Wood Insert or Gas Insert: How They Compare

What Each One Is

Both are closed fireboxes with glass fronts that slide into an existing fireplace. The EPA describes a wood fireplace insert as a wood stove designed to fit inside a fireplace, one that should meet its emission rules, and notes that gas and pellet inserts exist too and burn cleaner. Gas inserts, whether natural gas or propane, sit outside those wood-heater rules because they burn very cleanly and give off less soot and other pollution.

Where they differ is everything around the flame: the pipe up the chimney, the fuel, the yearly care, and what happens when the electricity goes off.

The Short Comparison

These are the differences that decide most choices. Each line comes from the makers' manuals and agency pages listed below the article.

• Fireplace: the wood insert we read is for masonry fireplaces only; the gas insert we read is designed for masonry or factory-built fireplaces installed to code.
• Liner: wood needs a continuous stainless liner to the top, insulated above the first flue tile; a gas liner does not need insulation.
• Fuel: wood needs dry, seasoned splits stored outdoors; gas needs a gas line or propane supply run by a qualified installer.
• Upkeep: wood means ash, gaskets and chimney sweeping; gas means a yearly technician check of glass, gaskets, logs and the vent cap.
• Outage: a wood insert keeps radiating with no power; the gas insert we read runs on a battery pack for up to a few days, without its fan.

The Liner Behind Each

The Regency i2450-2 wood insert manual requires a continuous 5-1/2 or 6 inch liner from the insert to the top of the chimney. Homeowner guidance from a chimney safety organization explains that liners serving solid fuel appliances need insulation, while liners for gas appliances do not, because gas exhaust runs cooler. So a wood insert means an insulated stainless liner, and a gas insert means the vent kit its own installation manual names.

The Heat & Glo SUPREME-I gas insert manual says its inserts are designed for masonry or factory-built fireplaces installed to code, and the Regency wood insert manual says it must not go into a factory-built fireplace. If yours is a prefab unit, read our guide on inserts in prefab fireplaces first.

Upkeep Over a Year

A wood insert asks for steady attention. The Regency manual calls for the chimney system and the unit to be cleaned twice in the first year and at least once a year after, plus a yearly round of gaskets, glass, air tubes, firebrick and blower. Ash comes out every few days in regular use, and the wood has to be dry.

A gas insert asks for less from you and more from a technician. The Heat & Glo manual has the homeowner check the vent and termination cap for blockages each season, and a qualified technician inspect the gasket seal, the glass assembly and the logs every year. There is no ash and no firewood.

Heat When the Power Goes Out

This is where the two really differ. A wood insert's fire needs no electricity; its blower does, so in an outage the fan stops but the glass and steel keep radiating heat into the room as long as there is wood.

The Heat & Glo SUPREME-I owner's manual says its ignition system comes with a battery backup, and that the included pack of four AA batteries can run the insert for up to 72 hours in a power outage. On battery, its remote will not run the fan, lights or other functions that need household power, and the maker says batteries are for emergencies only. Other gas inserts differ, so check the outage section of the model you are considering. The same manual also says the insert is not intended as a primary heat source.

Choosing for Your Home

Pick wood if you have a source of dry firewood, enjoy tending a fire and want heat that does not depend on the grid. Pick gas if you want a flame at the push of a button, no ash and less chimney work, and you have or can add a gas supply. Either way, the fireplace and chimney you already have decide what can go in.

We install wood inserts with full liners through our fireplace insert installation service, and gas inserts through our gas fireplace insert installation service, both part of our wider fireplace installation work. A free inspection tells you which your fireplace can take, with a written estimate for each.

Who Will Do the Work

Whichever fuel you choose, our experienced installers handle both, the business is locally owned by a family, and the work is Proudly American. Spring Hill homeowners deal with the same Proudly American family from the first visit to the finished insert. Start with a free inspection, and you will know which insert your fireplace can take before you buy one.