I own an old farm house circa 1958 with a masonry fireplace that has sheet metal interior walls and some heat passages hidden in the exterior brick.  I believe this was a forerunner to the heatilator.  Along the way someone installed a vented gas log.  However, when operated for any period of time it starts creating soot that floats into the room.  I would like to consider replacing it with a ventless log since they must inherently operate much "cleaner" than vented logs.  Are there any issues I should consider or is this pretty straight forward?

 
Answer
 

As long as the fireplace was designed to burn wood, vented and vent free gas logs are an option. Vent free products are designed to be used as a secondary heat source and burned between 4 to 6 hours a day. Ventless products are designed to be burned with the damper closed and therefore you will gain a lot of heat and find yourself turning them off for a period of time. Moisture in the home if used too much throughout the day is the drawback. Because you own an older home it is probably not well insulated unless it has been updated and moisture is a far less concern as it doesn't get trapped in the house. You will need to measure the fireplace to determine the size that will be best for you opening.

 

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