We have a wood burning fireplace, and when lit, it heats up the room to 78 degrees. The hearth doesn’t get too hot (it’s only mildly warm), so the heat isn’t too much for the fireplace. Only two logs are needed to get the house too warm. The fireplace has an outside air supply, and we don’t want to go through the hassle of installing glass doors if possible. My theory is the heat generated goes up to the vaulted ceiling and is "stored" through good insulation. I have not seen any backdrafting, but am not sure as to how to check that. I would like to have an open fireplace for Christmas, so any quick fixes would be nice. I’ve also tried turning just the blower on with the central heating, but the air intakes for it are closer to the floor, and though it does heat the entire house, it still keeps the main living room at a "balmy" 78 degrees while the rest of the house is about 70. Any ideas as to how to tame the heat? I’ve tried a smaller fire, but the smallest I can get is 2 logs without it going into "smoldering mode". Any suggestions?
Added details:
Flue is wide open. Before I lit a fire, I looked straight up the chimney, and saw light coming through the spark arrestor. Also checked outside, No obstructions. Currently I am burning one Oak log for the "long term", Bradford Pear for the visuals and to stop the oak from just smoldering. (Oak i split is usually 2" diameter, Bradford pears I split to 3/4" – 1" diameter). I don’t think there’s backdrafting, but I will check that next time I start a fire.
Sorry, read the "NOT" have a fire going to check the vent draft after posting my update… Went and tested it, no vent draft. I was able to pull the smoking toilet paper roll about 1/2 a foot in FRONT of the fireplace with the flue open, and it drew the smoke in and up.
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