Vent-Free Gas Stoves and Fireplaces

Vent-free gas heaters need no chimney: they burn room air and keep their heat and exhaust in the room, which is why they're popular as supplemental heat. Every heater here is vent-free, ordered by its maker's BTU rating from smallest to largest, so the first picks suit the smallest rooms their manuals allow.

The trade-offs come with the design: combustion products and water vapour stay indoors, each manual sets a minimum room size for the burner's BTU, an oxygen-depletion sensor shuts the burner off if oxygen drops, and some local codes restrict or ban vent-free appliances. Check with your building department before you buy.

Every heater here burns natural gas, propane or both, as its listing states, and most light with a piezo or battery igniter and a standing pilot, so they keep working in a power cut. At full fire a heater burns its BTU rating divided by 1,036 in cubic feet of natural gas an hour, or divided by 91,452 in gallons of propane (EIA heat contents).

#1 · 4,600 BTU/h

Pleasant Hearth PHZC42F Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The Pleasant Hearth PHZC42F Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 4,600 BTU per hour by its maker. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 24.2 inD x 45.87 inW x 34.1 inH. Follow the minimum room size in its manual for its BTU rating, and keep carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home, as CPSC advises.

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#2 · 5,118 BTU/h

Empire VFD32FB0F Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The Empire VFD32FB0F Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 5,118 BTU per hour by its maker. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 17.43 inD x 34.5 inW x 35.62 inH. Vent-free heaters add moisture to the room, so they suit supplemental use rather than all-day heating of a tight room.

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#3 · 5,118 BTU/h

Empire VFD36FB2MF Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The Empire VFD36FB2MF Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 5,118 BTU per hour by its maker. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 19 inD x 35 inW x 24 inH, 150 lb. Vent-free vs direct-vent explains the choice. Follow the minimum room size in its manual for its BTU rating, and keep carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home, as CPSC advises.

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#4 · 5,120 BTU/h

Empire VFS32FB0F Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The Empire VFS32FB0F Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 5,120 BTU per hour by its maker. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 23.43 inD x 34.5 inW x 41.12 inH. Follow the minimum room size in its manual for its BTU rating, and keep carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home, as CPSC advises.

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#5 · 10,000 BTU/h

ProCom FS100T-3AS Dual-Fuel Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The maker rates the ProCom FS100T-3AS Dual-Fuel Vent-Free Gas Fireplace at 10,000 BTU per hour and says it heats up to 500 square feet. Fuel: dual fuel. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 12.5 inD x 28 inW x 36.5 inH, 42 lb. Warranty: 1 year limited warranty.

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#6 · 15,000 BTU/h

ProCom PCS150T-3AS Dual-Fuel Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The ProCom PCS150T-3AS Dual-Fuel Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 15,000 BTU per hour by its maker. Fuel: dual fuel. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 12.63 inD x 28 inW x 36 inH. Vent-free vs direct-vent explains the choice. Follow the minimum room size in its manual for its BTU rating, and keep carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home, as CPSC advises.

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#7 · 16,500 BTU/h

Majestic DVLINEAR36 Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The Majestic DVLINEAR36 Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 16,500 BTU per hour by its maker. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Listed size: 17.75 inD x 41 inW x 33.68 inH, 120 lb. Follow the minimum room size in its manual for its BTU rating, and keep carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home, as CPSC advises.

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#8 · 17,000 BTU/h

Majestic QUARTZ36IFTN Natural Gas Vent-Free Gas Fireplace

The Majestic QUARTZ36IFTN Natural Gas Vent-Free Gas Fireplace is rated at 17,000 BTU per hour by its maker. Fuel: Natural Gas. It has a blower, which needs household power. It suits supplemental heat for one room and homes with gas or propane. Where it gives ground: adds moisture to the room; restricted by some local codes. Vent-free heaters add moisture to the room, so they suit supplemental use rather than all-day heating of a tight room.

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The picks on one chart

Choosing between them

Match the fuel first (natural gas, propane or dual fuel) and the burner size to the room: vent-free manuals set a minimum room size for each BTU rating. Then look at ignition: piezo and battery igniters with a standing pilot keep the heater working in a power cut, while a thermostat cycles the burner to hold a setting.

Vent-free heaters keep nearly all their heat in the room but also the moisture and combustion products, and some local codes restrict them. If the room is small, a bedroom, or code rules them out, a direct-vent stove or insert is the safer choice. Either way, keep carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home, as CPSC advises.

When another list fits better

For bedrooms, small rooms or places where vent-free heaters are restricted, a direct-vent stove or insert in the gas chart keeps exhaust outside.

Common questions

Our editors choose and order the picks from the makers' own figures; every pick meets the requirement printed above. How we compare heaters · Affiliate disclosure