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Zero Clearance & see thru Wood Burn fireplaces

17 years ago

Looking for suggestions of manufacturers of good quality zero clearance see thru (2 sided) fireplaces for residential installation - so far I've found Bodart & Gonay's Optifire 760D and Phenix 950 D - any other recommendations or insight?

Featured Answer

oruboris

17 years ago

Those look very well made: many of the double sided I was able to find look flimsy at best.

I couldn't find a dealer locator on their website: are you certain they are available in your are?

Seems to me I have a link to a decent looking model in the favorites of my other computer, I'll post it if I find it [I've given up on a double sided myself, just isn't working with my floor plan].

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Comments (8)

Macey
17 years ago
Try www.lennoxhearthproducts.com
> wood burning fireplaces
> Magnafire - LS43ST.
One of the largest see through units on the market. 43" door and uses 13" pipe.
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A guy who just takes a quick look and says $5000 should not be taken seriously. In all fairness, the cost will depend on the condition of the fireplace aside from the damage that your husband did. If you are really intent on eliminating the insert, take it out and then get an estimate from a qualified fireplace company. Without the insert in place, they can probably size up the situation more easily. Incidentally, removing the insert does not involve only removing the firebox that you can see. It also involves removing the vents that are attached to it that go up the chimney. If your insert was of the direct vent technology, there should be 2 vents. You need to remove those vents and then your expert can check out the condition of the original chimney and tell you if it need attention. REmoving those vents may not be easy because they may be attached to the chimney cap, and that cap may be a special kind designed specifically for direct vent systems. In essence, you are taking apart an insert that probably cost several thousand dollars and, if well designed, provided highly efficient heat, much more efficient than you would get from an open fireplace. But, to each his own.
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Boy it sounds if you and swissmiss have issues with zero clearance fireplaces. With yours though there are several things that could lead to what you are expiriencing. 1. Down draft from the chimney pipe. This is indicated if the room smells of old burnt wood or creasote when the draft is noted. 2. Air leaks from the framing around the fireplace. An easy check for air leaks is to take a lighter, long match, or candle and move it slowly around the outsides of the fireplace where the construction materials meet the face of the actual fireplace if there is an air leak it will either blow the flame to point into the room or if it is sucking air it will draw the flame toward the wall. 3.When a fireplace is installed on an outside wall of a house there is a cavity that the fireplace sits in and the pipe for the fireplace passes through that extends above the roof area called a chase. This cavity in what we refer to as extreme climates such as winter conditions in the northern US the chase should be insulated from the slab all the way up to the point of termination above the roof. This would eliminate the draft or cool air coming in around the fireplace to a more tolerable level. Any questions at all feel free to contact me at maverick_75457@yahoo.com
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This part of the forum is pretty dead :(. are you looking at gas or wood burning? Where are you located?
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We are in the early stages of a Kitchen remodel. It is our hope to set cabinets on either side of an existing fireplace. The cabinets would be integrated into a stud wall set out the depth of the cabinets from the existing wall. We would like to move the firebox out as well. The chimney is wood clad. Is this possible? Can a wood burning firebox be placed 24-36" off the floor?
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hadleyfarm
Original Author
17 years ago
just read a comment from another forum thread expressing the view that see thru wood units create alot of interior smoke and don't provide any heat source - mainly a visual ambience thing. This person suggested that a see thru gas unit might be better as it won't fill up the room with smoke and will provide some heat value. I'm interested in pursuing this discussion, any thoughts?
oruboris
17 years ago
I may have read that article: very dismissive, written by someone with a bit of a tendency to pontificate?

So long as the doors close nice and tight, I see no reason why a double sided would be smokier and less efficient than a single sided.

But most of the doubles seem to use bi-fold doors, and I've yet to see bi-folds that had any sort of sealing power at all. With any wood burner, I want to see an airtight door, regardless of how many sides.

A double sided gas is well sealed, has all the usual gas advantages [no fuss, no muss, no wood to buy, stack store and chop...]

In new construction, gas can be a cheaper install as well, all goes to location and attendant vent issues.
granny99
17 years ago
I have a double sided large wood burning fireplace and it works well but needs to be "tended" to be sure it keeps drawing and does not start to smoke. Also it's messy to
bring wood in (ours is grungy and drops bark etc.). I want to install a gas double-sided insert. I have the chimney so it can vint easily.
Can you recommend a brand. We have HeatnGlow locally available but they are very expensive.
Thanks,
shermstead
17 years ago
I've been looking at the RSF Oracle high efficiency fireplace. It's the only see-through efficient wood burner on the market. I've decided to definitely install a high efficiency fireplace in this remodel.

Anyone have experience with this unit?
jonnybear
17 years ago
My wife and I are building a custom home this year and our design calls for a double sided gas fireplace that will face into the great room on one side and the foyer on the other side, and our foot print is limited to about 4' wide X 2'6" deep.

Since I was hoping for something more realistic looking than the typical direct vent, fixed glass gas fireplace units I started researching the nicer looking vented gas logs (Eiklor Flames). Most of these vented gas logs require installation into a solid fuel burning fireplace or stove.
So searching around the web for a factory built, double sided wood burning fireplace I stumbled across the JUCA company http://mb-soft.com/juca/indexf.html#f-9a .
Although it is not a zero clearance unit the model of interest is the F-9AX http://mb-soft.com/juca/indexf.html#f-9a3
JUCA says the current production time for this model is about 5 weeks.

There is a LOT of information about wood burning fireplaces on the JUCA website.

Does any one out there have any experience with a JUCA?
outdoor_fireplace
16 years ago
Fire Rock is a company in Atlanta that makes masonry fireplace kits that can be used for a see thru fireplace installation. I am sure you can call them to get a recommendation between wood and gas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Firerock See Thru Fireplaces

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