Fireplace entertainment center for supplemental heat?

[Idaho45guy]

Anybody use one of these?

Attachment 267452

I have a smaller home. 1450 sq. ft. with the upstairs closed off and not used except for reloading and a guest bedroom. The downstairs is maybe 1000 sq. ft.

I have a smaller natural gas stove that does a fine job, but it's getting old and not entirely reliable.

Was thinking the unit above (or one similar) would be a nice source of supplemental heat. It has a thermostat and could be set to kick on while I'm at work for 12 hours if the gas stove quits, which it occasionally does.

I really need to replace the old gas stove, but at $2500+, was hoping this fireplace thing would work. The one I want is sold by Costco for $599 and is advertised to heat up to 1000 sq. ft. But, with only 5200 BTU rating, I am skeptical.

Does anyone have something like this?

[dangitgriff]

My mother has a smaller one in her manufactured home, loves it. Yes, the TV sits atop it.
R/Griff

[Kevinakaq]

We have one and works great to break the chill while watching tv.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I have one in my living room with a 65" Sony sitting on it.
We use it occasionally to supplement our heat pump.
We enjoy the radiant heat it provides...something that you don't get with a heat pump.

[gunauthor]

We have a smaller version we keep in the bedroom. Fun to watch and a great way to keep warm.

[Idaho45guy]

Went ahead and ordered one. Supposed to be a bad winter and I actually had to fire up the stove tonight. Had to replace the rocker switch that turns it on since it goes bad about 3/4 of the way through the winter. I looked at the $22 rocker switch that I normally buy, and a $3 regular rocker switch and could see no difference, so I installed the cheap one and it fired right up. We'll see how long it lasts.

Costco is delivering it on the 21st and included free shipping and specific room delivery, so that's nice.

[Wayne Smith]

If your heat switch is bad at least it will keep the pipes from freezing.

[Lloyd Smale]

we have one with the tv sitting on it. Never use the heat though. Gas is cheaper the electric any way you look at it. If it took a crap wed never replace it. It proably wont though because it gets turned on maybe 3 times a year. If you want suplemental heat with a flame look at the unvented gas heaters. They put out cheap heat and you can look at a real flame. Another good thing about them is they dont need electricity to run so you have heat in a power outage.

[Loudy13]

We have one and last year when our furnace went out it helped keep us somewhat warm until the furnace was fixed. otherwise it gets used a couple times a winter.

[adcoch1]

We have one and used it as primary heat in our living room last winter. Worked fine. That reminds me I need to get that vaccum switch for the furnace......

[MT Gianni]

Went ahead and ordered one. Supposed to be a bad winter and I actually had to fire up the stove tonight. Had to replace the rocker switch that turns it on since it goes bad about 3/4 of the way through the winter. I looked at the $22 rocker switch that I normally buy, and a $3 regular rocker switch and could see no difference, so I installed the cheap one and it fired right up. We'll see how long it lasts.

Costco is delivering it on the 21st and included free shipping and specific room delivery, so that's nice.

It probably isn't the rocker switch quitting but the connections. The gas heaters run on millivolts or 1/1000 of a volt. Most are rated 750 MV new output and get 650 MV maybe. It takes 375 + to operate the valve. Add safety switches, thermostats and on off switches and you can loose some voltage. Make sure all wire connections are crimped tight, solder preferred and all slide on connectors and their post are bright and shining. Scrape with a razor blade or knife if not. You should loose no more than 10 MV per connection.
The rocker switch may not have a millivolt approval but will probably work. It may drop too much voltage if it isn't a MV switch.

[Idaho45guy]

It's definitely the rocker switch. Click it on when new and the fireplace fires right up. After a couple of months, you have to start flicking it back and forth a few times. When it's about gone, you have to sort of massage it a bit and find the sweet spot where it will ignite. Then when I pop it out and replace it with a new one, it fires right up for another couple of months. Done that three times now.

I suspect that the heat deteriorates the internal workings of the switch over time. You would think that a $22 switch designed for fireplaces would be a bit more resistant to heat. I'll see how long the $3 switch lasts and do the math.

[Idaho45guy]

New fireplace arrived today in perfect condition. Had to rearrange the living room and still not done cleaning and organizing. But, I got the fireplace set and the TV and DVD set up.

I really, really like it! I can adjust the flames endlessly with colors, speed, and intensity. The heater works great, and the thermostat works great.

Very happy with it!

Attachment 268072

[RU shooter]

We have a small ranch house and use ours a good bit in the winter to keep the oil furnace from running non stop . Keeps the living room and kitchen comfortable easily