Unusual Fireplace

[aldersonfilm]

Hey folks, new to the group — hoping to get some professional input. We live in a 1948 flat roof house that has a very unusual, over-engineered fireplace and flu system. I have struggled to figure out the proper way to use it the way its designer intended.
First off, there are three flues in the chimney — all for one fireplace. Two appear to act as chimneys. The third I'm not sure about, but all are sooty. There are glass (or ceramic perhaps?) doors on the front of the fireplace with an adjustable vent at the bottom of the frame. On either side of the front of the fireplace, there are two large vents integrated into the masonry. Inside the fireplace are a row of pipes that run front to back above the flames. There are two large holes in the masonry on either side of the chimney inside the house that blow hot air when a fire is going. My assumption is that air is sucked into these front vents, heated in the steel pipes above the flames and them blows into the living space.
So far, I have attempted and struggled to use it in a conventional manner. I usually leave the doors open (it seems to be much cooler with them closed and I worry about them shattering if they are glass). Getting a draft going in this manner is extremely difficult. Usually this looks like shoving a heat gun up both flues for some time while battling smoke billowing into the house. Even when the flames are going, some smoke sneaks into the room. One hint that I'm probably doing this all wrong is that when the doors are closed and the bottom vent is open, the fire roars to life. It just doesn't seem to generate much heat with glass doors in the way.
Images attached. Any insight into how this unusual system works and how best to use it is much appreciated!

 

[aldersonfilm]

Nobody? Figured this would be the place to get some answers or even a guess or two.

 

[begreen]

Could be a heatform style fireplace. There are several variations on them. A chimney sweep with eyes on site would be better poised to determine the configuration of the odd flue layout and possibly suggest improvements.

 

[aldersonfilm]

Could be a heatform style fireplace. There are several variations on them. A chimney sweep with eyes on site would be better poised to determine the configuration of the odd flue layout and possibly suggest improvements.

Appreciate the response. Doing some research, it does look just like a heatform fireplace. There is a metal, sloped firebox with pipes above, and I'm assuming the vents in the masonry on either side and at the top of the chimney are the air inlets and outlets. What is the proper way to use one with glass doors and a vent like this? Like a wood stove with the doors closed?
What still confuses me is the need for three flues. Could it be that because its a single story flat roof, they determined they would need more flues to make up for the short chimney length? We did have a chimney sweep out and he didn't have an answer and wanted to make us sign something saying we wouldn't use it because having two flues in one chimney isn't to code. Of the three, one only drops down about five feet and makes a 90 degree turn somewhere.

 

[aldersonfilm]

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[xman23]

Typically the other flues are for another or future fireplace, oil burner, etc. The metal fire box with wall vents is some flavor of the heatilator. Some had fans. Yes, that glass may not take a real hot fire. Maybe someone here can advise how to determine the glass quality and how to replace it.

 

[bigealta]

A fireplace really is not going to heat your house. It sucks out to much air. If you do keep this set up i'd say keep the doors closed and adjust the vent at the bottom to limit the air that will help control the fire.

That said if you want to heat your house with wood, look into replacing this with a wood stove or an insert.

If it's just occasional fires than doors closed at least most of the time and air adjusting with the bottom vent.

 

[aldersonfilm]

Typically the other flues are for another or future fireplace, oil burner, etc. The metal fire box with wall vents is some flavor of the heatilator. Some had fans. Yes, that glass may not take a real hot fire. Maybe someone here can advise how to determine the glass quality and how to replace it.

After much research and finding some old Heatform manuals from the 60s, I've determined that this is indeed a Heatform fireplace (albeit likely one of the first ones ever made), and that it was not installed all that well. They were never intended to have glass doors. The inlet vents are mounted properly at floor level, but having the outlets at the top sides of the chimney is the least efficient method of venting the heated air into the room. The forward facing outlets are not even exposed, and are instead buried somewhere in the stonework. What's ironic is that the main selling point in the old brochures is a fire that never smokes up the room, which this does all the time. I think that is in large part due to the wonky flue system. There is no other fireplace or even a place to put one, and all three flues are covered in soot, so they are definitely being used in some capacity, or were in the past.

 

[EbS-P]

So you have an inefficient fireplace that smokes the house out. Little fans won’t help anything. Do you want to explore other options or just leave it as is?