[quote=rcooke]
A very VERY important read on Ventless Fire places…[
Roy, that is little more than scary stories from consumer’s with defective or poorly adjusted ventless units. How long do you think mfgs. of these units would be around if there were a large number of incidents with this type of gas burning appliance? It’s not that I trust mfgs. implicitly but they have to have these units tested by independent accredited labs and must pass stringent testing to recognized standards to confirm their safe operation. Of course a prudent person will have a CO detector in his home even if he does not have a ventlace fireplace.
My mother would never even cook with gas because she was afraid of it. I prefer gas for cooking and am not overly concerned with a ventless fireplace or heater that is functioning correctly. :)](“http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hovflett.htm”)
** Q: What building code groups permit the installation of listed vent free gas products? A: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA-54), Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI), Council of American Building Officials (CABO), Both the International Mechanical Code (IMC) and International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) permit the installation of listed and labeled vent free gas products and specify that the product be used as a supplemental heating source.
Q: How does vent free gas logs affect indoor air quality?
**A: **Safe Indoor Air Quality. Extensive independent testing has verified that vent free gas appliances meet or exceed the nationally recognized guidelines for indoor air quality, even for the sensitive populations, such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Vent free products are tested by independent appliance testing laboratories to assure they comply with ANSI Z21.11.2, a standard established under the auspices of the American National Standards Institute. This standard is maintained by a committee whose members include utilities, manufacturers, government agencies, code officials, and consultants. The committee has removed from the standard all language concerning sensitive populations because of vent free products’ excellent health and safety record over the past twenty years.
Assertion: There are concerns about Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions from vent-free appliances, especially in households with children, pregnant women, and elderly people. Fact: The effects of vent-free products’ emissions on sensitive populations were tested in the extensive independent study. This research used as its criteria the recommended maximum levels of CO as set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), with sensitive populations - such as children, pregnant women and the elderly - as the benchmark. The results of the research proved that vent-free gas heating products preformed well within the CPSC guidelines for Carbon Monoxide and all other indoor air quality guidelines by OHSA, NIOSH and ASHRAE.
I personally would not want one in my home. I just don’t like them. However, I am sure they are safe enough as long as they are regularly maintained, monitored with a CO detector, and have a sufficient supply of combustion air/installed per manufacturer’s rec’s.
I wonder how many of those “horror stories” didn’t meet those.
As a kid, we had one in our rec room. I don’t ever remember it being checked or serviced.