Fireplaces Have A Place Too!

[Todd]

Here are some pictures of my fireplace. Last year I installed air tight doors, outside combustion air, fire bricks and tried a pellet basket but the pellets were hard to get burning. Sometimes they went out other times they burnt up too fast, so I pretty much gave up on that idea.

This year I installed a 2" thick ceramic baffle I found on E-Bay and bought a cheap iron grate with 4" legs which I cut the rear legs off to give it a slant so the logs stay at the rear under the baffle. This baby really throws the heat and I occasionally see some secondary flames. It's in the single digits outside and inside its 87! Once that masonry heats up it stays warm for hours after the fire dies. I think it burns pretty clean, just a little smoke at start up then nothing but heat waves. I was thinking about some kind of air control but it would probably give me dirty burns and dirty glass. Probably just burn 1 big hot load like a masonry heater, seems like that's all I need.

I won't burn it very often since the Fireview can handle most of the heating load for the house from the basement, but it's nice to have a nice big fire once in awhile and it can handle those over sized pieces that can't fit the stove.

 

[67ref]

nice,
makes you want to rub your hands together in front of it.

good job!

 

[smokinj]

Thats a nice fire!

 

[pen]

Wood stoves are definately wonderful, but there is something simply more special about a true fire place.

That is a nice example.

pen

 

[Prada]

I understand what your saying Pen. Like every time I go in a Cracker Barrel, I always ask to be seated close to their fireplace. It's magical.
Beautiful Pictures Todd! Enjoy, my friend......

 

[myzamboni]

Wood stoves are definately wonderful, but there is something simply more special about a true fire place.

That is a nice example.

pen

I don't know. I was at the MIL's for turkey day and I felt like a Neanderthal having to continually feed wood into the fireplace and not get a lot of heat. My wife even mentioned it to me on the drive home.

Pen, get a stove with window and you will change your mind. I would go nuts it I couldn't watch my secondaries.

 

[Todd]

This fireplace definitely eats the wood, probably would take more than twice the amount of my stove to heat the house all winter, but it's nice to have a huge flaming heat machine once in awhile. Since I made these improvements the fire lasts longer and the heat generated is fast and furious. I think I may experiment with the air supply to see if I can control it more.