Ventless Fireplaces

[FN Phat]

It has been 6 degrees, with a wind chill of -8 the last two mornings. I leave the house to go to work at 4:20 am. I thought I was being a thoughtful husband and a loving father by starting the fireplace a few hours before my family woke up so the house would be toasty. But I almost poisoned my family with carbon monoxide. Thankfully, my FIL bought us a carbon monoxide detector. About 9:15 am the alarm goes off. My wife turned off the fireplace and grabbed the kids and went to my parents house a few doors down. I took a look at it when I got home and it seems to me that the kids had played with the logs and moved them (when there was not a fire started). I didn't notice so early in the morning and lit the fireplace without a thorough inspection. I will not make that mistake again. I would advise anyone that is looking at adding a fireplace to go the vented route, if possible. The fireplace came with the house but I would much rather install a vented fireplace (if I ever catch up with other projects I will move the ventless to my dads shop and install a vented fireplace).

[jay santos]

Sorry for the threadjack. What I always thought was funny is that (at least for Utah code) interior bathrooms (without exterior window) must have a fan. Noxious fumes.

[FN Phat]

Sorry for the threadjack. What I always thought was funny is that (at least for Utah code) interior bathrooms (without exterior window) must have a fan. Noxious fumes.

That is in the IRC.

[Flystripper]

It has been 6 degrees, with a wind chill of -8 the last two mornings. I leave the house to go to work at 4:20 am. I thought I was being a thoughtful husband and a loving father by starting the fireplace a few hours before my family woke up so the house would be toasty. But I almost poisoned my family with carbon monoxide. Thankfully, my FIL bought us a carbon monoxide detector. About 9:15 am the alarm goes off. My wife turned off the fireplace and grabbed the kids and went to my parents house a few doors down. I took a look at it when I got home and it seems to me that the kids had played with the logs and moved them (when there was not a fire started). I didn't notice so early in the morning and lit the fireplace without a thorough inspection. I will not make that mistake again. I would advise anyone that is looking at adding a fireplace to go the vented route, if possible. The fireplace came with the house but I would much rather install a vented fireplace (if I ever catch up with other projects I will move the ventless to my dads shop and install a vented fireplace).

We are renting a house in IL and it has a ventless fireplace. We can't seem to get it running without making the whole first floor smell of gas. It smells of gas even when the fire is burning. We don't run it because of this, but we would sure love to on days like today when it is 7 degrees. You said the logs moving caused gas to leak? I have been trying to figure out the problem of our fireplace for a while now.

[Coach McGuirk]

It has been 6 degrees, with a wind chill of -8 the last two mornings. I leave the house to go to work at 4:20 am. I thought I was being a thoughtful husband and a loving father by starting the fireplace a few hours before my family woke up so the house would be toasty. But I almost poisoned my family with carbon monoxide. Thankfully, my FIL bought us a carbon monoxide detector. About 9:15 am the alarm goes off. My wife turned off the fireplace and grabbed the kids and went to my parents house a few doors down. I took a look at it when I got home and it seems to me that the kids had played with the logs and moved them (when there was not a fire started). I didn't notice so early in the morning and lit the fireplace without a thorough inspection. I will not make that mistake again. I would advise anyone that is looking at adding a fireplace to go the vented route, if possible. The fireplace came with the house but I would much rather install a vented fireplace (if I ever catch up with other projects I will move the ventless to my dads shop and install a vented fireplace).

I agree. We have a ventless and I don't turn it on because I don't trust it. I am having it removed and replaced next fall.

[FN Phat]

We are renting a house in IL and it has a ventless fireplace. We can't seem to get it running without making the whole first floor smell of gas. It smells of gas even when the fire is burning. We don't run it because of this, but we would sure love to on days like today when it is 7 degrees. You said the logs moving caused gas to leak? I have been trying to figure out the problem of our fireplace for a while now.

It caused a restriction at the burner and would not allow the gas to ignite. I am rather certain that this was the cause but I am very cautious now.

[Surfah]

It has been 6 degrees, with a wind chill of -8 the last two mornings. I leave the house to go to work at 4:20 am. I thought I was being a thoughtful husband and a loving father by starting the fireplace a few hours before my family woke up so the house would be toasty. But I almost poisoned my family with carbon monoxide. Thankfully, my FIL bought us a carbon monoxide detector. About 9:15 am the alarm goes off. My wife turned off the fireplace and grabbed the kids and went to my parents house a few doors down. I took a look at it when I got home and it seems to me that the kids had played with the logs and moved them (when there was not a fire started). I didn't notice so early in the morning and lit the fireplace without a thorough inspection. I will not make that mistake again. I would advise anyone that is looking at adding a fireplace to go the vented route, if possible. The fireplace came with the house but I would much rather install a vented fireplace (if I ever catch up with other projects I will move the ventless to my dads shop and install a vented fireplace).

He bought you that detector because of his friends that went to sleep and never woke up.

[thesaint258]

I'm glad your family's okay Phat. Here's the optimistic side though, when Chachi bugs you about being thoughtful, you can tell her you stopped doing that because of this incident (after the appropriate amount of time has gone by so that she doesn't kill you when you say that of course).

[Solon]

I'm glad your family's okay Phat. Here's the optimistic side though, when Chachi bugs you about being thoughtful, you can tell her you stopped doing that because of this incident (after the appropriate amount of time has gone by so that she doesn't kill you when you say that of course).

Glad you guys are okay, FN.

When we moved into our place in August (short-sale purchased as-is), I didn't even mess with the ventless fireplace. We just called a guy to come and inspect it before I started fiddling around with it. Sure enough, it was completely jerry-rigged (blower installed facing the wrong way; couplers that didn't match). It was a disaster waiting to happen.