Crackle snap
Dec. 10th, 2006 14:41![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillI like having a fireplace in here.
I've never been particularly fond of fire -- I'm no longer pyrophobic, just wary -- but the heater just doesn't do a good job on the north-facing living room. The fireplace was offline for about ten years after the Loma Prieta quake, but we finally visually inspected it outside and in, found no cracks, and started using it again.
The fireplace itself is of an interesting design; it has airspaces built into the sides, with a grate at top and bottom of each side. The brick next to the fire heats the air in the airspace, and it drives a passive heating system which puts warm air out at the top in a heat-exchange sort of mechanism. It was called a "heatilator" in the fifties, when it was built, and it works quite well.
I've taught myself how to build an efficient, almost smokeless fire with one match and a wad of newspaper. It warms up the room nicely, and we have loads of firewood from all the trees we cut down every few years. I try not to run it on Spare the Air days, but on some nights it's what keeps my feet from being frozen solid.
We have a few cedar logs out there still, which I should throw on when we're having a celebration. Built-in fireworks! :)
I've never been particularly fond of fire -- I'm no longer pyrophobic, just wary -- but the heater just doesn't do a good job on the north-facing living room. The fireplace was offline for about ten years after the Loma Prieta quake, but we finally visually inspected it outside and in, found no cracks, and started using it again.
The fireplace itself is of an interesting design; it has airspaces built into the sides, with a grate at top and bottom of each side. The brick next to the fire heats the air in the airspace, and it drives a passive heating system which puts warm air out at the top in a heat-exchange sort of mechanism. It was called a "heatilator" in the fifties, when it was built, and it works quite well.
I've taught myself how to build an efficient, almost smokeless fire with one match and a wad of newspaper. It warms up the room nicely, and we have loads of firewood from all the trees we cut down every few years. I try not to run it on Spare the Air days, but on some nights it's what keeps my feet from being frozen solid.
We have a few cedar logs out there still, which I should throw on when we're having a celebration. Built-in fireworks! :)
