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cold air through bottom vents

17 years ago

We recently bought a 1996 house which has a Majestic gas fireplace. With the cold weather now, we notice a lot of cold air coming in through the bottom vents of the fireplace. What does one do to prevent that? Would taping the vent from the inside help prevent the cold air from coming into the room. Of course, then we'd have to remove it each time we light the fire.

Any suggestions? Any ideas appreciated.

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Comments (6)

michela_2007
17 years ago
When we moved into our new townhouse our neighobors had the same problem as we found out when the weather got cold here (we moved in in June)....but now we have the same magnetic strips as our neighbors and it works great....

Here is a link that might be useful: christywalkercreations
bedelia
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks, we saw them at Lowe's (white ones) but opted to buy some fiberglass insulation to stuff inside the vent. If that doesn't do the job, I'll order those gold ones. Thanks!
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OK...problem is now resolved (I think). I managed to get the cover and light fixture out of the unit, then removed the fan assembly to see if I could see things better. There is a contra-flow "flap" that was stuck in an open position. I could close by pushing it shut with a screwdriver, but then when I opened it again, it stayed open. Perhaps some lint build-up or something like that, but anyway, there was a plastic tab that is to act as a counter-balance to make the thing shut again so I attached a small paper clip type thing to it to give it just an extra bit of weight. Now when I push it open with a screwdriver, it opens and then closes back on it's own. As for the venting piece, I really can't see if it's venting directly into the soffit, but I suspect you are right. It is so far back into a corner of the house, it's virtually impossible to see. Thanks to all for your help and advice. I love this kind of teamwork.
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The open leg table gives unrestricted air to your systems return. You do not want to compromise the operation of your unit. I think even 6" would be to close. That is a mechanical area. The way to test it is to read the static pressure on the return side of the furnace. Let's say everything is properly sized and installed. With a magnahelic gauge or digital manometer you could read the static pressure on the return. Then move the heavier piece into place and read it again. If the static pressure increases you have restricted the air flow. I think your table looks great there;)
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This has the potential to be one or both of two messes. If the ducts are not well-insulated, warm, moist air from the living space will enter the ducts and water will condense and might drip into the house. The best solution will be to better insulate the ducts because it will also cost less to cool the house in the summer. If the ducts actually leak air and that is where the cold drafts are coming from, the air leaks should be sealed for the Summer economy as well.
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The installation instructions that came with our vent had the following instructions: COLD WEATHER installations should have an additional backdraft damper installed to minimize backward cold air flow and a non-metallic thermal break to minimize conduction of outside temperatures as part of the ductwork. The damper should be on the cold air side of the thermal break. The break should be as close as possible to where the ducting enters the heated portion of the house. I made sure the installer put both the additional damper on the outside and the thermal break. We do not have a cold draft from the vent.
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crawfishboy2000
17 years ago
This sounds very familiar. ....bought house in mild weather......seasons change.... fireplace spills cold air into house....
I fiddled with the dampers and still couldn't get rid of the cold draft.
I have a sheet of rigit insulation over the entire fireplace opening. I suspect that the installation was crappy, however, as the wall around and above the fireplace is cold. I am close to ripping out the entire thing, I should poke holes in the wall to see if I can do anything. If insulation can fix it, I might keep it, but if there are so many holes in the Majestic (Exhaust gas, combustion air, circulated air) I may just rip it out.
charleync
17 years ago
I also had cold air coming out through the lower vents on my gas fireplace (Heat & Glo). It was coming through a hole in the side of the fireplace where the gas pipe came in. I sealed the hole with duct tape and the draft is gone.
SeattlePioneer
17 years ago
Closing off the ventilation for a gas fireplace is a dangerous thing to do.

The fireplace depends upon circulating air around the firebox to strip away the heat produced by the nurner. Blocking those air vents will overheat the fireplace and could cause a fire.

You might suggest that these would be removed when the fireplace is operated, but you can't depend on that happening. Don't leave equipment in an unsafe condition.

Outside air leaks indicate a poor job of installing the equipment. You need to track down the cause of the air leak, which can be difficult to do.

Seattle Pioneer
bedelia
Original Author
17 years ago
I appreciate your concern. There's just the 2 of us and I know we'll remember the fiberglass. Not to mention the gas FP is really pitiful compared to our woodburning ones - we have used it once and most likely it'll be the only time.

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