Air intake in back of open hearth

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1995Fireplace

New Member
Jan 24, 2024
5
Maryland
I have a masonry fireplace with an open hearth. It is on the side of the house and his a little metal pipe with a sliding cover to the outside air. It has ceramic glass doors that can be closed and then the air really roars in through that pipe when it's open. But the doors block a lot of heat and my wife doesn't like them. So my question is will the fire still suck less air out of the house with that outside pipe open, even without the glass doors shut? My goal is to minimize how much energy I lose to the draft.
 
Fireplaces are a net loss unless they have an insert in them.

Are the doors tempered or ceramic glass? If they are tempered glass they should be left open when burning.
 
Fireplaces are a net loss unless they have an insert in them.

Are the doors tempered or ceramic glass? If they are tempered glass they should be left open when burning.
Yep, ceramic doors. I would like to get an insert, but again the wife likes the look of it being open brick. It’s too bad, I have a pretty endless supply of free wood on the property.
 
Yep, ceramic doors. I would like to get an insert, but again the wife likes the look of it being open brick. It’s too bad, I have a pretty endless supply of free wood on the property.
Then using the outside air will reduce air pulled from the room.
 
Then using the outside air will reduce air pulled from the room.
But it pretty much will use inside air with the doors open? That’s the problem, she wants the doors off or open. I figured it wouldn’t draw much outside air with the doors open. I did find if I put a sheet of stainless steel in the back of the fireplace, it does seem to throw heat further into the room.