It appears that gas fireplace inserts are common in a direct vent configuration (where combustion air is brought in from the outside).
Are there wood burning fireplaces that are direct vent? I'm not finding any with my web searches. Do they exist under a different term? Or do they not exist and, if not, why is that?
Best Answer
Depends on how you are defining direct vent. The usual definition is the gas combustion products are vented directly through the wall and no conventional flue or chimney is required. They also draw combustion air from outside, and the combustion chamber can be sealed off from the house entirely.
You will not find a wood burning fireplace that does not require a chimney. Such a contrivance would not draw properly and would be dangerous for burning solid wood fuel. There are a few pellet stoves listed for this configuration however, but not for logs.
If your main concern, as you mention, is only that combustion air be drawn from outside, there are many fireplaces that offer this configuration as an option, including the ability to seal off the combustion chamber. They typically do this by inserting some device that blocks the device's usual combustion air intake from the house and instead provides a 4" dia. duct connection. It's up to the installer to route the duct to the outside. These all still will require a chimney terminating above the roof, typically 6" dia.
I would start searching for such devices by searching wood burning fireplace outside air. You should find many fireplaces have this option, though sometimes you need to dig in the fine print to see that it's available.