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When an AK4 combustion air assembly and a combustion air duct are attached to the connecting point on the
left of the fireplace, combustion air may enter the firebox through a dampered opening behind the left side panel.
This feature is designed for your benefit to reduce the room air used for combustion and to prevent excessive
loss of heat from the room. When the fireplace is in use, this damper should be open. When the fireplace
is not in use, the damper should be closed to prevent cold air from entering the firebox. The combustion air
damper is open when the lever, located on the left side of the firebox near the top of the left firebrick, is up and
closed when the lever is down.
Outside air for combustion is optional unless required by federal, state or local building codes. See the section
of this manual providing the instructions for installation of the combustion air assembly. The design of the
fireplace allows the routing of the combustion air duct up, down, or horizontally to obtain the outside combustion
air. This permits flexibility in planning your installation. See Figure 23 for typical installation methods. Review
the precautions and recommendations in this manual pertaining to outside combustion air installation.
Glass doors should be installed to receive the maximum benefit from your fireplace. For large fires, the
maximum heating benefit from the fireplace will be obtained with the doors open due to the high amount of
radiant heat being emitted out of the front opening of the fireplace. With a small fire, or before retiring in the
evenings, it is best to operate the fireplace with the doors closed to prevent excessive room air form being
drawn up the chimney. When the doors are open, the mesh screens should be closed to help keep burning
embers from popping out of the firebox.
The fireplace should also be equipped with a flue damper, which must be open when the fireplace is in use.
The flue damper control lever is located inside the fireplace. The counterweighted damper is operated by
simply pushing up to open or pulling down to close the damper. When the fireplace is not in use, the damper
should be closed to prevent cold air form entering the chimney as well as preventing warm air in the room
from escaping up the chimney.
NOTE: It is normal for a small amount of smoke to be released from the upper portion of the fireplace the first
few times you use your new fireplace. This results from an oil residue on the metal. Open a door or window
to allow the smoke to escape.
The grate included with this fireplace helps to appropriately locate and contain the burning wood. Failure to
use this grate may cause overheating of parts of the fireplace and allow large pieces of burning wood to roll
forward out of the firebox. If the grate becomes warped or damaged, it must be replaced with grate number
050456 only.
WARNING: Fireplaces equipped with doors should be operated only with the doors fully open or doors fully
closed. If doors are left partly open, gas and flame may be drawn out of the fireplace opening, creating risks
of both fire and smoke.
All fireplace chimneys are in direct contact with cold air on the exterior of the structure. Consequently, when
the fireplace is not in use, cold air can fall down the chimney of the fireplace to cool off the fireplace chase.
Therefore, the fireplace chase must be insulated to minimize the risk of cold air infiltration to the home.
Even if the fireplace chase is adequately insulated, this cannot completely ensure that cold air infiltration
into the structure will be eliminated. Cold air infiltration is a possibility with any fireplace or device that freely
communicates with the air on the outside of the structure. Today’s homes are more energy-efficient and,
therefore, better insulated and tightly constructed. Unfortunately, when air is removed from the house, as by
a bathroom fan, or consumed by a furnace, additional air is needed to replace the air consumed. Unless the
additional air is supplied, this can cause a negative pressure in the home. When this happens, the house will
draw in outside air form the cracks in the windows, down the fireplace flue or other locations of air leakage in
the home. Because cold air infiltration may be unavoidable in some structures, MHSC is not responsible for
heat loss or air infiltration through or around the fireplace.
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