We hadn’t used the fireplaces in this house except for a couple of quick times because we wanted to get them inspected. The former owners said they had them inspected every year and I had the receipt from when they were inspected in 2019 but . . better to be safe and wait.
I thought, that since there is a blower that comes on once the box gets to a certain temp, that we couldn’t use it if the electricity is off. You know how I think . . I need a way to cook and a way to stay warm if the power is out. Vince and I had been talking about having a propane space type heater installed in the downstairs garage, which is insulated, and is heated and cooled by the central air. We figured having heat in there and leaving the door open to the house should be enough to keep pipes, humans, dogs and cats from freezing.
The guy who was here to day was amazing. He’s just moved here from California, has some acreage, has four children and a fifth on the way. They homeschool, try to raise their own food, have goats and had cows and will get them again. His wife cans and they want a freeze dryer. We all hit it right off and could have sat and talked for days. He’s worked on these type fireplaces, woodstoves and real fireplaces for years and he was so knowledgeable.
Vince’s first question was “What can we do to make these work if the power is off?” He smiled — flipped the switch and said . . that’s it. He offered to turn off all the breakers to the house to show us but we trusted him.
If propane is $1/gallon (or however they measure it), it costs 27 cents per hour to run the fireplace. In the summer, we can fill the tank for that price but now, it’s $1.45/gallon so for this tank, we’ll be paying a little over 40 cents per hour to operate it.
I think I’ve used it twice. I don’t keep the heat on at night so one morning I got up, it was cold in the house and I turned the fireplace on. It was amazing how quickly it heated the house.
Addie wanted it on one night and she was sitting right in front of it and moved back a couple of times and she was surprised how quickly it made her warm.
I’m so very happy to know we can use the fireplace to heat the house if the power is ever off during the winter.
Now . . I just need to get the gas stove!
Susan says
This is a gas fireplace, then? Sounds like a good match for you and these folks! New friends!
Judy Laquidara says
Yes, but there’s no real open flame. It’s contained. That’s not the word they use but I forget what they call it. The way they explained it – there’s a sealed box that draws air from the outside. It heats up the “box” and that hot air is vented but at the same time, it’s pulling air from the room that goes through a chamber around the box and is then vented back into the room so no smoke or fumes can come back into the house.
JustGail says
That sounds like our fireplace, which has come in handy for power outages due to ice storms. Just a warning – if you do use it for any length of time with no power to run the blower, it will get pretty hot. I’d recommend running a fan off the generator (you have one IIRC?) which will also move heat to other areas of the house. I’ve even set the little battery operated blower for air mattress in front of the bottom vent so it moves the air.
Judy Laquidara says
This one is intended to be run with or without the blower. There’s a similar model that isn’t supposed to be run without the blower. In fact, ours has a knob where you can turn the blower off, low or high. The former owners of the house told me last night that they were without power for a week after an ice storm and they used these fireplaces as their only heat and never had a problem.