Which of the two negatively affects a flue or chimney more--wood
burning or vented gas in a fireplace and why?

Hello talltwin-ga,

The following page provides an answer to basically the same question
as yours:

"I have a question about gas logs.  Will they produce the same amount
of smoke and particulates matter or less than burning wood logs?  And
if they produce less, will it make a great difference?

Answer

Most gas logs will produce quite a bit less in terms of smoke and
particulates.  There will be no visible smoke coming out the chimney
and any buildup in the chimney is unlikely.  Gas is a cleaner fuel
than wood, although wood can be burned clean with the proper
technology (i.e. the new stoves)."

"Subject: gas logs - Cleaner than wood?"
HearthNet
http://hearth.com/questions/qa1103.html

I hope that this information is helpful.

- justaskscott-ga


Search strategy:

Found HealthNet as a link from an EPA page, (
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/combust.html ).

Searched on Google for:

site:hearth.com "gas log" wood

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Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 17 Apr 2003 16:36 PDT

I made a mistake in describing my search strategy -- I actually
searched for:

site:hearth.com "gas logs" wood

I should note that I also tried other searches on Google, but that
this search produced the answer that I found.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by talltwin-ga on 18 Apr 2003 07:11 PDT

This is not the information I am seeking.  I am looking for
comparisons of which fuel harms a flue more, requires more cleaning,
requires rebuilding/relining sooner and at what rate in comparison of
burning wood to burning vented gas logs.

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 18 Apr 2003 12:14 PDT

Your elaboration of the question shows that it is quite complex, with
several factors.  When you said "negatively affects", my assumption
was that you meant in terms of cleaning, which is apparently part of
what you are interested in.  But I can understand why you include
other factors.  Indeed, the following page indicates that "gas logs
have some serious problems.  If the fireplace chimney is not relined,
the chance of flue-gas condensation and chimney degradation is high
due to the high-moisture fuel, low burning rate, and low
temperatures."  So this is a complicated picture -- potentially less
cleaning, but more degradation.

"Home Energy Advisor - Fireplaces: Studies in Contrasts" (Home Energy
magazine, Volume 11, No. 5, 1996) [reprinted also at
http://hearth.com/what/more/skip.html ]
SRP's Home Energy Manager
https://www2.srp.gov/homeenergymanager/advisor/940909.html [scroll to
near bottom of page, under heading "Gas Logs"]

I believe that you can obtain the most complete answer, taking into
account all of the factors in your question, by posing the question at
HearthNet.  You can send the question to its webmaster ( address
listed at http://www.hearth.com/ ), to be answered on its Question and
Answer Database ( http://www.hearth.com/search/ ).  Or, you can post
the question on its Forum ( http://www.hearth.com/ceilidh/ceilidh.html
), once you have registered with the site.

I would be happy to ask the question on your behalf, but I figure that
you would prefer to do it yourself, so that you can specify precisely
what you want to know and correspond with an expert.

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 21 Apr 2003 07:11 PDT

I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with my answer.  I would prefer
to ask the Editors to remove the answer, rather than to have an
unsatisfied customer.  (Incidentally, you cannot change the rating,
once it has been submitted.)

Please let me know if you want the answer to be withdrawn.  If so, I
will write to the Editors to request that.

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 21 Apr 2003 08:38 PDT

I have noted that none of your other questions have been answered on
Google Answers.  This is one reason that I suggested HearthNet in my
clarification of the answer; realistically, you are much more likely
to get exactly the answers you want from experts on fireplaces, rather
than from general Researchers.  (Google Answers, like any general
forum, is more likely to have experts on, say, German or mathematics
than on the specific topic of fireplaces.)  Given that, perhaps my
answer and clarification should be worth $10.00 to you after all. 
But, if you want me to withdraw the answer, I will do so.

This response was NOT an answer to my question, and when I clarified
it I did NOT get a further response.  Sending a response to  someone
else's question was not helpful to me at all and, without quoting
source of information I have no way to evaluate the veracity of the
data. I would be willing to change my rating if I get a response back
from the clarification which I requested.