Marco 792862b

Question

John,

   I need your advice. I recently bought a home(10 years old) and it has a Marco 792862B Fire box and is currently set up on Vented gas logs. I noticed statement on firebox says this "fireplace intended with solid wood fuel only." However it also has warning statement that say"When burning gas in fireplace adjust Damper to fully open position."
     When we use fireplace we get sut on White mantle, Damper is not fully open but over half as my wife likes heat generated by fireplace.I do not want all the heat going out the Chimney, can I convert this to a Vent free gas log system using this firebox and if so what kind would you recommend?

Patrick

Answer

as far as the soot is concerned the unit may not be running properly. air intake etc. and the logs may not be set up in the right configuration. the damper really should be opened all the way especially if the manufacturer says so. as far as losing heat, its just the nature of the beast a fireplace is the most innefficient way to heat a space so its going to happen and converting to a ventless when you already have a fireplace is just a sin.

take a look at either a wood or gas stove insert for your fireplace it'll give you good heat into the living space and very little will be lost up the chimney and since its self contained, no more soot