Types of fireplaces and stoves

Although there arc many types available, most products available fall into three
categories -- wood, pellet, and gas.

Wood stoves and fireplaces

Many manufacturers are available and in this field products are made out of various materials. Popular are plate steel and cast-iron. Plate steel stoves are cheaper to produce and usually have shielding built into them. They are available in pedestal and leg models, with and without ash pans. Some models allow blower units to be installed on them to increase heat output. Also types of convection diffusion such as Regency's Convector Airmate can be installed to increase natural convection.

Cast Iron Stoves

These stoves are considerably different than the plate steel stoves. Plate steel stoves are welded together with various designs, but cast-iron stoves are not welded. Instead the stoves are made in sections then bolted together and interior firebox areas are sealed with high heat gasket material to form an airtight seal. Legs are made to be bolted on and usually there are leveling bolts to level it on uneven floor
surfaces.

Cast-iron allows for beautiful design options and very stylish looks since the panels are made of cast-iron poured in molds in a foundry. Cast-iron can be enamelized using ground up glass and other materials which are melted and bonded to the cast-iron at very high temperatures. The result is a high gloss look that is stunning with colors such as brown, green, blue, red and sand colors being the most popular. How do the two designs differ in heating?

The plate steel stoves have much less mass and therefore heat up much faster and cool down much faster. Cast-iron stoves take longer to heat up but because of the large mass, retain heat much longer when the fire dies down. In the end both designs do a good job. The choice is one of looks and if the design fits your lifestyle needs.

Wood Fireplaces

Available in zero clearance designs., there are aestictic ones which do not emit much heat other than radiant heat, and there are other designs which are airtight in nature and can emit considerable convection and radiant heat. Wood burning fireplaces are usually specified to be installed with a chimney that has been certified for each fireplace. Under no circumstances can other types of chimneys be interchanged as some chimneys are designed to be air cooled where others use insulation in their construction. Again. plate steel or sheet metal types are available and the more expensive cast-iron types such as the sequoia EPA model are available through Vermont Castings for a more eloquent look.

Most wood burning fireplaces are designed for minimal clearances to combustibles and are ideal for installing in new homes or in additions or basements. Sometimes people have open wood burning fireplaces which are inefficient and they wish to get more heat out of them.

Wood Burning Inserts

These are designed to go into conventional fireplaces. They have no shielding around them, therefore, they are only permitted to go into masonry enclosures built to proper industrial practice or building codes. One must size the insert to fit the enclosure with a surround and also keep in mind that a properly sized liner must be installed from the insert to the top of the chimney. Sometimes alterations need to be made to the interior or part of the smoke shelf removed in order allow the insert to he installed. Once these alterations have been done, the fireplace should not he used as a conventional one again until it has been rechecked and parts replaced which were removed, like the damper, linkages and supporting hardware.

Hope this has been of help to offer more insight into wood units.