Heatilator 1954-56 Plans or Layout

[nwill]

My father build the house and fireplace from 1954 to 1956 and installed a Heatilator (name plate on the flue control handle). Masonry exterior and chimney, lined with square tiles. It may be a heatform or just a metal shell where air circulates between the brick and the metal firebox. Fireplace is raised hearth, inside the room against garage wall, providing outside supply air, and has two vents on each side, top and bottom. The only other specific informaton is the code C654 on the side of the handle for the flue control. Previously two fans were installed on each of the top vents to blow the heated air into the room and straight down the hallway. A grate heater contributes and the main rooms are kept warm.

I am looking for any plans or layouts the placement of the steel in the masonry and air flow for the vents. When it cools down I will attempt to take pictures of the fireplace to help determine model and layout. I would appreciate any suggestions to help in identification.

Thank you

 

[jtp10181]

What are you trying to do with it exactly?

If it really is a Heatilator brand chances are it is a Mark 123

Tried to find pics online but can;t seem to find any ATM.

 

[nwill]

My goal is to install one fan, on one of the lower vents and pull air in through the other three to circulate the air in the room and perhaps connect to the central air fan in to other rooms. The air ducts are easy to access in the basement to seal and insulate. The steel firebox sits on a firebrick floor and I wonder if there is some seal or something that would keep the air from being pulled in from the firebox into the room. The Heatilator web site said that the Uni-Bilt model was produced around the same time the house was built. The picture on the Heatilator History page looks familiar. Most of the house documentation was lost in flooding.

 

[jtp10181]

You would be able to heat your house much more easily but putting an insert in there. Seems like a waste to me to try and repair and old heatform. I don't think anyone here has much more information about them, its a lost art. They were never very efficient in the first place so as soon as something new was invented they went away pretty quickly.

 

[billkline]

My goal is to install one fan, on one of the lower vents and pull air in through the other three to circulate the air in the room and perhaps connect to the central air fan in to other rooms. The air ducts are easy to access in the basement to seal and insulate. The steel firebox sits on a firebrick floor and I wonder if there is some seal or something that would keep the air from being pulled in from the firebox into the room. The Heatilator web site said that the Uni-Bilt model was produced around the same time the house was built. The picture on the Heatilator History page looks familiar. Most of the house documentation was lost in flooding.

I'd recommend against doing what you ask about here. Your mid-fifties Heatilator steel firebox is, at best, a slightly less efficient machine than a brick firebox. Most of the similar units I've seen over the last 30 years have rusted smoke shelves, connecting the heat exchanger to the smoke chamber. This makes them quite dangerous and less efficient. Connecting a fan to suck air thru it would likely distribute smoke throughout the house. NOT a good idea.

Another problem is tha the air that goes into the lower left vent comes out the upper left vent, and the air that goes in the right vent out the right vent. There would be no air passages to pull air from the right vents to the lower left vent's fan, unless the smoke shelf is compromised. In which case, you wouldn't want the air it pulled!

The best thing to do with a unit like that is cut it out and build an efficient fireplace like the PriorFire in its place. Short of that, install a nice EPA Phase 2 insert with a proper stainless steel liner to the top of the chimney. A Priorfire would give you the most efficient heat producing open fireplace with the prettiest fire available, but a good stove would give you more heat on less wood.

Hope this is helpful

 

[milner351]

I had the very same set up in our house when we bought it.

Even the $250 nordic eric '80's vintage stove we had for a couple winters was many orders of magnitude more efficient.