Do Vent Free Fireplaces Smell

I find it curious that the expert opinions about homes in the coldest climates always seem to push the vented fireplaces which are very inefficient and would so benefit from the cost savings and heat output of much more efficient vent free fireplaces hmmmm.

Do vent free fireplaces smell.

If you have one of these and you notice a smell there may be a little more cause for concern. If you think the odor could possibly be coming from an airborne odor eliminate what you think is causing the odor and let the air settle for a hour or so and try burning the log set again. There is no way of preventing this it is simply the nature of burning gas in your home without exhausting the fumes up a chimney. It draws air in through tiny ports near the burner.

There are many products that will cause the appliance to smell and below are just a few. Vent free gas log will not produce an odor unless the air it takes in has an odor. You will need to shut the gas off to your fireplace until fixed. This time period is called curing and it causes an unavoidable odor.

According to magic sweep corporation when a newly installed unit first is turned on there will be an odor for approximately four to eight hours if the vent free fireplace has gas logs. When the room air gets mixed with dirty air it can smell like a petroleum based product. If you have tried to used your ignition with no success your gas is still coming out. During my inspection the kerosene type odor was most likely due to a dirty log set and could have been a combo of one or more from the above list.

A vent free appliance requires room air to operate. I have never detected any unusual smell from those houses that have vent free fireplaces but did notice the tremendous heat output that these fireplaces emit.