often cited in support of the safety of these products. The Vent Free Gas Products Alliance has never replied to these very salient points that were so clear in AGAR’s 1996 report, and which I have read from cover to cover several times.
If you do not have an unvented gas fireplace, Don’t buy one. Search out the vented alternatives, that are often no more expensive to install and are infinitely safer. Don’t write to me to say you are going to buy one and only use it,… “carefully”. You might just be careful and have no bad outcomes, but what about the next person? Why expose anyone else to this kind of non-technology and possibly hurt the family that buys the home from you? If you know you have to use it with care, as it could harm or even kill you and your loved ones, why buy it?
Vented Heaters, Fireplaces and Furnaces:
Do Not attempt to convert any of these products from one gas to another. If the manufacturer offers an approved conversion kit, it must be installed by a licensed gasfitter, preferably, one who is experienced with such conversions. It is much more complicated than simply changing orifices. Often it means a new gas valve or regulator, pilot orifice and adjustments to primary air on the burner. Doing it yourself is almost always going to result in a disaster.
Do follow routine annual maintenance, usually found in the manual that came with it. Changing filters, two or three times per year in a new furnace with a HEPA paper filter is critical to maintaining the highest efficiency and avoid causing the furnace to work harder. A totally blocked filter can cause the furnace to short cycle on a high temperature limit control. That is hard on the heat exchanger which will overheat and cool through several cycles, as well as the furnace fan, that has to run constantly against the added load on it. It’s also hard on all of the controls that make the furnace run safely.
Don't turn your furnace down too low, when you plan to be out of the house for the day. While it seems like it might save you money on your energy bill, turning down your thermostat more than seven degrees (F) can allow the walls to cool too much and can actually end up costing you more to recover the comfort level you had before you left home.
Do clean out the fan on gas fireplaces and heaters. It’s amazing to me, how many people never even look at the little fans on these products and complain that they burn out or get noisy after only a few short years of service. Those little dust bunnies accumulate fast in the fans on these products, as most do not have any sort of filter. Replacement fans generally cost more than three or four service calls to clean them. While the fans on the gas fireplaces will push a little heat around the room, they do not increase the efficiency of the little gas fireplaces and heaters by more than about 2%. So if you have no inclination to service them regularly, save some money and don’t buy the optional fan. A ceiling fan is much more effective in dispersing the heat in a room than the little 160 Cfm fans that come with fireplaces and a ceiling fan is often much more decorative, in addition to being reversible for summer operation.
Pilots:
Pilots need to be checked, cleaned for a strong blue flame and that ensures instant ignition of gas at the burner. A weak pilot flame can produce delayed ignition, which is moderately dangerous but, more frightening to those who are unlucky enough to be standing in front of the appliance when it happens.
Do feel free to turn off the pilot in the spring, when you feel you won't be using the appliance through the warmer months of the year.
The heat generated by a pilot flame is not enough to keep the heat exchanger in a furnace or the firebox in a fireplace warm as some people claim. In fact, studies have shown it more likely just condenses more and promotes corrosion. Leaving the pilot on 365 days per year wears out the thermocouple and/or thermopile prematurely, ensuring more emergency "no heat" service calls in the future and it's a waste of gas that can cost you up to $20.00 per month. Most gas appliances today are designed for easy relighting, by simple following the step by step instructions on the label beside the gas control. (This label is a code requirement for all gas appliances equipped with a pilot, so trust me, it's there for you.)
Don’t buy old used heaters at flea market sales or salvage them from Grandpa’s garage and put them into service. Likewise, it has been my experience to stand clear of gas heaters and fireplaces that have been made in China or even Mexico. In general, the quality control just doesn’t seem to be yet present in products from those countries and there are still a lot of choices out there that are Made in America. You may pay a little more up front, but factory support and replacement parts are much more available, should you encounter a problem.
Sizing a Heater:
There are many manufacturers out there who publish the square footage that these products can heat. Do Not believe what you read. No manufacturer can predict where the heater is going, in terms of climatic region, north or south. Average outdoor temperatures always have a dramatic affect upon how much heat your room or home requires. They also can’t predict the construction of the home, loose fitting windows in the north are going to require much more heat than tight fitting windows, just as an under insulated attic is going to have much more heat loss than a well insulated attic. If the room in question has lots of glass windows with southern exposure, the heat gain will be a big boost over a room facing north. With all of these factors in mind, a manufacturer can be off by 50% or more with their estimated square footage that their products will heat.
The best investment you can make is to have a qualified HVAC contractor come out to your home and conduct a heat loss/gain calculation. They can calculate what each room needs and recommend something suitable, something that won’t either fall short of your expectations or leave you sweating every time you turn it on. Quite often I have found there is a simple problem with the ductwork in the home, sometimes it is something that can be adjusted at virtually no additional cost and the homeowner finds they don’t need a supplementary heater for that room. They might actually end up going for an electric fireplace with a little 5,000 Btu supplementary heater, getting the ambiance of a fireplace without the costs of venting and gas piping and a little extra heat.
A qualified and reputable HVAC contractor can take the mystery out of your choices and although you may be paying them for their services, your home should be safe, comfortable and efficient. You may find yourself actually saving money from their professional services. (No, I am not looking for work.:-)
I apologize to anyone who has read all of my previous reviews and found a few repeated tidbits in this one. Most of this review, as I've said, is in direct response to email questions I receive every year. Many times, there are some very good questions on topics I hadn't thought about and every now and then, I am reminded that there are no lifeguards in the gene pool.
The thrust of this piece, at this time of the year is to use your common sense, don't believe everything the manufacturer's write in their glossy brochures and safely survive another winter, no matter where you live.
Stay safe and warm this winter.
Regards,
The Gasman
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