was reading the "how low can you go" thread

[nancy2]

and having had a fire in my fireplace last night for the first time this year, i was wondering if anyone has used one of those wood grates that put heat back into the room? we have a woodstove/fireplace in vermont, but my nj house has a plain fireplace that just seems to suck all the heat up the chimney. It is mainly nice to look at in the evening, it is cold in the morning. We have those doors on it that we close before going to bed, but it is always chillier in the morning. We rarely used it last year. I was looking at some of the blower-type ones on the net and wondered if anyone had any thoughts on them--thanks!

 

[Marc]

The fact that they have not generally seen universal use and acceptance is a red flag to me. While they may be effective at heating a room or two with a fireplace, they have several disadvantages as well. One is price, from what I have seen in the neighborhood of $400-$700. So figure up to a third of the price of a fireplace insert, and an insert should last four times as long, or longer depending on frequency of use. Also consider that while you get more of the availalbe heat in the house with the grate heater, you don't slow the combustion rate down an appreciable amount and will still go through the same amount of wood, which would be far reduced with an insert.

Personally, I don't like them from a fire safety standpoint. The grate tubes are exposed to thermal stress cycles that can vary by 1000 degrees F or more, and they are already prestressed in the forming process. There too much risk, in my opinion, that when they burn through eventually, it will be when the fire is not attended and the blower begins blowing sparks and embers into the room.

If I were in your shoes, and you want a solution to get a little more heat out of the fireplace and you only use it a few times a season and you're not relying on it as a primary source of home heat, I'd invest in a good, quality, heavy cast iron fireback. The idea of a more vertical wood grate has also interested me, as seen here: www.gratewalloffire.com.

If you use it several times a month, then I would seriously consider a fireplace insert. Fantastic if you cut your own wood, but even better so if you buy it, because you get much higher efficiencies (up to ~80% efficient) and they also pollute much less than an open fireplace, the catalytic converter styles are great in that regard.

You can also find inserts that burn pellets and automatically feed pellets to keep the stove at a constant temperature with pellet reserves big enough to only need refilling every 12 hours or so.

But, I'm not an expert.

 

[roark]

But, I'm not an expert.

You just play one on AZ.

 

[Marc]

You just play one on AZ.

I only seek to gain knowledge to improve my meager lot in life.





So far, it isn't working.

 

[skijay]

It looks like I may be able to have a Propane tank at my home and I am going to replace the wood stove in my living room with a propane stove (the kind that looks like a wood stove and has the gas fire logs).

I am replacing a wood stove that is 30 yrs old and has been used 3 times in its life unless you count the candles that are in it and get lit.

Does anybody have a gas fireplace / fire log? If you did how do you compare it to wood burning if you had that.

Thanks!

 

[riverc0il]

I only seek to gain knowledge to improve my meager lot in life.





So far, it isn't working.

Gaining knowledge or improving your meager lot?

 

[BeanoNYC]

But, I'm not an expert.

But aren't you? IIRC.

 

[Marc]

Gaining knowledge or improving your meager lot?

Either. Both...?

 

[Marc]

But aren't you? IIRC.

Well if you want to get technical I have a graduate mechanical engineering degree with a strong concentration on free combustion and heat transfer.

 

[bigbog]

.....ah hah!....free combustion & heat transfer..

...I'm not going to touch that one with the figurative ten foot pole Marc!;-).....

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

bump