linear propane fireplace

[Wild Turkey]

We are shopping for a linear fireplace for our new house -- it will go in "great room" as accent and back-up room heat.

More I look the more confused I get ( but I'm still coming off the meds 
 ) {also does not help that every list of features seems to include different features in the list and often leave out the BTU's, etc that is critical information}

Anyone have any experience with them?  

(also posted in OT)

Thanks for any help!

[fredhargis]

We have 2 in our house, but these are older (circa 1998) Heat N Glow units. The previous owners (apparently) used them for supplemental heat on the coldest days. We tried that, and while they keep the room cozy they do use a lot of gas, they just aren't that efficient. Still...as a backup heat source and with a large enough gas tank they work well for that. As for the accent part, they are nice but the ones we have have a blower and it's somewhat noisy which is pretty distracting. I'm sure the newer ones are better and to be honest I've thought about having ours replaced. But if you intend to use these for more than back up heat there are probably cheaper options. Plus, if you loose power, they won't work anyway. We have one in the family room that gets used the most and another in the basement. these are vented units, if they were ventless they wouldn't be used at all.

[petertay15]

We just bought a free-standing stove for our great room last year. The dealer carries stoves from six companies, and all six of them seem to have six models. !
We bought a black iron one with glass doors that looks like a older wood stove, because that’s the look we like. We concluded that, besides the looks, four things are important:
1. BTU output. The various stove catalogues suggest how large a space each stove will heat. Ours is for ambiance, so we didn’t want to cook ourselves out of the room.
2. Electronic ignition or pilot. I wanted electronic, because a pilot light burns a lot of gas, but the dealer advised against it. He said most of the electronic stoves need a service call within a year, but the pilot stoves are trouble free.
3. There are two kinds of glass used in stove doors. One kind blocks the radiant heat, the other lets it pass through. We wanted the radiant heat so we can get warm when coming in out of the cold.
4. And then there is the chimney. Some come off the back, some come off the top. Your choice depend on where the stove will be placed, or whether you want to see the black stove pipe in the room.

[aquaticjim]

I had to do a search for the term Linear Fireplace.  That was a new one for me but it is just a sealed direct vent fireplace that is in a different shape.  I have a direct vent fireplace that looks more traditional.  One thing I did notice is the efficiency differences between the different manufacturers and models.  They are advertised between 45% to as high as 80% efficient.  .  The low 80% efficiency is about as high as you can get and still maintain enough heat in the exhaust gas to maintain chimney flow.  Your high efficiency furnaces use a condensing system to get to the mid 90% range.  These fireplaces list the BTU input, and you calculate the output based on efficiency.  

I have a traditional direct vent fireplace made by xtrordinair (very high quality).  I like it as a way of creating a cozy feel to the room and it will put out a lot of heat.  Mine has the pilot light and although I do not believe a pilot light uses a lot of gas, I wish it had an electronic ignition. There is good and bad to the electronic ignition.  If you have a power outage, the pilot light can still ignite the main gas so you have heat.  Electronic ignition needs power to ignite the main gas.  

One thing I would point out is the location of your house furnace's thermostat.  Mine is in the great room and if I turn on the fireplace, the room heats up to the point where the house furnace does not turn on and the rest of the house gets cold.  My direct vent fireplace is large and it can heat the room in 15 minutes before the remote control turns it off again.  I have 19 foot high ceiling in my great room.