we have a decorative fireplace, like so many other bungalows. It has a pipe showing that it was originally gas, good nasty coal gas, with no vent, but that was capped and disconnected ages ago, fortunately. We still have the cement logs for decoration. We were debating whether to go the candle scene or what, when we found the magic of fireplace gel cans. They are much like glorified sterno, but burn red instead of blue and have a built-in occasional crackle. Apparently there are several companies, such as Real Flame, Sunjel and others, and they have been aroaund for over 20 years. Huh.
This is a picture, which doesn't make it look nearly as cool as it is, so I blame the camera. The alternative was a totally dark picture with a flame in the center, not too informative. We burned two cans and it was really pretty cool. Little to no smell, a tiny bit of heat and lots of atmosphere. The child likes to curl up on her new beanbag chair in front of it. They say a can will burn 2-3 hours and that seems true. We have done one longer and two shorter fires so far. Debating whether to spend $200 on a log set that hides the cans better (ours are in a pan stacked on bricks behind the logs). But so far, so good.
