Fireplaces- How many enjoy them for what they are for?

[ws23jrt]

I get a lot of use out of mine. It is not a great source of heat but in my case it is plenty.
I like to play with building and keeping a fire when the weather outside gets cold and gloomy.
Many old houses have them and a lot are just for looks. It is a shame to not make them do what they were made for.
Many times I considered a wood stove insert, etc. EEK---In my case I have a three flue chimney. One for the living room fireplace. Another for the kitchen fireplace and the other one from the basement/garage/shop. That I use for vent from my wood stove.
Am I in a minority for actually using my fireplace?

 

[WesleyK]

We live in south MS so mine doesn't get used a whole lot. But we love it. We always had one growing up. They're aren't many people still burning wood but I enjoy it.

 

[5.7 hemi]

I would love to use mine, but where I live, the fireplace Nazis (goes by county) say whether or not it’s a burn day or no burn day. F’ing California!!

 

[ws23jrt]

BTW that thermometer in my pic has shown as much as -240-degree air coming out. Fed by a small squirrel cage fan.
I made a box tube hearth to help with the shortcomings of what I have to deal with for heat loss.

 

[Cranky]

I made a heatilator for mine over 30 years ago and it puts out a fair amount once the coals at the bottom build up. My biggest problem is the fireplace doesn't draw all that well and if the breeze outside is around 15 or better and is out of the north, it blows some smoke into the house. The fireplace is on the south side and the top of the chimney is a couple of feet shorter than the ridge.....

 

[oldbee]

Wood burn smell, love it. Better-half doesn’t like the ceiling after some burns though .

 

[ws23jrt]

I would love to use mine, but where I live, the fireplace Nazis (goes by county) say whether or not it’s a burn day or no burn day. F’ing California!!

I am in Oregon and expect the same handcuffs to come to me soon. One thing I do know how to do- is getting the fire started properly to minimise the smoke. A good fire is a clean fire.--(no smoke).
The neighbor nazis will see smoke but not the heat waves with a proper fire. I would like to experience the fire department coming to my house to put out a fire in my fireplace. To me, that would be a fun day for all involved.

 

[747mopar]

Ours burns all winter unless the wife doesn't do her part and lets it go out then as punishment it's a day before I re lite it haha. Amazes me that after all these years she still won't use the bellow, puts logs against the door and can't properly stack it for a long burn. In our case we have a large living room and use it to offset the heating cost so it's a high effeciency insert and does a wonderful job. Love wood heat.

 

[ws23jrt]

I made a heatilator for mine over 30 years ago and it puts out a fair amount once the coals at the bottom build up. My biggest problem is the fireplace doesn't draw all that well and if the breeze outside is around 15 or better and is out of the north, it blows some smoke into the house. The fireplace is on the south side and the top of the chimney is a couple of feet shorter than the ridge.....

I have the same issue with getting -combustion air- to the fire without cracking a door or window. If the conditions are not right smoke will be drawn in one of the other flues.-(Smoke in the house). That is an issue of the house being tight as well as the outside temp. not being low enough.
For me playing with my fireplace is a wintertime thing--seasonal. I am never moved to build a fire in the summer.

 

[Cranky]

I have the same issue with getting -combustion air- to the fire without cracking a door or window. If the conditions are not right smoke will be drawn in one of the other flues.-(Smoke in the house). That is an issue of the house being tight as well as the outside temp. not being low enough.
For me playing with my fireplace is a wintertime thing--seasonal. I am never moved to build a fire in the summer.

At 66, my allergies are getting worse and worse so I burn the fireplace less and less. On a calm day with the outside temp in the mid 30's, once the fire is going good, I can turn the central heat off and the fireplace will nearly keep the whole house warm. I'll stick a box fan in the hallway to blow cool air into the den from the back of the house. The den will hit 80+ while the back will be 65 if I don't do that. Thing is, the last several years, mid 30's hasen't happened very often around here.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Ah yes, the Harmon pellet stove, made in Vermont. love ours. It has a thermostat and a blower speed control. Automatic auger to fill and lite burn pot. Set it and forget it. Pellet hopper holds an entire 40 lb bag. Heats our entire log cabin. We also have a good oil furnace that we hardly ever use.

 

[Dans 68]

In NorCal, Bay Area, and kind or rural so our fireplaces get used. I don't pay attention to the no burn days - neighbors are far enough away that it is not noticeable. I love a good wood fire.

Dan

 

[GetX'd]

I really love a good wood fire myself. Being from MN and having lived in CO have had one all the time. But now been in CA for quite a few years I have a fireplace but converted it to gas because it’s cleaner and I’m not sure you can burn wood in SoCal at all. Probably not. So I get a good book and read by my gas fireplace and enjoy what I can of it. Still nice.

 

[Dennis H]

Pretty sure they are outlawed here in Willow Glen. 95125.

 

[moparcrazy]

Ah yes, the Harmon pellet stove, made in Vermont. love ours. It has a thermostat and a blower speed control. Automatic auger to fill and lite burn pot. Set it and forget it. Pellet hopper holds an entire 40 lb bag. Heats our entire log cabin. We also have a good oil furnace that we hardly ever use.View attachment 545257

Dam bud that's Beautiful place you Got there !

 

[gary h]

I & Wife love the fireplace,However its been too warm so far this year, (Near Nashville,Tn.) This Monday it's supposed to be 70 Deg.!.I still have a Nice seasoned rick of wood to burn from last year.

 

[Dans 68]

Pretty sure they are outlawed here in Willow Glen. 95125.

I have family there, and they do have a fireplace. Have not seen it ever used. I do know in the general Bay Area if you take a wood burning fireplace out (say, remodeling) you cannot replace it with another. I Need to find a sane place to live....

Dan

 

[Xp29h]

Here in Maine I grew up lugging wood. I love the wood fireplace but for the upstairs living space we went with a gas fireplace. Love it! Pushes heat all through the downstairs! Now, I didn't go all crazy, down in the basement, where I spend most of my time besides the garage, I have an early 1900's cast iron wood cook stove. That heats the basement up and cooks things faster that you can imagine. I'll get a pic of it up later today..

 

[Richard Cranium]

I love the smell of wood smoke coming out of a chimney on a cool/cold day, but I hate fireplaces. As a kid, my dad would make us go with him to cut down trees, load the wood into the trailer, unload the trailer at home and carry all the wood around to the back yard and stack it. Then when he wanted to build a fire, we had to carry it from the pile out back, go through the house and stack it on the back deck. Then there was cleaning out the the ashes from the fireplace which I hated. On top of that, dad had this tubular heater that looked like a zoomie header with a blower attached to throw heat out into the room, which worked great, BUT, the only kind of fire that my dad would ever build was a roaring fire and the 85-90 degree heat would drive you out of the living room. The heat would also shut off the thermostat and the rest of the house would freeze. Bottom line is that my dad scarred me for life.

 

[747mopar]

I love the smell of wood smoke coming out of a chimney on a cool/cold day, but I hate fireplaces. As a kid, my dad would make us go with him to cut down trees, load the wood into the trailer, unload the trailer at home and carry all the wood around to the back yard and stack it. Then when he wanted to build a fire, we had to carry it from the pile out back, go through the house and stack it on the back deck. Then there was cleaning out the the ashes from the fireplace which I hated. On top of that, dad had this tubular heater that looked like a zoomie header with a blower attached to throw heat out into the room, which worked great, BUT, the only kind of fire that my dad would ever build was a roaring fire and the 85-90 degree heat would drive you out of the living room. The heat would also shut off the thermostat and the rest of the house would freeze. Bottom line is that my dad scarred me for life.

Sizing is the key, I was fortunate enough to buy mine from a company that knew what they were talking about. They sized it small so running wide open (Not creating creosote) keeps the living room very comfy but never to hot. My other advantage is working in the lumber industry, $150 will get a knuckle boom load of trees which last 3 years. I cut it up whenever I have spare time then rent a log splitter for 1 day and I'm set for 3 years. There's a huge difference in wood consumption just by buying a effecient woodburner, mine doesn't even have an ash pan and burns it to a powder that only needs emptied every 2 weeks. Paying more up front saves tons of labor.