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When you envision a free standing fireplace, you probably think about the old ones that burn wood and sometimes do not look very attractive! Thanks to modern technology and different manufacturing processes, free standing fireplaces now offer not only comfort and warmth, but they can also add style and charm to your home, and no wood or chimney sweeps are needed. If you want to know more, keep reading for advice to help you choose the best product for your needs.
A free standing fireplace is one which can be moved and does not require a chimney or flu for ventilation. What is really nice about this is that you never have to worry about upkeep, like cleaning out the chimney or worrying about cracks since the firebox is completely self-sustaining. Keep in mind though, that you cannot just put one of these units any place that you want to since it does need to have an outside register.
A free standing fireplace could be run by gel, natural gas or propane, electricity, or some type of pellet such as corn. The gel kind of free standing fireplace is the only one that can be truly portable since it does not need vents like the other ones do. One of the nice things about a gel based free standing fireplace is that since it does not put out any sort of emission, you won't need any sort of system for venting.
If you wanted to, you could also try a direct vent fireplace which brings in colder air from the outside. This happens through a warming process and is rather energy efficient since you are not taking warm air out of your home, but putting more back in.
As with any heating device, it is always a good idea to make sure that you follow the manufacturer's directions when you are setting up and using your free standing fireplace. It is a heater. You need to be careful with the amount of heat that it puts out since you do not want to inadvertently burn something in your home. Any time you set up a free standing fireplace, you need to bear in mind that it needs to have at least 4 inches of clearance from the walls to prevent any damage.
A useful safety mechanism on a free standing fireplace is that they come with heat and air flow sensors that will shut off automatically if something is wrong. This means that is you have an air leak, or if the unit gets too hot, too fast the sensors will shut off the unit so no harm can take place.
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Of them all, my preference is the gel fireplace because it's so easy and clean. It's even possible to convert your existing woodburning fireplace by installing gel fireplace logs [http://gelfireplaceaccessories.com/gel-fireplace-logs/]. Drop by my site to see what other gel fireplace accessories [http://gelfireplaceaccessories.com/] are available.
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