Quote:
Originally Posted by sfloriII
Yeah, most of the heat in ours goes straight up the chimmney too. Plus it sucks the rest of the heat out of the house.
We don't have gas in the neighborhood, so running gas lines isn't an option. So I think our two best options are a wood burning stove insert or propane.
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Most modern type fireplaces are highly inefficient. Rumford style fireplace are the probably the most efficient and maybe you can convert yours to that style , many people have. In the long run you may be right though and get some type of insert.
http://rumford.com/ Rumford fireplaces are tall and shallow to reflect more heat, and they have streamlined throats to eliminate turbulence and carry away the smoke with little loss of heated room air.
Rumford fireplaces were common from 1796, when Count Rumford first wrote about them, until about 1850. Jefferson had them built at Monticello, and Thoreau listed them among the modern conveniences that everyone took for granted. There are still many original Rumford fireplaces - often buried behind newer renovations-throughout the country