Do you leave the glass doors open on a fireplace?
As your fire is burning, leave the glass doors open to ensure that the fire has enough air for complete combustion, which keeps creosote tar out of your chimney. To prevent embers from entering the room, keep the mesh screen closed in front of the open door.
What is the purpose of glass doors on a fireplace?
Glass doors actually help your fire burn better. By enclosing the burning area, firewood is able to burn greater and produce more heat. The glass doors also absorb and radiate heat into the room better than a fireplace without doors.
Is it safe to close glass fireplace doors gas fireplace?
Ceramic glass fireplace doors can be left open or closed whereas tempered glass fireplace doors need to be open.
Why does my gas fireplace have glass doors?
A: Yes. In California Title 24 requires that glass doors be installed on all indoor fireplaces. Title 24 is the Energy Efficiency Standards for residential and nonresidential buildings that were established in 1978 in response to a legislative mandate to reduce California's energy consumption.
Should I leave fireplace open?
The smoke from burning wood contains carbon monoxide, so in order to prevent this toxic byproduct from entering your home, it is important to leave the flue open overnight. This enables a draft to carry the compound out into the atmosphere, instead of sinking down the chimney and saturating the room.
Can you burn gas fireplace with doors closed?
Can the glass doors on my fireplace be closed when my gas logs are burning? No. You must leave the doors open when you are operating RealWood Elite gas logs to avoid damaging the controls.
Are fireplace doors safe?
Increase Safety Glass fireplace doors reduce the risks associated with burning logs in an open hearth. They are stronger than mesh screens and act as a protective barrier to prevent sparks and burning embers from escaping the fireplace and causing fires when they land on combustible materials such as carpets.
Do fireplace doors reduce smoke?
One of the first benefits from installing a glass door onto your fireplace is preventing smoke from entering your home. Smoke from burning wood is harmful to your lungs and you home, it can stain your ceiling, and it can be a hard to get the smell of smoke out of your clothes and furniture.
Do glass doors increase fireplace efficiency?
Glass doors can double the efficiency rate; some experts estimate that glass doors triple the heat that enters the home. Rather than being blocked or contained in the fireplace, the heat from the fire radiates into the room through the glass doors.
Do fireplace doors reduce smoke?
While the fire needs a steady supply of oxygen to keep it going, an open fireplace allows smoke and fumes to enter the living space reducing indoor air quality. When using fireplace doors along with mesh screens, you can open the doors just enough to maintain fire while minimizing smoke in your living space.
Do you need glass in front of a gas fireplace?
Direct vent fireplaces are sealed combustion systems and need the glass on to function properly. We sell optional screen mesh panels that go on the front of the glass that takes away any reflection, and adds an additional safety barrier against accidental contact with the hot glass panel.
What are the glass doors on a fireplace called?
Each door features one solid pane of glass. They are called cabinet doors because they open much like your kitchen cabinets. They will open fully as long as there is nothing blocking the door clearance like a fireplace tool set or the stonework on a masonry fireplace.
2. General Safety
You will also want to account for general safety when it comes to fireplaces.
1. Is It Ok To Close Glass Doors On Fireplace?
It is ok to close glass doors on the fireplace when it is set on a low burn or turned off. This ensures air doesn’t go up into the chimney. On the other hand, when the fireplace is on, the glass doors should be fully open.
2. What Is The Purpose Of Glass Doors On A Fireplace?
Glass doors on a fireplace are designed to prevent air from flowing back into the chimney. This can damage the fireplace and its elements. Fully closing the fireplace door helps protect the fireplace and also ensures it is not dangerous for anyone in the house.
Why do you need glass doors on a fireplace?
If you have what's called an open hearth (no doors on your fireplace - see picture, right), you may want to consider adding some beautiful glass doors to prevent heat loss and promote hotter flames. We have an incredible collection of gorgeous replacement door styles - give us a call so that we can help you determine which door is right for your fireplace!
Why do fireplaces need to be open?
Allowing your fireplace doors to remain open will promote better airflow. Oxygen is a key element in healthy-burning fires. If your fireplace doors are shut, oxygen cannot reach the flames. This results in a dull blaze with little heat output. Therefore, the more air that reaches the fire, the better the combustion, and the warmer your home will be!
Why do you close your glass doors when you are not burning?
Hot air rises, and when the heat that was generated from the fire finds its way up and out of the chimney, it tends to siphon all of the warm air in the room along with it. Closing your glass doors when you’re not burning fire in the hearth will actually prevent this from happening.
Why do my doors open so wide?
If your doors are open too wide, you also potentially have the issue of suffocating the fire with too much oxygen. There could be other underlying issues causing your fire to burn low. For example, a chimney issue or cleaning issue.
What to do when you burn a fire with open doors?
When you are burning your fire with open doors, you may want to think about protecting your castle and your loved ones with either a mesh or a decorative fireplace screen. This keeps sparks, logs, and ash in the firebox where they belong, and keeps curious pets and little ones at bay!
Can glass break in heat?
Tempered glass is highly susceptible to breaking when exposed to this extreme heat. Especially if the fire is less than 6 inches from the door, the flames kissing the doors can potentially cause the glass to shatter.
Is it ok to leave a fireplace door open when it is not in use?
Ladies and gentlemen, simply put, this is FICTION! If you leave your glass doors open when your fireplace is not in use, within a short period of time, you would notice a dramatic change in your home's temperature.
What happens when a fireplace door is closed?
When the fireplace doors are closed, they offer protection to everyone from fire sparks and logs tumbling out of the fireplace, which can harm your family and home.
Why do you close the doors of a fireplace?
This can be controlled by closing the fireplace doors when the fire has embers to ensure the house maintains warm temperatures. This is because fireplace doors were initially designed to prevent heat loss from inside the house when the fireplace is not used.
Why do fireplace doors protect against fire?
This prevents the build-up of creosote which sticks on the chimney, and this will reduce fire outbreak instances caused by the burning of creosote as it is highly combustible. Thus fireplace doors will protect your home from fire accidents.
Why should the doors be open?
The doors should remain open; thus, the fire will burn hotter and more potent, generating more heat. When the burning area is closed, more heat is absorbed by the glass doors then, heat is regulated into the house better.
Why do you need a fireplace door?
Fireplace doors will help to lower the heating and cooling costs. A damper will help to seal the chimney from the rest of the house partially.
How hot can a fireplace get?
The doors should be kept open as the fire can reach between 500 and 1200 degrees. When the fire is burning, most of the fireplace heat will be lost.
What happens if you close your fireplace too early?
When the fireplace doors are closed too early and you go to sleep, you will wake up and smell a smokey room.
What happens if you close the door on a fireplace?
Why would you want that anyway? If the doors are closed, 99% of the heat goes up and out of the chimney.
How hot does a fireplace door get?
Tempered glass that comes standard on most fireplace doors will shatter once it reaches temperatures of 450 degrees. When a fire is burning, your fireplace can reach temperatures up to 1200 degrees. Keep your doors open like this EZ Door Steel shown to the right.
Why do you put a fire in your chimney?
It keeps the warm air in your house and prevents it from escaping out of your chimney. You just burned a fire to heat your home… Don’t let that air escape!
Can closing doors stifle fire?
This is simply not true. The better the airflow is, the better and longer your fire will burn. Closing the doors will stifle the fire, not keep it going
Can you heat a fireplace with tempered glass?
No. Heat is not meant to be radiated through tempered glass doors. If you are looking for your fireplace to radiate heat throughout the room more efficiently, look into a fireplace blower or direct vent fireplaces.
Why do you leave the glass doors open?
By leaving the glass doors open, your fire gets more airflow and burns hotter. Too little air results in poor combustion and smokier fires. In addition to a more enjoyable fireplace experience, opening the glass doors helps reduce the buildup of creosote. Burning wood produces creosote, which sticks to the linings of the chimney and chimney connectors. Creosote is combustible, so fireplaces should be inspected annually for excessive buildup and cleaned when necessary.
Can you leave a fireplace open?
When you use your fireplace, it is best to leave the glass doors open while the fire burns. Keeping the doors open allows sufficient airflow to ensure complete combustion and to minimize the build-up of creosote in the chimney, says the U.S. Fire Administration. To prevent a burn injury or a fire, you should also use a metal mesh screen to keep burning embers inside the fireplace enclosure.
Glass Thickness
The thickness of the glass makes a difference when it comes to the amount of heat it can handle without shattering. Cheaper doors have weaker glass that is 1/8" to 3/16" thick glass, so it will shatter from the heat. Design Specialties uses 1/4" thick fully tempered safety glass.
Glass Size
The size of each glass panel in a door should not be more than 4 square feet per pane. This combined with 1/4" thickness is an important in order for the glass to handle the heat with the doors closed.
Proper Draft
Design Specialties has the option of having a draft assembly at the bottom of the door. This can be opened or closed to allow fresh room air into the fire from the bottom, where it is most efficient. Not only does this give your fire the proper amount of oxygen for good combustion, it makes your fire burn much longer.
Tempered Glass
The 1/4" thick fully tempered safety glass used by Design Specialties can handle intermittent temperatures around 750 degrees and constant temperatures around 450 degrees. As long as the fire is at least 6" away from the glass (as recommended) and the draft assembly is used properly, the glass will stay safely well below these temperatures.
Ceramic Glass
If you are completely paranoid about the glass breaking even with the above things in place, you can always use ceramic glass instead of tempered glass. However, ceramic glass comes with it's own issues. For starters, it is a $1200.00 upgrade.
Mesh Curtains or Gate Mesh
All Design Specialties doors have the option of having sliding mesh curtains or gate mesh backup doors behind the glass. These not only allow you to burn the fire with the doors open, but also absorb and reflect some of the heat and help protect the glass from popping embers.
Heat Resistant Finishes
Door manufacturers that do not allow you to burn with the doors closed may use less expensive finishes on their door frames. If you close the doors, the heat builds up and can cause the finish to burn or discolor regardless of what happens to the glass.
