Are there double sided fireplace inserts?

[firewatcher]

I was looking at some houses and a few had those double sided fireplaces smack dab in the middle of the house. The perfect place to heat a whole house and get everything. However, it came to mind that I don't think I ever saw a double sided fireplace insert.

Has anyone come across this?

Is there a solution for this?

If I face an insert one way, what what I do with the other side?

As I am typing this, I imagine you would place 2 seperate fireplace inserts in there facing bth sides sharing the same flue???

 

[jtp10181]

If the flue is large enough you can do back to back gas inserts with two liners but I don't think it would be safe to run two wood liners of there even if large enough.

Best option is to put a wood insert in and then brick over the other side, or cover it someway with non-combustible materials.

 

[Ken45]

If the fireplace is large enough, you could put a wood fireplace insert on one side and an unvented gas log insert on the other side, perhaps with a metal or brick wall between them.

We have a similar issue here, we have a large see through fieldstone fireplace. I guess we could put in two inserts since the chimney is a double stack with each stack being 12"x12". We don't need that much heat, however.

Another approach (if you have enough height) is to set a free standing stove in there that has a good looking backside (maybe a soapstone stove?) and let it radiate into both rooms. Or just paint the backside to simulate a fire ;-)

Ken

 

[Jimbob]

There was one available out there, but I can't remember who makes it.
If it comes to me, I'll post here.

 

[Jimbob]

Found some....:D
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/products/overview.asp?pid=251

http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/products/overview.asp?pid=63

http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/products/overview.asp?pid=62

 

[Redox]

I think he is looking for an insert, not a whole fireplace. I don't think they exist due to the limited market they would serve. It would be very hard to make one with the correct depth for your install. The idea of two inserts back to back is fascinating, though expensive. Having one as wood and the other as gas or pellet fired is interesting as it gives you lots of flexibility. When the wood dies out, the pellet stove could light automatically...

If you put some kind of panel on the back of the insert to hide the ugly part and put a nice firescreen over that, it would look like an unused fireplace. If you really want to see the fire from the back, put an LCD tv in it playing the fireplace video

 

[Ken45]

<<<If you really want to see the fire from the back, put an LCD tv in it playing the fireplace video >

LOL! If you use a CRT instead of an LCD, at least you would get a -little- bit of heat from it ;-)

Ken

 

[Redox]

PLASMA! Those things really eat up juice. Most of them are 400-500 watts. Scratch that off the "must have" list.
Cat wouldn't be able to lay on it, though.