Posted: 11/8/2010 1:51:32 PM EDT
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Im in a apartment with a fireplace. It has never been used all the years ive been here. Ive kept the flue closed for many many years. Im thinking of firing it up this winter. I have a few questions.
1) What precautions should I take to ensure I wont burn my place down? Should I have the fireplace inspected by maintance? 2) Can I use any kind of wood or is there special wood for this type of fireplace? I have no idea if there is a liner or if its just brick all the way up. 3) What kind of output should I expect? I know it wont heat the whole place but is it just the immediate area? 4) Would it even remotely help my electric bill? or are they not really that effective in reducing cost? Thanks. |
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Quoted: Im in a apartment with a fireplace. It has never been used all the years ive been here. Ive kept the flue closed for many many years. Im thinking of firing it up this winter. I have a few questions. 1) What precautions should I take to ensure I wont burn my place down? Should I have the fireplace inspected by maintance? 2) Can I use any kind of wood or is there special wood for this type of fireplace? I have no idea if there is a liner or if its just brick all the way up. 3) What kind of output should I expect? I know it wont heat the whole place but is it just the immediate area? 4) Would it even remotely help my electric bill? or are they not really that effective in reducing cost? Thanks. Need more information on type (pictures would work). |
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Most likely it will make your power bill higher.
don't use it unless the power is out. Most apartment type "fireplaces" are for "mood lighting" not for heat. The air vents around the fireplace opening are the cooling ports for the chimney. It will usually take more heat out of the house than it produces. But looks cool. Oh honey,!!! It has a fireplace!!! we have to buy/rent this place. pwnd by design. |
| i just put a small blower in mine; i'd equate it to a medium-sized space heater it terms of heat output w/ a medium size fire. it pulls in room temp air and heats it up to around 180 before blowing it out into the room. i'd only burn hardwood, and definitely get it checked/cleaned, as mentioned earlier. if you don't have one, buy a fire extinguisher. a $20 box of 6 "fakelogs" from wallyworld is nice if you only wanna burn it for a few hours and not mess with it. |
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Quoted: I'd hire a chimmney sweep (as mentioned) and DON'T burn pine or any other evergreen. the resins will accumulate in the stack and it is flammable. As said above and reup your membership .... its just not right not seeing your Avatar . Ours heats the house nicly if I control the air flow by shutting of certain areas of the house . If I leave the kitchen area open the temps feel like they drop but if I close it off and open the back rooms that are roughly the same square footage the house warms right on up. Need to test it to find out why , Im sure its just because it pulls air maybe from the kitchen vents or maybe the windows and doors in there are not as tight . I can be here in the very back corner of the house from the fireat my desk and tell when it needs a log or just rearranging . |
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Have the chimney inspected. Old chimneys (usually brick) develop cracks and loose mortar, becoming susceptible to fire. And you damned well want to be sure it vents well. Imnspect it.
Wood works. Good dry hardwood typically is best. Softwoods, green'wet woods are NOT recommended. They burn too fast, spark a lot, and throw embers on the floor. A fireplace will throw some heat to the immediate area in front of the fireplace. However, it wil draft air from the remainder of the apartment. Expect the other rooms to become quite cold. Overall you will not add much, if any, heat to the apartment. Reduce your heat bill? Not a chance. Fireplaces SUCK. They were in use when people did not have or could not afford a wood stove. NO ONE used a a fireplace when a wood stove was available. The only possible realistic use for a fireplace is to set the mood for a big ol' slice of pie. And for that purpose a new gas fireplace works better. |
It is perfectly OK to burn pine and other softwoods, provided they are properly seasoned. Osage orange is one notable local exception. It burns hot as hell, but launches daisy-chain sparks into the room that will go through the screen. Fireplaces are generally a net heat loss to a structure, although your impact should be negated a bit by the fact you will be sucking others heat into your apartment. (depending on the design and layout)
Keep in mind that fireplaces in older apartments that have been revamped may "leak" smoke into the room due to other competing air removal sources like multiple bathroom fans, etc throughout the entire structure. This is usually not a problem, but is something to be aware of. A good sweep will recommend you have a level 2 inspection which is a detailed examination of the entire system. It should also include a video scan with a camera to visually inspect the entire inside of the flue for damage. Any sweep that signs off on your system without a video scan is not doing his job, particularly if it is an older building. |