Ceramic gas logs are a great replacement for traditional wooden logs

Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 8:45 am

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The reassuring sound of a roaring fire on a snowy winter’s night, the life-giving warmth that holds off the cold and envelopes you with its delicate touch, the deep, rich smell of burning wood, the slate fireplace that radiates heat from its once-cold heart. Ahhhhh, the memories.

They’re not my memories, of course, and probably not yours either, if you grew up in the city. But if this is what you remember, then I am positive you can also remember spending many hours cleaning out the fireplace, sweeping the chimney, splitting and stacking the wood, and putting up with the fumes, smoke and ash. I start hacking just talking about it.

All of the negative memories can be a thing of the past, and only the positive ones will remain, if you begin using ceramic gas-burning logs instead of actual wood. Being ceramic means they will last for many years while burning either natural gas or propane.

There are two basic types of logs: vented and vent-free or ventless.

Vented gas logs are “stacked” in the fireplace the same as real wood logs. The flames enwrap the logs and frolic along the sides like devilish sprites. That is, at least, until you get tired of watching the fire and turn the flames off with a remote. Vented gas logs offer an attractive alternative to wood burning, but this works only if you have a fireplace in your house, or the additional room to install one.

What about people who are more sq. ft.-challenged?

Well, apartment-dwelling city folk can have memories, too, by getting vent-free ceramic gas logs. These fireplaces can be portable and give off a small but pleasing blue flame. An amazing thing about vent-free gas logs is they produce more heat than a wood burning appliance with the same capacity. The reason is the logs are made of a ceramic that causes heat to radiate outwards after it reaches a certain temperature. The dense, refractory ceramic used to build these logs so they are believable in appearance and effective in heat output, also allows you to enjoy your fireplace without the cleanup of ashes, wood dust and messy debris. Because they are self-contained (i.e. no vent), every bit of of the heat produced stays within the room. The drawbacks to vent-free logs are the rise in humidity, necessity of having oxygen and carbon monoxide detectors (which sometimes come with the unit), and the requirement for fresh air (open a window) if the fireplace is on for a long time.

Which type of gas-burning logs you decide on will depend on a balance between aesthetics, functionality, and convenience. The vented log will look realistic and set a cozy ambiance, but it won’t give off much heat since most of that is vented up the chimney. The vent-free fireplaces and logs are easier to place and more energy-efficient, but the flame is less realistic and the units need more effort to guarantee a safe environment.