Two questions for an open faced wood fireplace:

1) Is it safe to partially close the damper if I want to slow down the rate at which the fire burns? Will that increase the risk of my house filling up with smoke?

2) Is it safe to run the Central HVAC system while I have a fire in the fireplace or will that risk reversing the draft in my chimney and filling my house up with smoke?

12/17/2009 5:10:25 PM

There is plenty of oxygen in your house, so I'm not sure how successful you will be at slowing the fire by closing the damper. You need to have somewhere for the smoke to go, and should probably purchase a CO detector. However, I imagine as long as the damper is effectively open, the smoke will rise and escape through the chimney.


It is safe to run teh Central HVAC, although very inefficient. You won't reverse the draft, as the heat will rise. However, an open fireplace with a burning fire actually cools your house on the whole, as the heat rises out the chimney and cool air is sucked in to fill it's place.


A vent free solution, such as vent free gas logs warm your house.

[Edited on December 17, 2009 at 5:24 PM. Reason : .]

12/17/2009 5:22:00 PM

gas logs do not smell good though

12/17/2009 5:26:06 PM

True. You can also try using firebacks/heat reflectors to push more heat into the room if that is your goal.

12/17/2009 5:29:03 PM

I open the damper all the way. Be sure to crack open a window to allow air to come into the house and avoid the reverse draft you mentioned.

Fireplaces work by radiant heat(the hot air itself goes right out the chimney), so they really only work in one room at a time.

12/17/2009 5:40:01 PM

I don't really give a crap about efficiency for two reasons

1) Most of the time, I am only doing it for decor/pleasure
2) If the power goes out, efficiency is a moot point


Thanks for the input! I wonder if I should buy a few logs from the grocery store in case the power goes out this weekend....

12/17/2009 5:43:44 PM

If the power goes out, just know that when you start the fire you are choosing one warm room rather than maximizing the warmth of the house. It becomes a trade-off at some point.

12/17/2009 5:53:09 PM

good point.... I guess I would wait until it was so cold that we couldn't stand it, then we would pack up and move to the living room

12/17/2009 5:53:53 PM