Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - vent free fireplace sizing

I am concerned that the unit I purchased is too large for my space. It is rated at 30,000 btu/hr. The room it is located in is only 20x15x8 but the instructions indicate that as long as adjoining rooms are not separated by a door that space also counts toward total heating space. My entire main floor is "open" like this- can I include the whole floor as the space being heated?
Any input would be appreciated.

You should be ok with that set of logs. Your room is 2400 cubic feet, a 30k btu fireplace needs at least 1500 cubic feet to operate properly according to the National Fuel Gas Code.

The National Fuel Gas Code defines an confined space as a space whose volume is less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 BTU per hour of the aggregate input rating of all appliances installed in that space, and defines an unconfined space as a space whose volume is not less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 BTU per hour of the aggregate input rating of all appliances installed in that space.

Rob, you sound like you know a few things about these vent free log systems. Do you recommend them? A lot of people I have talked to (or read about) say to avoid them. But my family room gets cold! It is off of the rest of the house and adjoined on one side to the garage only (and has a set of sliding glass doors!). I can't keep it warm in there and this seems like a good remedy.
BUT I also have 3 little kids and do not want to put them in any danger.
Any thoughts?

My belief is that for a few hours of sitting in front of a cosy fire unvented logs could be ok but if you are using them for space heating don't do it.

When working properly they are fairly clean burning but are still venting the products of combustion into your house.
In addition to gasses they give off a fair amount of moisture which could cause mould problems or condensation on windows in a cold climate.
Not sure of the regulations where you are but unvented space heaters are prohibited in many States and much of Canada.
You could check on the implications of using gas logs as a heating source.

Admittedly unvented appliances of any type would be quite attractive to folks as they don't have the cost of a chimney but the negatives don't justify the cost savings IMO.

Hey Greg, thanks for the input. We would not be using it as a primary heat source- the furnace gets us up to 66 in there so it would kick on intermittently in the evenings. I bought this unit at the local Lowe's - they have been approved in our area. But that they are not approved everywhere is a concern to me. I would be using it in a standard firebox (designed for wood burning) and have considered just keeping my flue opened 1-2 inches for safety sake (and moistures sake!). How do you feel about vented gas logs?

I own a business that services and repairs gas fireplaces and have been doing this for around 10 years. I see all types of gas fireplaces and a very large percentage of my business is vent free gas fireplaces.

There are many out there that have much more knowledge than I and I respect their opinion, but the biggest issues that I have to deal with are people that are not in the fireplace industry and have never even seen a vent free gas fireplace. They are only know what others tell them and do not have real world experience and tend to take others opinions as gospel. It pays to do your own research on both sides of the issue. The opponents of vent frees are very passionate about their "cause" and tend to remind me of PETA fanatics. Sure, vent frees are not allowed in some areas......but, two very large vent free manufacturers are located in California and Manitoba.....where they are illegal to install, but not to make. If they are that bad, why don't these areas ban the manufacture also.......I guess that would take away tax dollars.

Vent frees can be dangerous, IF, improperly used or maintained. That goes for vented gas fireplaces, direct vent fireplaces and ANY heating appliance.

Check out this site for the other side of this discussion.

Ventfree - HOME (http://ventfree.org/)

Moisture can be an issue, depending on that area in which you live. Here in the Southeast, we have very humid Summers and dry Winters. Our homes need the extra humidity in the Winter. In the northern climates the homes are very tightly sealed and tend to hold moisture, odors and dust in those homes.

In summation, vent free gas fireplaces are good for many but not for everyone or every area.

In my opinion unvented equipment can be safe ---- if installed, maintained and used exactly as specified by the manufacturer. However, I've never encountered anyone who owned an unvented fireplace who had actually read and understood all of the lengthy list of warnings provided by the manufacturer, much less followed them.

I have testified as an expert witness in a lawsuit by a woman who bought a new house and was promptly sent to the hospital when she operated the unvented fireplace in her living room, installed by an unqualified contractor.

The contractor installed the logs in the fireplace intuitively, the way they looked like they should go. That was enough to send the woman to the hospital.

I spent a good twenty minutes studying the hard to interpret diagram in the installation manual on how the logs should be placed before finally fihuring out how it should be done. When properly installed by a qualified person, the fireplace would operate safely.

Pretty narrow margin between safety and going to the hospital or the morgue though, don't you think?

I've also investigated thousands of complaints of possible carbon monoxide hazards when I was a repairman for a utility--- I packed off quite a few people to the hospital in the course of those investigations.

Frankly, in my opinion, the margin of safety with unvented equipment is just too narrow for a reasonable person to accept. Buy vented equipment, which is hundreds of times less likely to cause injury or death.