can I burn wood in my gas fireplace?
I have a fireplace in my apartment that I“ve only used a few times since moving in over 4 years ago. It is a gas fireplace—you flip a switch, light it with a match, and voila! When I moved in, there were also some logs over the gas line (which I assumed were fake) and they’ve been sitting there ever since (they haven’t caught on fire the few times I“ve lit the gas fireplace. I rarely use the fireplace because the gas is expensive and it doesn’t produce enough heat to really warm the house. However, I have a new roommate who moved in and says that he thinks you can actually light a real fire in the stove… he says that at his parents’ house there is a gas fireplace that is used to get the fire going, and you can then put real wood in to have a nice fire. To me, this seems like potential for a crazy gas explosion, but I“m from Manhattan where no one ever has fireplaces, so what do I know? I thought of asking our landlord but I didn’t want to sound like an idiot in case adding wood is a potential fire hazard—don’t want him to think I“ll burn down the house. Thoughts?
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My intuitive answer is no., But then like you I grew up in an apartment (in the Bronx) so what do I know.
Conceivably you could cut the gas line i.e. turn it off, and burn logs, but I would question whether this a good idea or not. A wood-burning fireplace is going to have a chimney and a flue where the smoke and fumes are directed. A gas fireplace may or may not have been constructed with a REAL WORKING CHIMNEY and if your fireplace is not constructed that way, then starting a fire is going to at the very least stink up the house and at worst be dangerous.
On the other hand if this was originally a working fireplace that was retrofitted to run gas, you might not have a problem.
However, I would think a blazing wood fire is going to damage the gas-burning equipment that is installed in your house.
I don’t even know who you can call about this. An electrician?
Good Luck and don’t light anything until you know what you are doing..
I would ask the landlord. also if the fireplace hasn’t been used in years it (in my opinion) would be best to start with the landlord first.. He/she may need to get someone to come out to inspect it before lighting in case of some unforeseen build-up inside the chimney and make sure there are no leaks (if its gas). asking questions won’t make you an idiot, it only makes you smarter. no-one knows everything about everything , lol :-) Better safe than sorry. esp if you could potentially light the fire and fall asleep , possibly catching the apt on fire. having a roof over your head is better than not having one. good luck whatever you decide. and be safe
My BIL is an electrician and overall handyman. I called him and he seconded what scubydoo said.
Even if making a real fire is a possibility, which I suspect it is not in that kind of a fireplace—I would certainly contact the landlord. Don’t worry about sounding silly—he/she will appreciate it and then if it is possible, you have his/her blessing. Otherwise, it sounds like serious trouble to me.
most likely no. A gas fp vents different from a wood one. Unless you want to fill your apt. building with thick heavy smoke. By the way, a fp will not heat your house but suck the warm air out. Unless it is a stove type or has an electric blower.
if it is vented (has a chimney) yes if not no
If you can avoid throwing clouds of woodsmoke into the air we breathe, thank you, that will be wonderful.
Disclosure: I heated with wood for 22 years. I didn’t know.
omg no. no no no. again no. but it would be cool to see you try and light it, have the gas catch on fire and your entire residence blown to bits.
Scoobydoo’s answer is on target. True fireplaces are vented in a way which is different from gas burning log sets. By all means, consult the owner before burning wood. If nothing else, you may open a question of liability which no one wants to face.
It is not uncommon to have a gas ignitor in a wood burning fireplace as the actual gas valve is remote from the area of the flame, usually off to the side in the mantle facing.
another unknown may be that if there are valves and other channeling systems in the fireplace the increased heat output from the wood burning could damage that plumbing and the safe operation/maintenance of the gas line. Whenever my family took skiing trips and rented a condo with gas fireplaces, there was always a note affixed to the fireplace that said do not burn wood in this fireplace…I would suspect it would be exactly about the reasons stated above. Not to mention the cleaning fee if soot got into the attic!
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| asked February 23rd, 2008
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