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Your fireplace may also include many of the following
energy efficient components that provide additional heat
output and efficient home operation:
Heat-Circulation
adds to the standard radiant heat output
of a traditional fireplace by distributing useful amounts of
convective heat into the home. Heat-circulating fireplaces
circulate cool room air around the hot firebox where it is
warmed and returned to the room as beneficial heat. The
BC, BFC, CWC, EWF, SC, WC and WMC Series fireplace
models feature heat circulation.
The Heat Exchanger
is a multiple wall construction that
directs room air around the firebox and back into the room
of a heat-circulating fireplace system. Heat transfer from
the hot fire to the circulating room air occurs through these
passageways. The heat exchanger is the heart of a heat-
circulating system which provides the extra room heat that
is lost with conventional fireplaces.
The Air Inlet/Outlet Grilles
are part of the heat-circula-
tion system. Cool room air enters through the bottom grille
and/or lower side inlet grilles and travels through the heat
exchanger passageways. The resulting hot air is then re-
turned to the room through the upper outlet grille.
NOTE: Air inlet/outlet grilles should never be covered
or blocked off. The heat-circulation system is also used
as fireplace cooling system for safe operation.
Outside Combustion Air:
A fire requires a sufficient
amount of air in order to burn properly. Insufficient air will
cause smoking, sooting and harmful gases to filter out of
the fireplace into the room. As the fire burns in the firebox,
replacement air enters the firebox opening from the room
to make up the loss of combustion air. Often tightly sealed
and well insulated homes do not provide sufficient amounts
of air for this natural replacement process. To maintain a
constant flow of combustion air, direct outside air may be
needed.
Vermont Castings Group fireplaces are designed with
outside air capabilities which supply outside combustion
air directly to the firebox. The air system requires ducting
from fireplace to an outside air source at time of original
installation. The BC, BR, ODSR, ODWR, SC, SR, STR,
WBST, WC and WR Series fireplaces offer this feature as
standard equipment. The BFC fireplace includes integral
outside air and no additional ducting is necessary.
If your fireplace is equipped with outside air, the control
lever will be located at the front edge of the left side brick
on the BC, BR, CWC, ODSR, ODWR, SR, STR, WBST,
WMC and WR Series. Refer to Page 5 for proper opera-
tion procedure.
Primary Air Control:
On the EWF Series fireplace, the
primary air control regulates the amount of heat the fire
will produce and how long it will burn. The primary air
control is located in the upper left corner of the unit. It
is the primary source of air for starting, maintaining and
reviving the fire.
The air supply is open to the maximum when the control
lever is rotated clockwise on the EWF36A and closed when
rotated counterclockwise on the EWF36A. To vary the burn
rate, adjust the control to the desired position in between
these extremes; opening the primary air control makes the
unit burn hotter. Closing the control slows the unit down.
You can adjust to any position you desire.
Glass Doors
improve fireplace efficiency to help save
home energy. When firing a fireplace, the need for combus-
tion air draws room air into the firebox where it mixes with
the hot flue gases and then is expelled up the open flue.
The loss of preheated room air is most significant when
burning a low intensive fire which normally occurs during
start-up and shutdown of the fireplace. Vermont Castings
Group glass doors are specially designed to reduce the
amount of heated room air loss and, at the same time, al-
low the proper amount of combustion air to be filtered into
the firebox for safe operation.
When using glass doors on a heat-circulating fireplace,
the controlled combustion air also intensifies the heat ex-
changer temperature and slows the fuel burning rate. The
result is maximum heating while using the least amount
of fuel. Glass doors are standard equipment on CWC,
WMC, BFC and EWF Series fireplaces and are offered as
optional accessories for all other Vermont Castings Group
fireplace models. Refer to proper operation procedures
on Page 5.
Forced Air Circulation:
Heat-circulating fireplaces use the
natural process of hot air rising to distribute heat from the
fireplace to the room. This principle is sufficient for small
room application. To distribute a constant flow of warm air
further into a larger room, forced air fans are recommended.
To determine if the fireplace is equipped with fans, use a
flashlight and look through the lower inlet air grille. Vermont
Castings Group offers optional fan kits for all heat-circulat-
ing models. For easy installation of an optional fan kit, the
fireplace should be wired during its installation. Fans are
standard equipment for CWC, WMC and BFC units.
NOTE: Vermont Castings Group Forced Air Systems
are designed to distribute heat at a specific cfm rate.
Any attempt to increase air movement through the heat
exchanger will decrease the heat transfer time which
will result in cooler heat circulation temperatures.
Energy efficient options such as glass doors and fans
(Heat-circulating models) can easily be added after your
original fireplace installation. Refer to Page 12 for descrip-
tion and proper model number.