With the gaining popularity of gas fireplace logs, I was driven to write this post especially dedicated to the subject. I will write more on one particular gas log, the vented gas logs for fireplace.

Fueled by natural or propane gas, gas logs for fireplace convinced many wood burners to finally get rid of the log splitters for the sake of convenience. Vented gas logs have the beauty of a wood burning fire but with the convenience of gas. In fact, the heat output of vented gas logs is actually better than the output from the traditional wood fire.

The gas logs are made from high density refractory material that radiates the heat after it warms up. Thus, vented gas logs produce a high quality fire that resembles that of wood fire but without the ash and dust. What’s best is that you don’t have to deal with wood chips on your carpet or running in the middle of the night to get wood outside of the house.

The fire from vented gas logs is a yellow flame. This natural flame however is not as hot as the typical blue gas flame. This type of flame contains soot. Hence, using vented gas logs requires the use of chimney cleaning.

Because vented gas logs are producing smoke and soot, your fireplace damper should be completely open when using it. Just like real wood, it also produces carbon monoxide. This is another reason to open that damper. In addition, using the blowers is not much recommended because the gas logs produce soot. You don’t want your blower to blow soot all over your living room, do you?

Vented gas logs must be installed only in wood burning fireplaces that are working well. If the fireplace is not operable with burning wood, then it might not work with a gas log too. After all, a gas log is not the solution to a problematic fireplace.

If you opt to go with a factory-built fireplace, make sure to check that the fireplace is approved for gas log’s installation. Do not worry; most of these factory-made fireplaces are approved for installation of vented gas logs.

In ending, it is highly recommended to buy vented gas logs for your fireplace. It resembles the old and traditional wood burning fireplace with its beauty and realistic look but with the convenience of gas for fuel. But do not expect that vented gas logs will serve as your secondary heat source. You will only be disappointed.