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What You Should Know About Free Standing Fireplaces

KrisB | Jul 29, 2010 |

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When most people think of a free standing fireplace, they picture the traditional and time honored wood burning stove. But times have changed, and now there are many different ways in which you can enjoy a fire in your home without the need for firewood or a chimney. Here's a look at today's options in a free standing fireplace that will save you a lot of work but still let you bask in the glow of a flickering fire.

Essentially, a freestanding fireplace is one which doesn't require a chimney. Therefore there is no need to maintain and clean a flue, and the risk of a chimney fire is completely eliminated. However, just because it's freestanding doesn't mean it can be placed just anywhere; many of these units require outdoor vents, which means they are not exactly portable.

Freestanding fireplaces are typically fueled by electricity, gas, gel or pellets. Most of these styles require some form of venting, with the exception of gel fueled fireplaces which are completely ventless and therefore completely portable. This relatively recent innovation makes use of clean burning, alcohol based gel fuel, so there are no emissions which need to be vented out of your home.

Another popular choice is a direct vent fireplace, which channels exterior air straight into the fireplace. At the same time, it warms up the air inside your home by ingeniously circulating it through a second pipe enclosing the first.

Just because you have more options when it comes to placement of a freestanding fireplace doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention to safety requirements. There is still a lot of heat produced by these units, and it's important to prevent damage to the structural components of your house. You need to position your fireplace a minimum of four inches away from adjacent walls to prevent drywall combustion or heat damage.

As a safety feature, many freestanding fireplaces come with automatic sensors for airflow and heat. If an air leak or excessively high temperatures are detected, these sensors will shut down the fireplace immediately.

My personal favorite is the gel fireplace because of its ease of use. In fact, you can even convert your existing fireplace with gel fireplace accessories such as gel fireplace logs and inserts.