Gel Vs. Electric Faux Fireplaces.
Whenever you have a desire for a fire, you can have one without all the mess and hassle of burning wood when you use fake fireplaces. The benefits of having fake fireplaces can be wonderful.
Just imagine sitting around your new fake fireplace during one of those cold winter evenings, with that special someone during a romantic interlude or at holidays or some other family gathering.
Faux or fake fireplaces are basically any type of device that simulates a traditional wood fireplace. These alternative units are typically either electric or burn a form of alcohol gel. While gas fire places are sometimes considered to be fake since they burn no wood, for the sake of this article, we will only be exploring the pros and cons of gel vs. electric fireplaces.
How Does a Fake Fireplace work?
Gel Fireplaces
The first kind of inside fake fireplaces we will look at are the ones that burn alcohol gel fuel. Gel fireplaces are actually sort of giant Sterno™ heaters. While they don’t use the same food warmer gel found in Sterno™ products, they do use a similar gel that has been specially formulated from either isopropyl alcohol or ethanol.
The basic concept is simple. A series of canisters (usually 1-3) containing the gel are set in a fireproof casing behind or within some detailed ceramic “logs”. The whole thing is then enclosed in a painted metal or wooden cabinet. The canisters when lit will last several hours and can put out about 3500 BTUs of heat per canister. A gel fake fireplace gives the illusion of burning wood without the danger of smoldering embers, popping logs or ashes that fly everywhere.
The pros of using a gel fireplace are that they can be placed in any room and don’t require any hook ups or electrical power. The gel burns cleaning releasing only a small amount of harmless gas by-products like carbon dioxide.
Another good thing about gel fireplaces is that they are truly portable and can be moved from room to room as needed. Unlike brick fireplaces that is built-in and can't be moved. Also, since they are smoke-less you only need a set of ceramic logs and a fire-proof area to place, like on an old fireplace, stone or metal tabletop, to enjoy your gel fireplace.
Electric Fireplaces
These units are simply electrical heaters that use blowers to gently move shaped fabric “flames” set inside a shell of colored lights and replica “glowing” embers”. These fake fireplaces that are enclosed in painted or wooden style cases and are relatively cheap to operate when compared to some other types of room heaters.
The pros of a fake electric fireplace are that there is no smoke so there is no need for flues, chimneys or vents required. Nothing to be installed or remodeled, just roll one of these units into your house or apartment and plug it in. You can either use it as a supplemental heater, or turn off the heat to just enjoy the visual comfort of the flames. They also use thermostats and remotes to control their settings.
