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Best Gas Fireplace Insert

Best Gas Fireplace Insert

Best Gas Fireplace Insert

Have you ever tried to heat up a large room with an electric fireplace?

It just can’t do the job. It doesn’t throw out anywhere near enough heat. Furthermore, it even states on the product description for some electric fires that they’re not designed to be the primary heat source of a room, and instead are more of a showpiece.

Imagine if you didn’t already know that before you bought one - what a waste of money.

And what if there was a power outage? You don’t want to sit there freezing.

But with a gas fireplace instead, you can really heat up the room. It’s the perfect solution.

We’ve been checking out some of the best gas fireplace inserts out on the market today. And we’ve put together a shortlist of our top 5 favorites to show you - our reviews on them are coming up very shortly.

And a quick heads-up, if you want to see the dimensions of these products, simply click on “check price” to be taken to the product page.

But we totally get that choosing just one can be tricky, so we’ve also put together a handy buying guide for you that will walk you through all the key things to think about before you buy. You can use it as a quick checklist to ensure you’ve thought of everything.

Then, we’re going to top that off with a section where we answer some of your most frequently asked questions.

And without further ado, let’s get straight to it!

Duluth Forge Ventless Insert 32,000 BTU, T-Stat Control Gas Fireplace Insert

Duluth Forge Ventless Insert 32,000 BTU, T-Stat Control Gas Fireplace Insert

When this article was written, this fireplace insert was THE number one bestseller with the online retailers in the category of gas fireplaces. 

It comes from top brand Duluth Forge, an American brand that is currently dominating the bestseller lists with online retailers, with a total of 10 entries in the top 50 products in the gas fireplaces category.

This beauty can throw out a whopping 32,000 BTUs of heat, which is enough to heat up rooms of up to a staggering 1500 square feet in size, making it a great choice for bigger homes or large open plan studio apartments.

But you don’t have to have all that heat thrown at you if you deem it’s too much. This is because it features adjustable thermostat control, which means you set your preferred temperature, and let the machine work to meet that temperature.

What we love about this one is that it has special patented technology, which means it can take two different types of fuel, namely natural gas and propane. That way, if you were ever to run out of one type of fuel, you can simply switch to another.

And the other thing that goes into making this fireplace insert really special is just how realistic the logs are. You get 6 realistic hand-painted ceramic fiber logs.

There’s battery assisted ignition, which really helps to get the fire going.

It has an excellent safety feature too - it has an oxygen depletion sensor, which basically indirectly lets the device know when there’s too much carbon dioxide or monoxide in the air. And when oxygen is depleted from the surrounding area, it will automatically shut off. 

Amazon occasionally has deals on this particular fireplace insert - simply click on “Check price” to see if there happens to be a deal on now.

Pros:

  • Comes from top American brand
  • Enough heat for large rooms
  • Adjustable thermostat control
  • Use natural gas or propane
  • Realistic hand-painted logs
  • Has an excellent safety feature

Cons:

  • No remote control included in the box

Empire Comfort Systems Deluxe 34 Keystone Series Gas Fireplace Insert

Empire Comfort Systems Deluxe 34 Keystone Series Gas Fireplace Insert

This is a great fireplace insert - it looks and performs just like a real log fireplace, but with all the modern conveniences such as being fueled by natural gas.

And that’s not all - it also features an electric remote control, so you can go ahead and change the settings from the comfort of your couch.

We just love the realistic logs - all hand painted. And it can throw out plenty of heat too, 21,000 BTUs to be exact, which is enough heat to warm up even larger rooms.

It’s also very energy efficient, which is always a plus in our book - save money AND the environment? Yes please!

It’s a top vented fireplace insert, so you will need a venting pipe and a chimney for proper installation. But installation is easy, you won’t need any screws or fasteners because it uses hem bent seams for a truly secure fit.

This venting means you get to prolong the flickering of the flames way into the night without risk of overheating the room.

It also comes with a curtain screen, should you ever want to use it.

It is an expensive fireplace insert, but if you find the initial cost a little steep, you could take advantage of the opportunity to pay in installments on approval for the Amazon Rewards Visa Card. 

And it comes backed by a lengthy 3-year warranty, which is good. But to validate the warranty, you’ll have to have it installed by a licensed professional.

Pros:

  • Realistic hand-painted logs
  • Ventilation positioned on top
  • Fuelled by natural gas
  • 21,000 BTUs of heat
  • Energy efficient

Cons:

  • Premium product at a premium price

Duluth Forge Dual Fuel Ventless Insert 26,000 BTU, T-Stat Control 

Duluth Forge Dual Fuel Ventless Insert 26,000 BTU, T-Stat Control

Here’s another great fireplace insert from top brand Duluth Forge, an American brand that is currently dominating the bestseller lists with online retailers, with a total of 10 entries in the top 50 products in the gas fireplaces category. (More on this brand later in our buying guide.)

It can throw out 26,000 BTUs of heat, which is enough to heat up rooms of up to 1,350 square feet in size.

But what we really love about it is just how economical it is - it’s 99.9% energy efficient, which is thanks to its ventless design, meaning no heat is lost through vents. You preserve energy and protect the environment.

Another thing we love about this one is that it has special patented technology, which means it can take two different types of fuel, namely natural gas and propane. That way, if you were ever to run out of one type of fuel, you can simply switch to another.

Like the other Duluth Forge fireplace insert we showed you, it also has 5 hand painted and realistic logs. They are made out of a special ceramic fiber and concrete that’s really built to last.

There’s battery assisted ignition, which really helps to get the fire going.

It has an excellent safety feature too - it has an oxygen depletion sensor, which basically indirectly lets the device know when there’s too much carbon dioxide or monoxide in the air. And when oxygen is depleted from the surrounding area, it will automatically shut off. 

You can choose between getting one with a remote control, or one with thermostat control. I would favor the thermostat control option, but it’s totally up to you.

Amazon occasionally has deals on this particular fireplace insert - simply click on “Check price” to see if there happens to be a deal on now.

Pros:

  • Comes from top American brand
  • Enough heat for large rooms
  • Remote or thermostat control
  • Use natural gas or propane
  • 99.9% energy efficiency

Cons:

  • There have been complaints about the customer service

ProCom 29 Inch Vent-Free Dual Fuel Firebox Insert

ProCom 29 Inch Vent-Free Dual Fuel Firebox Insert

This is another really nice fireplace insert, with realistic logs and flames in a very decorative all black casing.

Thanks to its special patented technology, it will work either by way of natural gas or with liquid propane. So if you were to ever run out of liquid propane, you can simply switch over to natural gas or vice versa.

It can throw out up to 26,000 BTUs of heat, and is able to heat up rooms of up to 1,350 square feet in size. 

And you can control the amount of heat given off by programming the thermostat. This way, you can simply set the temperature that you’d like, and the fire will work to ensure that temperature is maintained.

There’s battery assisted ignition, which really helps to get the fire going.

It has an excellent safety feature too - it has an oxygen depletion sensor, which basically indirectly lets the device know when there’s too much carbon dioxide or monoxide in the air. And when oxygen is depleted from the surrounding area, it will automatically shut off. 

You won’t need a chimney in place to accommodate it, thanks to its ventless design.

It’s one of the higher end fireplaces, and has a price to match, but if you really like the very decorative casing, you may well decide it’s worth the extra money.

Pros:

  • Realistic looking log fire
  • Appealing decorative casing
  • Throws out 26,000 BTUs of heat
  • Adjustable thermostat functionality
  • Excellent safety features

Cons:

  • Premium product at a premium price

Empire Tahoe Deluxe 36" Direct-Vent NG Millivolt Fireplace Insert

Empire Tahoe Deluxe 36" Direct-Vent NG Millivolt Fireplace Insert

Here’s another great fireplace insert from Empire. And again we’ve got a realistic log fireplace that’s powered entirely by natural gas. 

It’s different from the Empire Comfort Systems Deluxe 34 Keystone Series one in a handful of subtle ways. You still get the gorgeous realistic log fireplace look, but there are horizontal lines above and beneath which look quite smart.

It can throw out 20,000 BTUs of heat, so warming up a large room will be no problem for it. 

It’s a top vented fireplace insert, so you will need a venting pipe and a chimney for proper installation. But installation is easy, you won’t need any screws or fasteners because it uses hem bent seams for a truly secure fit.

This venting means you get to prolong the flickering of the flames way into the night without risk of overheating the room.

It has an 83 % steady state efficiency, which is good news, it means you won’t need to use as much gas to achieve the performance you’re looking for. 

It is an expensive fireplace insert, but if you find the initial cost a little steep, you could take advantage of the opportunity to pay in installments on approval for the Amazon Rewards Visa Card. 

And it comes backed by a lengthy 3-year warranty, which is good. But to validate the warranty, you’ll have to have it installed by a licensed professional.

Pros:

  • Realistic hand-painted logs
  • Ventilation positioned on top
  • Fuelled by natural gas
  • 20,000 BTUs of heat
  • Energy efficient

Cons:

  • Premium product at a premium price

Buying Guide

As promised, here’s your buying guide.

Amount of Heat Thrown Out

The whole reason for choosing a gas fireplace insert over an electric one is for getting more heat thrown out. Heat thrown out of a fireplace insert is measured in BTUs, where BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. 

As a general rule, we would recommend that you select a fireplace that gives you 30 to 60 BTUs per square foot of space. That means, for a 400 square foot room, you will need an average of about 18,000 BTUs of heat emitting from your fireplace.

Vented vs Ventless

Traditional gas fireplaces require an exhaust flue, or vent, in order to remove harmful fumes from the  premises. However, you can also get ventless gas fireplace inserts, as you may have noticed as you scrolled through our product reviews.

Vented gas logs burn like a real wood fire, with a yellow flame that produces smoke, and require a chimney, or at least a flue pipe. With ventless (or vent-free) gas logs, on the other hand, they burn cleanly with a lower flame that does not smoke.

Ventless fireplaces are more energy efficient than vented fireplaces because no heat escapes up the flue.

In order to use a ventless fireplace safely, we would recommend that you get a carbon monoxide detector installed. And, preferably, automatic shut-off valves that measure the levels of oxygen in the room. 

Aesthetic

Most people like their gas fireplace to imitate a real log fire, so that’s what we went for when making our shortlist of top 5 picks. Of course, the overall aesthetic will also be determined by the fire surround that you are putting the insert into.

Preferred Fuel

You will also have to decide whether you want your fireplace insert to run off natural gas or liquid propane.

Or, alternatively, you could go for a fireplace insert that offers dual fuel technology. So if you run out of liquid propane, you could simply switch to natural gas, or vice versa.

Energy Efficiency

The more energy efficient your fireplace insert is, the better. The better for your gas usage, and for your wallet, when the gas bill comes through your door.

Safety Features

You should also look out for fireplace inserts with good basic safety features, to ensure that you’re not putting anyone in harm’s way. 

Brand

There is one brand in particular that is really dominating the bestseller lists with the leading online retailers, and that is Duluth Forge. 

Besides their superb quality, we love that Duluth Forge’s fireplaces and fireplace inserts are all designed, engineered, assembled, and tested, right here in the good old USA.

We were sure to include more than one Duluth Forge insert in our shortlist of top 5 picks.

Value for Money

If there’s anything that varies in price, it’s gas fireplace inserts. 

If you’re particularly budget conscious, then you might prefer the idea of going for gas fireplace logs, rather than an entire fireplace insert. They can cost anywhere between $35 and $300. And even if you went for the $300 ones, you’ll still be able to save at least $200.

At the lower end of the scale of entire fireplace inserts, however, you can expect to pay between $500 and $600, but at the higher end you can expect to pay anywhere between $1000 and $3000.

That’s why it’s so important for you to check prices as you go along, and ensure that you stay within your budget.

Customer Ratings and Reviews 

Please do not put too much stock in customer ratings and reviews when shopping for gas fireplaces and fireplace inserts. This is because they get a notoriously bad rap when compared to their electric counterparts.

A 4-star rating on a gas fireplace is about equivalent to a 5-star rating on an electric fireplace.

Answers To Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

Who makes the best gas fireplace inserts?

For the higher end of gas fireplace inserts, we would say that Empire is the best. If you’re happy to pay a high price, you might want to check out the Empire Comfort Systems Deluxe Keystone Series B-Vent Fireplace or the Empire Tahoe Deluxe Direct Vent Fireplace we showed you earlier…

However, if you’re looking for value for money, you may be more interested in the Duluth Forge range, which is far more affordable and looks just as good.

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