I'm new - Can anyone ID this old FP insert/blower - can it come out? Pics

[JustJane]

I did a search, but without a name, I came up with too many results. Please forgive me if this has been asked too many times already.

This is in a house built 1983, so I assume that is the age of this thing. We have owned the house for two weeks and are still painting and ready to put in floors. We were going to put in wood floors this week, but it is raining today I see water dripping down the middle of the grill.

There is a blower & grills above & below the floor & ceiling of the part where wood goes in. At inspection, the guy said the flue was clean, no cracks, ready to use, and we had a chimney sweep out later who confirmed.

When I looked into the grills today, I can see cobwebs in there, but no way to get to them to clean them out. We have allergies and I'm not wild about these areas I can't clean. We have had wood-burning stoves before with no problems as they had doors that shut all the dust & ashes in. This is just too creepy.

How do I take it apart to clean? If it can't come apart, can it be replaced with something more airtight? What kind of company do I have out to fix the leaks & replace this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[InTheRockies]

That looks very similar to the Heatilator prefab fireplace that the builder had put in the house I used to own back east. If there's a blower on it, the blower most likely will be on the bottom. If you have a fairly powerful shopvac you maybe to get the cobwebs simply by vacuuming the louvered grates. If this truly is a prefab fireplace, removing it may involve more effort and cost than you'd expect, plus you won't have a functioning fireplace once it's removed.

 

[zionadams]

If it's been sitting for a while then you'll be facing what everyone who's allowed their stoves to sit over the summer is now facing. The pointy attachment on most home vacuums would be enough to clean out those vents. After that, just open your windows and light a fire. Run the blowers. You might smell dust but that's normal...If you get a new one you'll smell paint and sealants the first time you burn it. The heat from that first fire will burn off a lot of the cobwebs inside. After that, you should have a more balanced idea of what to expect from it. KWIM?

It's a beautiful fireplace with the glass doors! I wonder why it's leaking?