Ventless fireplace fumes?

[SheilaJ]

I know there is controversy about vented versus unvented gas heaters for orchids growing in greenhouses (I don't have a greenhouse, but I do fantasize).

My question is - how about ventless natural gas fireplaces? The best place to display my phals in bloom is in the same room with the fireplace.

What is everyone's opinion - will the fumes degrade the blooms? Thanks!

[CodiMN]

No exactly sure, but I would check to see that direct heat is not blowing on the blooms...your orchids might freak out by the sudden change in temps...throw a fit and drop the blooms. I say it's worth a shot...just make sure they get enough H2O.

[Ross]

If you do a search on ventless here on the board, it has been discussed quite a bit. I, personally would never run a ventless anything in my home. Too much chance of CO and yes that would cause bud blast on most orchids.

[SheilaJ]

I debated long and hard about the safety of ventless vs. vented fireplace options. We had a woodburning fireplace previously, so there is still a damper there that we can open to make it vented if we wish.

With it vented, we just don't get much heat. The room is the coldest room in the house, and it's our family room where we live most of the time. With our utility rates skyrocketing, it just makes sense to run the fireplace as needed (early morning, evening, very cold or windy days).

I also like the idea that we have it for backup heat in the event of a lengthy winter power outage - it would keep us plenty warm indefinitely.

I moved a new amaryllis in there yesterday - today a few of the flowers had gone brown. Not sure if it was from the fireplace, or delayed cold damage trying to get it home on Friday, or if those blooms were just done.

The plants are across the room about 12 feet away, so no direct heat on them, and the room is large and opens onto the kitchen, so lots of room for ventilation. CO detector in the room has never gone above 0 yet.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by SheilaJ

With it vented, we just don't get much heat. The room is the coldest room in the house, and it's our family room where we live most of the time. With our utility rates skyrocketing, it just makes sense to run the fireplace as needed (early morning, evening, very cold or windy days).

There are a couple issues here. If you can't get heat up to your desired temps it's an issue of controlling the wood stove. I used to heat with wood and it's merely an issue of balancing the fresh air in with the exhaust heat. Once the wood is burning freely, you can damp down the damper and leave the fresh air input alone and still get great heat from a wood stove. Fans help as well. Moving heat around is the biggest pain since it's easier to move cool air than hot air. So I ran fans to control the heat distribution. We heated a 2200 sq ft 2-story house with one small wood stove for lots of years (till the pain of cutting, splitting, stacking, and handling the wood got to me.) This whole scenario has helped me with controling heat in my orchidariums and redistrubating the waste heat.

[Ross]

By the way, I designed the first retrofit fireplace heat circulator back in the 1960s. Too bad I didn't patent it! The fabricator that made mine made a mint off the design, I am sure.

[SheilaJ]

Ross, that's a bummer!

Just to clarify, this is not a wood fireplace or a woodburning stove. Our house runs on a natural gas forced air furnace. The family room has what used to be a normal wood-burning fireplace, that has now been converted with an insert that burns natural gas.

We got this because we were got tired of messing with the wood, plus we would have to leave the damper open at night when we went up to bed, and the room would be so darn cold in the morning!

[ventless fireplace]

I think it shouldn't be. I have a propane ventless gas heater in my living room for last few years but no sign of destruction of my plants so far .

But, as the air near my plant is a bit dry , I think the flower sometimes bloomed prematurely .

[bil]

Originally Posted by SheilaJ

Ross, that's a bummer!

Just to clarify, this is not a wood fireplace or a woodburning stove. Our house runs on a natural gas forced air furnace. The family room has what used to be a normal wood-burning fireplace, that has now been converted with an insert that burns natural gas.

We got this because we were got tired of messing with the wood, plus we would have to leave the damper open at night when we went up to bed, and the room would be so darn cold in the morning!

I was in this sort of business for 35 years, still am in a way.
Open fires are very expensive to run, gas inserts doubly so. When I had a open fire, I had an aluminium plate that clipped over the front of the fireplace when not in use, or when I went to bed. That made a heck of a difference.
Ventless fires? You couldn'tt get me to have one under any circs. You are basically relying on there being enough ventilation into the roon to take away the CO. Given that low levels of CO cause heart disease, you can stick that idea where the sun never shines.

We run a wood burner. Not only does it really heat the house well, it is way more economical than an open fire, safer, and I can burn all the twigs and branches from the garden.

[estación seca]

A lot of places in the US no longer permit wood fires most days, due to excessive smoke and air quality issues.