Ventless gas fireplace safety
Nov 02 2007The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector
Dear Barry: We are concerned about the safety of our ventless gas fireplace. We use it a lot, and a black film has recently appeared on the glass panel, as well as on our windows. What should we do? Barbara
Dear Barbara: The first think to do is stop using the fireplace and report the problem to a qualified fireplace specialist for evaluation and repair.
When a gas-burning fixture produces a black residue, that is a symptom of incomplete combustion and faulty exhaust venting. It means that combustion byproducts are venting into your home, and this is potentially dangerous, depending on whether these byproducts include carbon monoxide.
After your fireplace is professionally serviced, read the owners manual before resuming use. The manufacturer’s instructions may advise not using the firxture for periods of more than two hours. The manual may also recommend that a nearby window be kept open while the fireplace is in use to dilute exhaust with fresh air.
Ventless gas fireplaces are vigorously defended by their manufacturers as being incapable of abnormal combustion. In past articles, I’ve expressed the view that no manmade product is, or ever can be, 100 percent foolproof. Your situation appears to support that opinion.
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Questions regarding home inspection please email Barry Stone at questions@housedetective.com
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Ask The House Detective
Dear Barry, I was wondering if a ventless fireplace would be safe to install in my home (inside then existing non-working fireplace). I live in an old house,purchased with a broken flue. Most every handy man I have asked, including my kitchen contractor, says it would be totally safe to insert a ventless unit. I have heard from a few that if it were their home, they would have the flue serviced first, which would mean at least between $2-3,000 in parts and labor. If I were to go to that extent, I would then be able to burn “real” fires. On the other hand, if a ventless would be safe, I would be spending hundreds for the unit and labor. I found your website so thought I’d take the chance in search of your opinion. Thanks in advance for your time, C. Leary
Dear Carol,
Ventless fireplaces have been tested and approved by Underwriters Laboratory and are regarded by those who manufacture and install them as totally and infallibly safe. In my opinion, however, faith in the absolute safety of these fixtures is based upon the assumption that these fixtures are absolutely incapable of failure. If that assumption is true, then this is the first and only device ever conceived and produced that measures up to that degree of perfection. It’s not that I consider ventless fireplaces to be unsafe: it’s that I’m not willing to bet your life or mine on the infallibility of a so-called fail-safe technology.
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