When choosing a new gas fireplace, lots of people just take into consideration the appearance and price. However, there are a lot of things to consider when looking for the best gas fireplace. To make things easier, we’ve created a list of our top picks and a buying guide to help you pick the one most suitable for your home.
Top 7 Gas Fireplace Reviews
Contents
1. Duluth Forge Vent Free Fireplace
What we like about this fireplace is that it gives a really nice classic feel to your home like something out of a Victorian-era kind of movie. If you’re into that kind of look, you’ll love this gas fireplace. Other than its look, it also has a decent coverage of 800 square feet as it produces 15,000 BTU of heat. It’s also compatible with both propane gas and natural gas so you have the chance to be a little more eco-friendly.
Key Highlights:
- 15,000 BTU for 800 sq ft coverage
- Ceramic fiber logs
- Ventless heater
- Sleek and slender design
- Nice wood material
- Made of durable wood
- Compatible with both propane and natural gas
2. Ashley Hearth Vent Free Fireplace Insert
This is one of the easiest fireplaces to install because it’s both vent-free and is a fireplace insert type. It is perfect if you want a fireplace that can fit any room size. It can be placed anywhere with an existing firebox and can be used easily. Since it’s vent-free, there’s no need to install a pipe or a chimney to let the smoke out. It also comes with really nice looking faux logs for the added design.
Key Highlights:
- Quick and easy insert function
- Very versatile size
- No need for any chimney or vent
- Simple but quaint design
- Comes with a 14-inch gas hose
3. Comfort Glow Belmont Compact Fireplace
The Comfort Glow Belmont’s fireplace is quite similar to the Duluth when it comes to design. It has a very beautiful vintage design that has a nice mantel finish. It’s another pretty good choice if you’re into the vintage type of design.
It’s one of the best natural gas fireplace brands you can find because it is a little stronger than Duluth except that it has a max BTU of 20,000 which can heat up more than 800 square feet. The only difference is that it has a 99.9% fuel efficiency rate. It also has a dual fuel feature wherein you can access it to a gas line.
Key Highlights:
- Compatible with both natural and propane gas
- Features a Smart Select fuel selection system
- Comes with 20,000 BTU of heat capacity
- Easy wall installation
- Charred oak log set
- Access controls
- Uses an electronic ignition
4. Alcott Hill Karen Fireplace
The Alcott Hill fireplace combines both wood and ceramic brick liner to form a really durable fireplace that still has the charm of old-school fireplaces. It also has hand painted logs with a special burning technology, making it feel like the real thing.
It’s a great piece of artistic decoration for any home. If you want a quaint and cozy intimate type of feel for your living room, this one can give it to you.
Key Highlights:
- Compatible with both propane and natural gas
- Stylish wood and ceramic lining design
- Realistic hand painted log design
- Features dancing yellow flames
- Versatile decoration
- Easy assembly
5. Empire Tahoe Deluxe Direct Vent Fireplace
One of the things that we absolutely adore about this fireplace is that it has the capacity to still heat up during power outages unlike a lot of propane fireplaces and electric fireplaces. Also, it’s known for its strong heat capacity of up to a max of 20,000 BTU and a steady state efficiency rate of 83%.
Another thing that we like about it is that it’s really compact and can easily fit into any firebox area. It also comes with a millivolt control that you can play around with as it has a switch.
Key Highlights:
- Heater steady state efficiency of 83%
- 20,000 BTU of heat capacity
- Compatible with both natural and propane gas
- Comes with contour burner
- Compact fireplace dimensions
- Simple black design
6. Comfort Glow Monterey Gas Stove Fireplace
If you want something that’s a little heavy duty and can cover a big space, then this one is for you. We love its overall power and heat capacity of 30,000 BTUs per hour. Due to this high heat capacity, this fireplace that covers up to 1,250 square feet.
Other than its power and coverage, we also love its safety features, one of which is the built-in oxygen safety sensor. This prevents it from heating up too much and possibly burning the house down. Overall, it is one of the best propane fireplaces you’ll find especially for big living rooms. It’s total power and safety features make it a rather nice addition to your home.
Key Highlights:
- Attractive, black bulky design
- Wood stove design
- Max of 30,000 BTU heating capacity
- Duel fuel function
- Vent free feature
- Oxygen sensor
- Built-in thermostat
7. Napoleon Plazmafire Wall Mount Fireplace
Unlike the previously mentioned fireplaces, this one has a more and modernistic design. This one fits houses that have more contemporary architecture due to its compact size and sleek black frame.
Due to its the design, it actually looks like you have a flat screen TV in your fireplace. It’s quite different from most fireplaces because it has an ember bed called the Topaz Crystaline which is something quite unique to it. It also comes with an oxygen depletion sensor and a LED light kit if you want to get one.
Key Highlights:
- Beautiful contemporary design
- Topaz Crystaline ember bed
- Slate brick panel
- Fuel saving ignition
- Oxygen depletion sensor function
- Filtering tiles
- Vent-free function for easier usage
- Easy installation
Types of Gas Fireplaces
Before we go to the product list, let’s first take a look at the options you have. Here are the different types of gas fireplaces you can choose:
- Built-In Gas Fireplace
The first type is the built-in gas fireplace. As the name implies, it’s built inside the wall of your home and doesn’t need wood to heat up. There are two types of built-in gas fireplaces in the market: ventless and the direct vented type.
The ventless type doesn’t need a chimney or a vent because they make use of oxygen sensors instead. The direct vent, on the other hand, uses the usual way of burning gas which creates smoke and exhaust. Due to that, it needs ventilation from vents or a chimney.
- Gas Log Fireplace
This one looks the best if you’re after a quaint homey look. This type makes use of ceramic logs that are ignited by gas. All you have to do is light the fire on the logs and you’ll have a nice fireplace.
- Fireplace Insert
This type is more like a portable kind of fireplace. It’s inserted into an existing firebox and has a gas line which is used to light it up. The gas line is usually connected to a propane tank which can ignite the gas with a button.
Gas Fireplace Buying Guide
As we’ve mentioned above, buying a gas fireplace shouldn’t be all about aesthetics or cost. There are so many more things that you have to take note of when looking for the best gas fireplace. Here are some of the things you should consider:
- Heat Capacity
Heat capacity is usually measured in BTU or British Thermal Unit. This measures the amount of gas burned without heat loss. It would also measure the heat of the gas fireplace. Obviously, the higher the BTU, the stronger the fire. Always take into consideration the max BTU because you’ll need a high measurement if you have a big place that you want to heat up.
- Gas Type
There are two types of gas you can use: propane gas or natural gas. Propane gas can light fire faster and stronger but produces a lot of smoke. Conversely, natural gas lights a little slower but is an eco-friendly option since there are very little exhaust emissions.
- Mounting Options
You have to take into consideration the mounting options because you need to get a fireplace suitable for your house’s space, logistics, and ease of installation. There are the traditional free mounting types, the wall mounting type, the insert type, and the tabletop fireplace which is essentially a fire bowl that you put on top of your table.
- Style
The style is also really important because you need to get one that looks good in your home. There are brick types, wooden types, concrete types, and marble types. Choose the one that suits your home’s color, size, and overall design.
Conclusion
Those seven brands are our handpicked choices for the best gas fireplaces to buy. These seven were picked through scrutinizing the features and advantages of various gas fireplace brands. We narrowed down our choices and picked these seven for our list.
Of course, you’ll only need to pick one out of these seven for your home. To pick the best one for your needs, you need to use the buying guide. By knowing the different types of gas fireplaces and knowing how to choose the right one, you’ll know right away what you need in a gas fireplace.
Leave a Reply