oh, you poor dear! i can't imagine living with that! if it's a nonessential heater, you could hire someone to cut off the unit and cap the pipe with a steam valve that will allow it to release pressure but will cut the piping back far enough to only stick out maybe three inches from the wall. i hope. but i'm not expert. i would get a professional to come by and check out that option for you, though. good luck!

I think even shortening the pipe and duct in order to move the unit into the fireplace nook would improve the situation. Perhaps a professional could investigate that option as well.

What do you do?

Hope that your place does not get cold and damp like mine did in SF.

I tried running the heater that I had like this one at the front of the house and all it did was belch fumes. There was no way the heat would reach to other parts of the house causing mold to grow just about everywhere.

If it is in fact useless, like mine was, there is a shutoff valve on the back. You can shut off the gas and disconnect the line and then disconnect the vent and put the unit somewhere to store until you move out.

If the landlord doesn't want to spring for it, you could get a gas fired fireplace that has a blower on it. That would probably be more efficient and would certainly look better than that scary thing you have now.

I'm with art. That thing doesn't even look safe. I think my first attempt would be at removing it and getting some good space heaters. If you can't remove it, maybe putting a nice screen around it?

I lived with one of these in my first SF apartment. It was our only source of heat so disconnecting it was out of the question. I ended up putting a fireplace screen in front of it. Not a perfect solution, but it did camouflage it a bit.

Art is also right that those heaters don't even work. All they do is look ugly and (if you turn them on) run up your PG&E bill. I lived with one for a year and froze all winter long. I agree with screening it off and using space heaters. I doubt your landlord would let you remove it because it's probably the only heat source, or it wouldn't still be there.

Wow - whoever installed this was absolutely brilliant...
...putting the gas-fired heater right on top of the combustible wood floors rather than on top of the tiled hearth.

I'd spend a few bucks having the old thing removed and a new efficient gas fireplace/stove insert installed like this one:

http://www.heatnglo.com/products/stoves/gasStoveDetail.asp?f=TIARA-I

If your landlord doesn't want to ante up for at least a part of it, just keep the old beast in storage and threaten to have it reinstalled when you move - I'll bet he'll come around...

Maybe a much larger version of a radiator cover? If you made it as wide as the fireplace it would also disguise how off-center it is.

You may also have to make it taller as this does not make steam heat... I'd check first as you don't want to create a fire hazard in the process.

http://webapps.easy2.com/cm/lowe/ht_index.asp?page_id=35690383

I have also lived with one of these in an SF apartment and I put a fishtank on top of it. The fish (neon fish) loved the heat. I kept them there for years and it was something pretty to look at instead of the heat box.
Soon new owners came and gave us one of those gas fake fire places in it's place, fake wood and all. It actually looked great, it always looked like we had a roaring fire. But after I took the tank off, the fish passed away one by one.... :(

I too have this problem with my gas heaters in my bedroom and living room. No dice on disconnecting them, my bedroom was 56 degrees when it wasn't working this Christmas. I would love to know how to disguise safely.

bepsf is so right. Is this thing even safe or within SF fire codes? (They tend to be touchy about firecodes) Is it possible that it is a violation and maybe the landlord should be replacing it with something sane. It's been my experience that tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, carpenters) know the codes and give good advice. Find a reputable plumber and check out how safe this is.