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NFT: Vent Free Propane Stoves

Heisenberg : 6/24/2020 10:43 am
Hello all, This is a bit of a niche question but hey, it's BBI. Worth a shot.

I have entered into a contract to buy a house. This house has a propane fireplace insert (nbd) and two vent free propane stoves. Basically, they put one on a sun porch to extend it's 3 season life and when they finished a bonus room over the garage. They are both nice Vermont Castings units, but the vent-free thing is a bit of a hangup for me.

Both are very large rooms (like 18X25) but has anyone had any issues with these kinds of stoves? Thanks BBI.
I had a NG unit. NG  
oghwga : 6/24/2020 10:48 am : link
is a much cleaner burn. Both should be equipped with a low oxygen sensor that shuts them off if things get dicey. I had a 300,000 btu unit in my old sunroom it would be 85 degrees in there after an hour.

It's not the combustion as much as the moisture content. They put out a ton of water vapor as a by product. need a well ventilated space. The bonus room over the garage worries me a bit because of all that moisture drifting up to the rafters.

Used wisely they are a good source of supplemental heat.
RE: I had a NG unit. NG  
Heisenberg : 6/24/2020 10:51 am : link
In comment 14924320 oghwga said:
Quote:
is a much cleaner burn. Both should be equipped with a low oxygen sensor that shuts them off if things get dicey. I had a 300,000 btu unit in my old sunroom it would be 85 degrees in there after an hour.

It's not the combustion as much as the moisture content. They put out a ton of water vapor as a by product. need a well ventilated space. The bonus room over the garage worries me a bit because of all that moisture drifting up to the rafters.

Used wisely they are a good source of supplemental heat.


Yeah, I was concerned about the water vapor too. For the bonus room, there is also a vent with a fan in the ceiling, which I suspect was put there for the purpose you describe. where it vents to, is not clear right now. Hoping to figure that out with the home inspector.


Thanks for the response!
Buying a Napolean Vector  
Ron Hussler : 6/24/2020 11:59 am : link
The fireplace guy gave a bunch of reasons to not get vent free (many have been listed above)

Best bet is to get a penetration in the roof, it will cost more money but you have a better product.

I just think think when fire is involved, it's best to get some kind of venting, why risk it?

I will say though, if you're looking for a stove for more aestethitic purposes, they make the ones that run off alcohol. You can get different scents, etc. That is fine
At my last house  
rasbutant : 6/24/2020 8:59 pm : link
There was one installed in a small office. I would start to get a burn feeling in my throat. I then did some reading and changed to whenever I used it I cracked the window open about an inch. It stopped happening, and it still heated the room with the window open.
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