Improvement from blower on gas fireplace

2000mc · 11-01-14, 04:25 PM

Last summer we moved to a new apartment. One of the down sides was that the furnace is electric. Which seems ridiculous to me because it has a gas fireplace, also surprising, no gas meter. I guess it's meant to be a perk of a fairly upscale apartment for the town, either way the gas is free / costs already part of the rent.

So I'm hoping to primarily use the fireplace for heat, and supplement with the actual furnace. So to the question...

How fast could adding a blower to the fireplace pay for itself? How likely could it in a single winter? Maybe a better question would be, how much does a blower increase the efficiency of a gas fireplace? I'm thinking the rate it consumes fuel is about constant, so how much can a blower increase the total output?

Also i figure a blower would lower the temperature on the wood mantle above, which I think is built to code, but if I'm running the fireplace 24/7 for a couple months, how hot is safe with constant exposure?

11-01-14, 04:25 PM	#1
2000mc Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Kansas Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Improvement from blower on gas fireplace Last summer we moved to a new apartment. One of the down sides was that the furnace is electric. Which seems ridiculous to me because it has a gas fireplace, also surprising, no gas meter. I guess it's meant to be a perk of a fairly upscale apartment for the town, either way the gas is free / costs already part of the rent. So I'm hoping to primarily use the fireplace for heat, and supplement with the actual furnace. So to the question... How fast could adding a blower to the fireplace pay for itself? How likely could it in a single winter? Maybe a better question would be, how much does a blower increase the efficiency of a gas fireplace? I'm thinking the rate it consumes fuel is about constant, so how much can a blower increase the total output? Also i figure a blower would lower the temperature on the wood mantle above, which I think is built to code, but if I'm running the fireplace 24/7 for a couple months, how hot is safe with constant exposure?