I have a serious problem with heat loss from a Heatilator type metal unit, enclosed in cement & brick. It was probably installed in the early 60’s. It was an excellent unit heatwise. Now it no longer dissapaits heat, & smokes easily. The brick chimmey appears in good condition & the vent control also.
I am not familiar with this type of unit, but I suspect that the firebox is double walled & that the top part might have rusted out ( the inside wall is ok ) & is letting the heat go directly up the chimmey.
Any suggestions on how to fix this problem short of removing both the chimmey & installing a new unit? All suggestions appreciated .
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I guess I'd 'get into it' and try to see if in fact you have failure of the metal 'in the upper part'. Put lots of light on it and prepare to get a little dirty (OK, a LOT dirty). For it to give problems in your house, I suspect that it would have to be in the immediate area of the firebox. Otherwise the draft of the hot gas up the flue would have a tendency (I think) to always draw a negative that would prevent leakage to the house.
Do you have a metal flue inside the masonry flue? or does it simply vent into the masonry chimney ... maybe the grout/seal between the two has failed over time.
I suspect that the firebox is double walled & that the top part might have rusted out ( the inside wall is ok ) & is letting the heat go directly up the chimmey.
I've seen that happen more than once on those heatilator masonry boxes. Unfortunately, there's no easy fix for it short of removing the box and rebuilding a true masonry firebox.
http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Thank you for your response re a fireplace that I suspect has rusted out double wall. You refer to Heatalitor masonary firebox. What exactly do you mean by a masonary firebox? Also, I am not sure that it is a Heatilator model, only that it looks like one form pictures I saw in some old how to books.
The top of the unit looks a bit like a pyramid that joins directly into the brick chimmey. Do you think we are talking about the same type of fireplace? If so, I think I have to agree with you that I will have to remove both the chimmey and the unit . I will probably suggest to my client to simply install a high efficiency wood burning stove as a replacement.
Do you think we are talking about the same type of fireplace?
Yeah - pretty sure. I used to be a chimney sweep and owned a woodstove/fireplace store. Heatilator is the only brand I'm aware of that made that type of unit. There may have been others, but they weren't sold here to my knowledge.
I will probably suggest to my client to simply install a high efficiency wood burning stove as a replacement.
Good idea. Good luck.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
If it is rusted out, then there may be more trouble with the heat going toward the closest wood members. I'd think that if the inner and outer walls were rusted, there would be smoke being blown into the room with the low volume fans... Having the chimney lined with Stainless steel so it goes down past the damper will seal the original transition between the metal and masonry chimney.
My folks have a heatilator fireplace but it still is a fireplace with all the inefficiencies... To help control the outflowing chimney heat and cold drafting problems that cause some startup smoking, I found these doors. When sealed with black high temp. caulk sealant and screwed to the fireplace with tapcon screws, this door system allowed the heatilator to operate more like a higher efficient wood stove or insert. The doors have spin drafts that can almost starve a fire when it's well sealed. Plus, when you go to bed at night or leave the house for awhile, having this type of airtight door sure makes you feel more secure.
The only downer, other than the price, is these doors have so much high temp glass surface area, they will turn black with creosote because there is no air wash that helps keep the glass clean. A quick light coat of oven cleaner sprayed on and let set for 30 min. easily solves that.
http://www.countryflame.com/fireplace_doors400.php
there may be more trouble with the heat going toward the closest wood members.
I think what he has is a metal firebox in a masonry chimney. Heatilator used to make those things. It had a heat exchanger built in and it saved having to lay a firebox, throat and smoke shelf. Otherwise, it's the same as a regular masonry fireplace.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
We had one rust out in a cabin at a nearby resort. The wood above the mantle was smoking before anyone realized what had happened. It almost burned the place down