Starting to think open face fireplaces ARE USELESS

An open fire place does not put out heat like a wood stove. What a revolting revelation...

 

Might be the picture somewhat. Avalon Rainier by Travis Industries. My favorite wood stove because the air control is very good. Probably many others out there as well. But I would buy this Stove again. It does have a nice glass!

 

I had an open FP in this house from when we bought it in 08, until early last December. While we had a heatilator wood rack, it still didn't do much for anything other than the room it was in.

Then I put the quadrafire 4100 insert with a bay window in it. Huge difference. The house is at 70. The furnace is not going to kick in at all for a while.

Here's tonight's light show. Elm and basswood.

 

The fireplace in the house we bought HAD a heatilator also. You can see the upper vent in this photo. It would warm the bathroom if you fed it a couple trees per hour.



We made it a bit more "efficient".

 

Correct. Open fireplaces are a waste of energie/firewood

 

On the plus side, black Friday is in two days. should be a good opportunity to catch a deal?

 

Have you looked into a grate heater? It won't do as well as an insert, but one of my buddy's parents has one for their open fireplace. It get's their large living room pretty toasty and I know they use it to supplement the HVAC system.

Grate heater - Wikipedia

 

Plain and simple they suck for heating and this has been known for a long long time, always best to do your own research.

 

That's what I called a heatilator. It sure works better than just the fireplace, but still nothing like an insert or stove.

 

A Heatilator was a grate heater. Instead of simple metal grates they used tubes to suck in floor level air and discharge heated air. At least that was the theory. Back in the early 80s I knew lots of folks that used them.

 

Far as I can tell, a fireplace is for ambiance. With sufficient ambiance and the right company, you may be able to stay warm.

 

When I bought my house, I pulled the gas logs out of the fireplace and put a regency i3100 insert in. Best money I have ever spent!

 

I have an open fireplace, 2 in fact but one never gets used. It is huge IMO. It came with the house. It will burn you out of the room, we use fans to circulate the heat. Does it heat the rest of the house? NO. Does it suck heat from the rest of the house? YES. Is it inefficient for heating the house? YES. Does my wife and kids like it? YES, so do I.

Now that we got that out of the way, if I install a stove or insert, what is going to keep it from burning me out of the room if the open fireplace already does that? I want a stove but am hesitant because it would be in my living room where we watch TV and spend a lot of time. I would like a stove/insert to help with the heating bill. And, I have a small firewood business anyway so wood is not a problem.

I had a friend who installed a stove/insert in his fireplace and his house was in the 80's. He loved it but that would drive me crazy to be that hot.

 

Probably has a bit to do with where one lives. I don't live in the coldest part of the country but 20 below zero is common in the dead of winter. I can run my wood stove full tilt and barely keep the house warm on such a day especially if windy. On the other hand, my wood stove has a variable speed fan and great air control to the fire box. Right now it is 43 degrees outside. I just feed the stove less wood and turn the fan way down. A perfect 75 degrees in the house which is the way I like it. Essentially I can shoot for whatever temp. I want. Plenty of control with my stove. However, my stove is in the basement and it is slightly warmer down there. I enjoy the challenge of temperature control while heating with wood.

 

Fireplace good for stockings & Santa

Though , Not much good for heat

 

Do you currently have small fans on the floor blowing cold air toward the fireplace room?
If you put in a stove and do this the stove room will be cooler and the rest of the house will be warmer, it will work the same way with a fireplace

 

No, never heard of that before. Will give it a try when it gets colder here.

 

When I first found out about this and tried it, I couldn't believe how well it works.
Cold air is easier to move then hot air because it is denser.
I use 2, 9 inch fans on the floor running on low, one in another room that blows toward the end of the hallway, the other one is by the doorway of a bedroom at the end of that hallway which is 25 feet from the stove room, the temperature difference between the stove room and the other end of the house is 3 or 4 degrees.
Depending on how your house is laid out you might need one two or three of the small fans

 

That's my issue with inserts. I'm about to go to my parents tomorrow for Thanksgiving and they've got an insert that I know will be running which means it'll be 80 degrees in the living room and high 70's in the kitchen and dining room so the bedrooms and bathrooms can get enough heat. Eventually I'll get tired of sweating and will open the front door until they force me to shut it lol!

I've thought about putting an insert in my fireplace as a back-up to my boiler but I'd never use it except in an emergency. Both my wife and I hate it when the temps get above 72 or so in the house. My only issue with my open fireplace is no matter what I do it smokes up the house within an hour or so.