Hello all,
We recently bought a home with a wood burning fireplace. We are excited to use it. The previous owners say they installed a new liner and chimney cap a couple of years ago, and that the fireplace is safe to use.
That said, I do have a few questions.
1. Previous owners did not use it, but they say the owners before them used an electric-powered device (images below) that blew warm air from the fire into the home. Has anyone seen or used one of these? Would you try to use it, keep it and just burn logs in top of it (as I assume previous owners did), or remove it and replace it with a new grate?
2. There is one switch above the doors and one below the doors that slides open and shut decorative slats. What is the purpose of this? To allow or not allow heat into the room? Image of one of these switches is below.
3. Is it ok that the back of the fireplace is almost entirely blackened?
4. While having a fire, we should keep the glass doors open but the metal screen closed, correct?
Finally, as someone new to this, I am open to any advice from seasoned wood-burning fireplace users about how to have fires safely and enjoyably.
Thank you!
We recently bought a home with a wood burning fireplace. We are excited to use it. The previous owners say they installed a new liner and chimney cap a couple of years ago, and that the fireplace is safe to use.
That said, I do have a few questions.
1. Previous owners did not use it, but they say the owners before them used an electric-powered device (images below) that blew warm air from the fire into the home. Has anyone seen or used one of these? Would you try to use it, keep it and just burn logs in top of it (as I assume previous owners did), or remove it and replace it with a new grate?
2. There is one switch above the doors and one below the doors that slides open and shut decorative slats. What is the purpose of this? To allow or not allow heat into the room? Image of one of these switches is below.
3. Is it ok that the back of the fireplace is almost entirely blackened?
4. While having a fire, we should keep the glass doors open but the metal screen closed, correct?
Finally, as someone new to this, I am open to any advice from seasoned wood-burning fireplace users about how to have fires safely and enjoyably.
Thank you!
