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Otherwise, get a picture of a fireplace and tape it on your wall.
I love this.
New fireplaces do not produce much heat. Old ones - tons of heat. I am not sure what all changed, but older ones tend to be larger shallower and at floor level. Newer ones tend to be deeper, smaller and built on a raised hearth. Somewhere in making them safer, they lost the ability to create heat. You need a blower with new fireplaces. With old ones, I am not sure I woudl want one, It would get sweltering. Maybe a blower would allow us to heat the outlying rooms, not sure, but I would not want it any hotter int he core of the house. If we are not going in and out of the doors, we end up wearing shorts in the back parlor when we have a three log fire burning. The upstairs rooms are heated by the chiminey running through them and become just tolerable with lots of blankets. We have a heating system to supplement the fireplaces, but it has given us trouble in some winters. The computer in it was programmed wrong.
Funny - the high tech computer goes out in our boiler, so we heat using a 170 year old fireplace.
Our two fireplaces can keep the core of our house very warm and comfortable even at -20 with howling winds. For us wood is free and we have kids to bring it in. We use the fireplaces a lot, but not as much as I would like to. We can bank it for the night and it will produce heat without flames with relative safety.
New fireplaces do not produce much heat. Old ones - tons of heat. I am not sure what all changed, but older ones tend to be larger shallower and at floor level. Newer ones tend to be deeper, smaller and built on a raised hearth. Somewhere in making them safer, they lost the ability to create heat. You need a blower with new fireplaces. With old ones, I am not sure I woudl want one, It would get sweltering. Maybe a blower would allow us to heat the outlying rooms, not sure, but I would not want it any hotter int he core of the house. If we are not going in and out of the doors, we end up wearing shorts in the back parlor when we have a three log fire burning. The upstairs rooms are heated by the chiminey running through them and become just tolerable with lots of blankets. We have a heating system to supplement the fireplaces, but it has given us trouble in some winters. The computer in it was programmed wrong.
Funny - the high tech computer goes out in our boiler, so we heat using a 170 year old fireplace.
Our two fireplaces can keep the core of our house very warm and comfortable even at -20 with howling winds. For us wood is free and we have kids to bring it in. We use the fireplaces a lot, but not as much as I would like to. We can bank it for the night and it will produce heat without flames with relative safety.
Lucky you!!!
I am jealous....
I loooove old fireplaces (hearth), that knock off one from cracker barrel is cool too just not old (loves antiques).
I want that 170 yo fireplace along with a huge great oaken table with its benches & wenches carrying flagons of beer!
New fireplaces do not produce much heat. Old ones - tons of heat. I am not sure what all changed, but older ones tend to be larger shallower and at floor level. Newer ones tend to be deeper, smaller and built on a raised hearth. Somewhere in making them safer, they lost the ability to create heat. You need a blower with new fireplaces. With old ones, I am not sure I woudl want one, It would get sweltering. Maybe a blower would allow us to heat the outlying rooms, not sure, but I would not want it any hotter int he core of the house. If we are not going in and out of the doors, we end up wearing shorts in the back parlor when we have a three log fire burning. The upstairs rooms are heated by the chiminey running through them and become just tolerable with lots of blankets. We have a heating system to supplement the fireplaces, but it has given us trouble in some winters. The computer in it was programmed wrong.
Funny - the high tech computer goes out in our boiler, so we heat using a 170 year old fireplace.
Our two fireplaces can keep the core of our house very warm and comfortable even at -20 with howling winds. For us wood is free and we have kids to bring it in. We use the fireplaces a lot, but not as much as I would like to. We can bank it for the night and it will produce heat without flames with relative safety.
Not sure where you came up with the idea new fireplaces don't provide much heat. The new units are far more efficient than old ones. The new ones are rated up to 90% efficient. Old units don't come close to that.
Perhaps you are talking about "Builder grade" fireplaces which come in a lot of hones. Those are for looks only, and are rated at about 5% efficient.
The sealed units are the best, because you don't use any air from the inside of the house, and don't suck the warm air out of the room, therefore cleaner, safer, and far more efficient.
The old fireplaces that are open to the room, suck warm air out of the home and send it up the chimney. Not at all efficient. Plus you get that choking, coughing smoke in the room... and everything smells like smoke.
You need to read up and educate yourself on what's happening in the world of modern fireplaces..
You 150 year old FP may well heat the home, but it is far from efficient. Since the wood and labor are free for you, and you like it, continue to enjoy it, but don't make false statements about high efficient moderns FP's...!
Not sure where you came up with the idea new fireplaces don't provide much heat. The new units are far more efficient than old ones. The new ones are rated up to 90% efficient. Old units don't come close to that.
Perhaps you are talking about "Builder grade" fireplaces which come in a lot of hones. Those are for looks only, and are rated at about 5% efficient.
The sealed units are the best, because you don't use any air from the inside of the house, and don't suck the warm air out of the room, therefore cleaner, safer, and far more efficient.
The old fireplaces that are open to the room, suck warm air out of the home and send it up the chimney. Not at all efficient. Plus you get that choking, coughing smoke in the room... and everything smells like smoke.
You need to read up and educate yourself on what's happening in the world of modern fireplaces..
You 150 year old FP may well heat the home, but it is far from efficient. Since the wood and labor are free for you, and you like it, continue to enjoy it, but don't make false statements about high efficient moderns FP's...!
I agree, our fireplace can put out some serious heat. If I run it for about 30 minutes it heats up our entire main floor and most of our second floor when temps outside are in the 40's or so (with no heat on). The house is insulated enough that it is sufficient to warm the house in the morning and stays that way most of the day if the sun is out.
Not sure where you came up with the idea new fireplaces don't provide much heat. The new units are far more efficient than old ones. The new ones are rated up to 90% efficient. Old units don't come close to that.
You contradict yourself. Just below you say that typical modern furnaces are 5% efficient. Are you trying to claim that older fireplaces are less than 5% efficient?
I come up with that idea from experience, rather than ratings. I have lived in newer homes with fireplaces and they do not generate squat for heat. They are small and deep and even with three logs or more they do not put out much. You cannot heat your house with them. I have lived in several older homes and the fireplaces warm up the house very nicely. You have to be careful about building too big a fire or it can get uncomfortable. Further, in our current house, we have 2 old fireplaces and a new modular unit in an addition. The old ones put out more than twice the heat of the new one. The new one is large, insulated, stainless around the sides and brick backed, but even with a big fire, it is barely noticeable from 10 feet away.
I think that the you are referring to efficiency refers to how cleanly they burn the wood, not how much heat is radiated from them. 90% efficient measure how much of the potential engery is burned out of hte wood rather than becoming smoke particles and residue. The efficiency refers to clean burning, not to output of heat. Perhaps you have seen some different ratings or studies that refer to heat transference rather than how clena they burn.
Perhaps you are talking about "Builder grade" fireplaces which come in a lot of hones. Those are for looks only, and are rated at about 5% efficient.
Could be. The modular fireplace that we put in the addition sure did not seem "builder grade" by the price, but who knows.
The old fireplaces that are open to the room, suck warm air out of the home and send it up the chimney. Not at all efficient.
I have heard this theory but we do not see it. When we use the fireplaces our home gets warmer, not colder. We are not really concerned about efficiency. As I mentioned for us wood is free at least for now. We had a lot of huge dead ash trees on our property. There are still several to cut down. If we run out my father has several more, plus a lot of apple wood from the 100 or so year old orchard that was on his property which is now dying out. We like the big open crackling fire.
Plus you get that choking, coughing smoke in the room... and everything smells like smoke.
You get this if you screw up. If you open the damper and prime the flue you do not get smoke in the room, it goes up the chimney. There are certain wind conditions where a fire is impractical though. However those days are rare, maybe 3 or 4 times a winter.
You need to read up and educate yourself on what's happening in the world of modern fireplaces..
I have. In looking intothe fireplace choices I read over 50 article and scientific journals on different heating principals. I am aware that there are very expensive very efficient (but ugly) fireplaces out there that you can use to heat your home. However I am not going to destroy the beauty and charm of a 170 year old house by installing one of those things.
You 150 year old FP may well heat the home, but it is far from efficient.
Define efficient. Lots of heat for free is efficient to me. Didn't you just admit that the typical modern fireplace is 5% efficient? I can guarantee that our fireplaces are more than 5% efficient.
The pleasure of sitting by and tending a crackling fire is more efficient than feeding an enclosed ugly thing a log and then paying for some other form of entertainment or relaxation. Having a two beautiful and fully functioning fireplaces already installed in a house that we bought for $1 is far more efficient than paying thousands of dollars to remove them and then paying thousands more to replace them with newer fireplaces that are either primarily decorative, or a heating unit that really belongs in the basement.
Since the wood and labor are free for you, and you like it, continue to enjoy it, but don't make false statements about high efficient moderns FP's...!
I did not make any false statements. (However I will make whatever statements I desire and I do not need your approval to do so). You, yourself admitted that the typical fireplaces in modern homes are inefficient. Rarely seen, ugly and extraordinarily efficient wood burning units (not really fireplaces) are available if you want to pay for them, but they are not generally installed, and they are impractical to replace the normal one that are installed in new houses in most circumstances. With a few exceptions, most of them are based on designs that are 100 or more years old, so they are not "modern" fireplaces. "Modern" fireplaces are the ones that you find in newer homes that are deep, small and do not work worth a hoot. That is the "modern" design. The fireplaces that you are referring to are most not "modern" designs at all.
If efficiency is the primary concern, then you do not want a fireplace at all. You want a stove or a wood burning furnace or boiler. Stoves and wood burning furnaces are far more efficient than fireplaces.
When we had wood burning we NEVER used it because it was messy and seemed to always have a smokey smell when moisture got into it.
Now, we have gas which we really enjoy turning on when the mornings are cool. I will say that our fireplace is from the late 80's and it does not really throw much heat into the room, so make sure if you install one that the heat will be pushed out into your room.
Not sure where you came up with the idea new fireplaces don't provide much heat. The new units are far more efficient than old ones. The new ones are rated up to 90% efficient. Old units don't come close to that.
You contradict yourself. Just below you say that typical modern furnaces are 5% efficient. Are you trying to claim that older fireplaces are less than 5% efficient?
I come up with that idea from experience, rather than ratings. I have lived in newer homes with fireplaces and they do not generate squat for heat. They are small and deep and even with three logs or more they do not put out much. You cannot heat your house with them. I have lived in several older homes and the fireplaces warm up the house very nicely. You have to be careful about building too big a fire or it can get uncomfortable. Further, in our current house, we have 2 old fireplaces and a new modular unit in an addition. The old ones put out more than twice the heat of the new one. The new one is large, insulated, stainless around the sides and brick backed, but even with a big fire, it is barely noticeable from 10 feet away.
I think that the you are referring to efficiency refers to how cleanly they burn the wood, not how much heat is radiated from them. 90% efficient measure how much of the potential engery is burned out of hte wood rather than becoming smoke particles and residue. The efficiency refers to clean burning, not to output of heat. Perhaps you have seen some different ratings or studies that refer to heat transference rather than how clena they burn.
Perhaps you are talking about "Builder grade" fireplaces which come in a lot of hones. Those are for looks only, and are rated at about 5% efficient.
Could be. The modular fireplace that we put in the addition sure did not seem "builder grade" by the price, but who knows.
The old fireplaces that are open to the room, suck warm air out of the home and send it up the chimney. Not at all efficient.
I have heard this theory but we do not see it. When we use the fireplaces our home gets warmer, not colder. We are not really concerned about efficiency. As I mentioned for us wood is free at least for now. We had a lot of huge dead ash trees on our property. There are still several to cut down. If we run out my father has several more, plus a lot of apple wood from the 100 or so year old orchard that was on his property which is now dying out. We like the big open crackling fire.
Plus you get that choking, coughing smoke in the room... and everything smells like smoke.
You get this if you screw up. If you open the damper and prime the flue you do not get smoke in the room, it goes up the chimney. There are certain wind conditions where a fire is impractical though. However those days are rare, maybe 3 or 4 times a winter.
You need to read up and educate yourself on what's happening in the world of modern fireplaces..
I have. In looking intothe fireplace choices I read over 50 article and scientific journals on different heating principals. I am aware that there are very expensive very efficient (but ugly) fireplaces out there that you can use to heat your home. However I am not going to destroy the beauty and charm of a 170 year old house by installing one of those things.
You 150 year old FP may well heat the home, but it is far from efficient.
Define efficient. Lots of heat for free is efficient to me. Didn't you just admit that the typical modern fireplace is 5% efficient? I can guarantee that our fireplaces are more than 5% efficient.
The pleasure of sitting by and tending a crackling fire is more efficient than feeding an enclosed ugly thing a log and then paying for some other form of entertainment or relaxation. Having a two beautiful and fully functioning fireplaces already installed in a house that we bought for $1 is far more efficient than paying thousands of dollars to remove them and then paying thousands more to replace them with newer fireplaces that are either primarily decorative, or a heating unit that really belongs in the basement.
Since the wood and labor are free for you, and you like it, continue to enjoy it, but don't make false statements about high efficient moderns FP's...!
I did not make any false statements. (However I will make whatever statements I desire and I do not need your approval to do so). You, yourself admitted that the typical fireplaces in modern homes are inefficient. Rarely seen, ugly and extraordinarily efficient wood burning units (not really fireplaces) are available if you want to pay for them, but they are not generally installed, and they are impractical to replace the normal one that are installed in new houses in most circumstances. With a few exceptions, most of them are based on designs that are 100 or more years old, so they are not "modern" fireplaces. "Modern" fireplaces are the ones that you find in newer homes that are deep, small and do not work worth a hoot. That is the "modern" design. The fireplaces that you are referring to are most not "modern" designs at all.
If efficiency is the primary concern, then you do not want a fireplace at all. You want a stove or a wood burning furnace or boiler. Stoves and wood burning furnaces are far more efficient than fireplaces.
Sounds like you are in sales.
The builder installed fireplaces which come in most, if not all, new homes, are designed just for looks and provide about 5% efficiency. The builders will not spend the money to install a real FP that costs several thousands. The units they install cost a few hundred and are nice to look at with a hot date and a glass of wine, but wouldn't heat a DOG HOUSE.
I took out my inefficient builder installed FP, and installed an insert which operates at 90% efficiency, and is designed to actually heat the home. I also got the optional blower motors which are installed in the FP. The blowers come on after the FP has warmed up to a designated temperature, and blow the heat into the room.
A 150 year old FP will definitely heat the home, but the only thing that makes them efficient is the fact the wood is free.. They suck warm air from the room, and you lose as much heat up the chimney as goes into the room.
You are also using combustion air from the room, which you can get away with in a 150 year old home due to all the air leaks in the house. In a modern, tightly sealed home with few ways for air to enter, you are using your breathing air to burn wood..!
I'm not in sales of any kind, let alone fireplaces, but I did a vast amount of research before I yanked out my fireplace and spend over $5 K having a real FP installed. I did my homework and knew all about the subject before I jumped into it.
I could give you many links to educate yourself, but I'll leave you with just one, a Fire place forum, that discussed FP's of all kinds, wood, pellet, ng, take a look, they have the experts and the answers.
By the way, I love old homes and huge Fireplaces such as you have, I'm not knocking what you have, just pointing out the facts..! For your home, I wouldn't change a thing, but the people reading this site, most have modern homes, not 150 year old homes.
The FP I have in my 8 year old home would look funny in your home, and your's would look ridiculous in my home.
Good luck and happy heating in the upcoming cold....
.. Hearth.com - Information on Gas Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Gas Logs, Pellet Stoves, Fireplaces, Chimneys and Hearth Products
Thank you. I went to that website back when we restored our house. Following a link from there we bought the insert that we installed. It cost about $1600 and does not heat well. Looks nice though. The people on the website said that the blowers do not add that much and tend to break or burn up so we did not get one. I wish that we had. Now I am looking for one of the add on blower thingies, but a used one that has not been used. I do not want to spend another $500 - 1000 for a blower until that will not last very long.
Not too many people are going to pay $5000 to change out their fireplace. They are really a decoration after all. For $5000 you can get one of those wood/gas furnaces that have a fan to blow air in and are super efficient. If the wood fire goes out, the gas burner kicks in. If you are just looking for heat, to me that is the way to go. I want to get one of those to heat the carriage house. However that is pretty expensive when a small gas furnace would cost about $2000. I do not know how long it woudl take to recoup the cost of the dual fuel furnace, but it seems like it could be a very long time.
I have no interest in heating only with wood. It is too much work and i do not want to have to wake up at night to tend a fire or fireplace. I cannot go back to sleep once i wake up. That would kill me eventually.
The builder installed fireplaces which come in most, if not all, new homes, are designed just for looks and provide about 5% efficiency. The builders will not spend the money to install a real FP that costs several thousands. The units they install cost a few hundred and are nice to look at with a hot date and a glass of wine, but wouldn't heat a DOG HOUSE.
I took out my inefficient builder installed FP, and installed an insert which operates at 90% efficiency, and is designed to actually heat the home. I also got the optional blower motors which are installed in the FP. The blowers come on after the FP has warmed up to a designated temperature, and blow the heat into the room.
A 150 year old FP will definitely heat the home, but the only thing that makes them efficient is the fact the wood is free.. They suck warm air from the room, and you lose as much heat up the chimney as goes into the room.
You are also using combustion air from the room, which you can get away with in a 150 year old home due to all the air leaks in the house. In a modern, tightly sealed home with few ways for air to enter, you are using your breathing air to burn wood..!
I'm not in sales of any kind, let alone fireplaces, but I did a vast amount of research before I yanked out my fireplace and spend over $5 K having a real FP installed. I did my homework and knew all about the subject before I jumped into it.
I could give you many links to educate yourself, but I'll leave you with just one, a Fire place forum, that discussed FP's of all kinds, wood, pellet, ng, take a look, they have the experts and the answers.
By the way, I love old homes and huge Fireplaces such as you have, I'm not knocking what you have, just pointing out the facts..! For your home, I wouldn't change a thing, but the people reading this site, most have modern homes, not 150 year old homes.
The FP I have in my 8 year old home would look funny in your home, and your's would look ridiculous in my home.
Good luck and happy heating in the upcoming cold....
.. Hearth.com - Information on Gas Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Gas Logs, Pellet Stoves, Fireplaces, Chimneys and Hearth Products
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and opinions so far! Some interesting views and points so far...Donn2390 did you have a directvent unit installed with a blower?
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Lucky you!!!
