Opel 2--Complete Fireplace Novice

[NEHeather]

Hi folks, I'm going to show my ignorance quickly!

We recently moved to our dream home on a tiny bit of wooded land, which has an Opel 2 (I believe) fireplace and additional 'blower' which is supposed to work with existing furnace ductwork to move warm air through the house.

When we moved in, it was summer and the cleaning bug got to me and I washed the doors, which were pretty blackened and cleaned as best as I could inside the fireplace too. We had the only fireplace person we could find in the region come out to look and he only looked 'up' inside after I asked if it looked okay. He said the previous owners had been burning it "hot," but I am afraid my earlier cleaning might have hidden any issues. Otherwise he mostly talked about setting up floor fans and what kind of wood to burn. I tried to take notes, but most of it went over my head, so I'm playing catch up now...

Also, in our enthusiasm, I think we have burned wood that wasn't properly seasoned. The doors are quite blackened and I can see what I assume is creosote in many places, but up on the right hand side, it seems almost 1/2" thick in one area. It does brush or scrape off. It is so hard to see up inside--I guess I figured it would basically be a pipe leading to the roof, but it is blocked and split and while I do have a small brush made for cleaning it, I can't find where to slide it beyond what I can easily see.

My guys want to chop wood and build fires, but I don't want to burn down the house! Our electric bill just goes crazy though and I'm only keeping the temp at a bundle up 50 degrees.

Amongst my many questions...

--Can anyone give pointers on how to clean this thing so I don't worry about what we might have hiding up inside? We've only had about 10 fires, but warm weather is still a distance off...

--It seems hard to get the fire to a hot enough temperature according the the thermometer we have on it. I'm not sure what or how to adjust this.

--There are two unmarked turn dials on the wall near the fireplace which are supposed to connect to the house's furnace system. I hear a fan when turning one, but don't see any other changes or feel vents in the house putting out heat.

Thank you so much for any pointers anyone can give!

 

[begreen]

Welcome. To save a lot of questions it would help to identify the fireplace. Could you post some pictures of the outside, then open the doors and post a picture of the inside looking upward toward the top of the firebox?

 

[NEHeather]

Welcome. To save a lot of questions it would help to identify the fireplace. Could you post some pictures of the outside, then open the doors and post a picture of the inside looking upward toward the top of the firebox?

Thank you for taking a look!

We have three snowy, negative degree days coming up and I'm hoping to feel confident lighting a fire again...and maybe eventually learn how to use the knobs and fan/blower to heat more than one room.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for adding the make and model to the posting. The Opel 2 is a good little fireplace. Do you have the manual for it? There are a few systems on this fireplace that you may not be familiar with. If it has an outside air supply, there should be a duct to the outside of the fireplace chase at the fireplace bottom height. Make sure that is not obstructed. It looks like you have the air control all the way open, which is correct for starting.

The only way to know how clean the system and chimney are is to have eyes-on-site. This fireplace should have a 7" flue. Instructions on removing the secondary tube and baffle for cleaning are in the manual. Then it can be brushed from the bottom up.

One important step is to make sure the firewood is fully seasoned. Poorly seasoned firewood does not put out much heat.