Fire place fan in the chimney???

[timm525]

I did a search on this and I didn’t find exactly what I wanted so…

I have a fireplace and as we know, when you have a fire the majority of the heat just goes straight up and out of your house.

Now my thought was to install a fan up above the mantel at about the 6-7 foot range and have it installed into the chimney. The flue runs in the middle of the chimney and is mostly dead air space. This air must get heated from the radiant heat passing thought the flue but has nowhere to go.

My question is this: Why couldn’t you install a fan like I said and then draw air into the chimney from the the floor and have it pass though the chimney getting warmed from the radiant heat of the flue and than have the fan blow this heated air out into your home?

I know there would have to be some considerations on this. The fan would have to be heat rated as well as the electrical wiring. Carbon monoxide detector would be a plus too.

I can’t see why this idea wouldn’t work and it seems like you could/would get a heck of a lot more heat and efficiency out of your fireplace.

Am I missing something here or is this something that everyone else has been doing for a hundred years now and I just live in a closet?

Thank you for your thoughts on this.

Tim

 

[deck2]

Tim
When you cool down flue gasses(smoke) the smoke will condense and you can end up with more creosote build up in your chimney. I would think that an insert would be the way to go if you wanted to make an old fireplace efficient.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

You're describing something like a Heatilator, but that works against the outside of a metal firebox. Deck2 is right about cooling gases there.

 

[begreen]

If this a zero-clearance fireplace it may have an air-cooled flue and less heat in the chase than worth recovering? An insert, if possible, should deliver better results.

 

[polaris]

If there are any leaks at the top you would mess up your draft. Depending on the cfm you might also pull smoke from the front of fireplace. But in theory any heat you can recover is a plus. I agree that a free standing stove or insert would be the way to go and would probably pay for it's self in short order.

 

[gpcollen1]

SOunds like someone wants to install a masonry heater

 

[Hogwildz]

No, just don't do it.