Suggestions and Ideas Appreciated - Page 2

Suggestions and Ideas Appreciated · 10-19-2009, 10:58 AM

I wasn't sure where to put this as it's probably not technically a woodworking question but it's certainly the type of thing we all deal with in our homes (and fix in our shops).

I have a love/hate relationship with one of the "features" in my house: The built-in gas fireplace w/electronics cubby above. Here's a picture.

I hate it because: 1) Does anyone REALLY like gas fire place inserts? 2) Who puts expensive electronics OVER a fire? 3) It's fairly cheesy looking

I love it because: 1) Just flip the switch? Sweet! 2) Ice Storm, no power, no heat? No problem! 3) It's a family room not a formal reception area, with two little kids running around functionality trumps aesthetics, I can pretty it up later. 4) It is a space saver. Since the fireplace and TV extend outside the house I get a few extra feet of usable room width.

So, the challenge of the day is to deal with issue #2, cooking electronics. The problem isn't actually as big as I thought at first. The heat doesn't rise directly out of the firebox. The build meets all of the safety guidelines in the fireplace manual and the floor of the cubby stays quite cool. The problem is that the heat from the fireplace goes up the front face then hits the first shelf and goes into the lower compartments. The equipment there and the bottom of the first shelf can get quite warm. The TV area doesn't seem to be a problem. I can push the TV back a few inches so the heat rises past it and it is a large enough space that it dissipates.

So far I've come up with three options. 1) Buy a larger, metal hood to go above the fireplace which would (hopefully) direct the heat out away from the cubby (basically a larger, uglier version of the gold deflector in the picture) 2) Build some sort of shield (perhaps temporary, something you slide in when you light the fire, or something more permanent in the form of a small mantel or shelf) 3) Prevent the heat from entering the lower compartments by adding a door.

I'm open to brainstorming on all three (or others if you have ideas) but I've lately been spending most brain cycles on #3. I was thinking that a sheet of transparent material (lexan, plexi, glass) that is cut to fit cover the lower compartments (there is a small recess, about 1/4 of an inch, that it could fit into) and hinged for access might be the cleanest solution for the near future. It would allow the heat to travel right on past and shouldn't heat up much itself as it would be a recessed vertical plane. The one additional caveat about this material would be that it would need to not interfere with remote controls....

Anyway, the topic is now open for discussion! All thoughts, ideas, and comments welcome. Much thanks in advance.

Travis

Sharp Blade · 10-20-2009, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by rahimlee54

^ what he said. Blowing the hot air out from behind the electronics just pushes it through them again. It should be sucked out and new cooler air flowing in. That is the design with most in wall equipment racks.

Although a fan behind would probably get the job done. Also a flat screen and moving the electronics up a shelf is another idea.

I agree with the above. However, using an exhaust fan will be noisey. Also, I was wondering, since heat rises, and this is a Gas Foreplace, won't the fireplace have a heatshield/deflector on it's interior in order to move the heat out? I know we are talking about once the heat leaves the front of the fireplace. But at that point, wouldn't the blower in the fireplace just need to blow harder?

Mt. Gomer · 10-20-2009, 02:14 PM

Unfortunatley there isn't a blower in the unit itself....

Mt. Gomer · 10-26-2009, 05:34 PM

Well, I did some experimenting and it looks like a mantel/shelf is the best answer. I took a piece of hardboard I had, cut it to the length of the lower shelf and slotted it so it would slide around the divider and under the tivo and dvd player. It protrudes about 3 inches and even with the fire running over an hour the equipment and shelf stays completely cool. The hardboard doesn't even warm up that much since there's nothing to trap the heat.

I saw this plan in one of my magazine a while back: http://plansnow.com/dn1140.html

I think, once I get the shop in working order, I'll build one to use as a mantle and paint it white to match the room as it is now. My wife said she'd like a couple for the kid's rooms so I'll just make a set all at once. Also, when I decide how I really want the room to look, the shelf would be usable somewhere else.

Ok, so who wants to engineer my dust collection ductwork?

Trav

Gofor · 10-29-2009, 09:28 PM

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I have one also (gas fireplace, but without the electronics cabinet above it). You probably will not get any heat with the power out. If it is like mine, the regulator valve to let gas into it has an electrical switch which will not let gas to the burner without power. (strike 1)

It is in the same room as the house heat thermostat. So, while you run it in cold weather, no heat is going to any other room (strike 2)

Its a bad energy loss monster when you are not running it. Cold or hot air comes in through the fireplace cavity all year long. If you don't believe me, tape a plastic bag over the front and watch it billow and retract as the wind blows. (I did that last winter and saved about $10/mo electric bill this past year) Its about equivalent to leaving a window part-way open all year around. (strike 3)

I am currently building a lexan insert to seal mine off, and will be moving the TV in front of it as soon as I get the speaker/cable wires rerouted (but LOML has also decided this would be a good time for "us" repaint the walls, etc as long as "we" are rearranging all the furniture, so project is on hold until she finds the "right" color for "us" to paint)

IMHO, the gas insert fireplaces in the newer homes are just put there to burn up your money, both on purchase and forever after.

Go

Mt. Gomer · 10-30-2009, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by Gofor

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I have one also (gas fireplace, but without the electronics cabinet above it). You probably will not get any heat with the power out. If it is like mine, the regulator valve to let gas into it has an electrical switch which will not let gas to the burner without power. (strike 1)

It is in the same room as the house heat thermostat. So, while you run it in cold weather, no heat is going to any other room (strike 2)

Its a bad energy loss monster when you are not running it. Cold or hot air comes in through the fireplace cavity all year long. If you don't believe me, tape a plastic bag over the front and watch it billow and retract as the wind blows. (I did that last winter and saved about $10/mo electric bill this past year) Its about equivalent to leaving a window part-way open all year around. (strike 3)

I am currently building a lexan insert to seal mine off, and will be moving the TV in front of it as soon as I get the speaker/cable wires rerouted (but LOML has also decided this would be a good time for "us" repaint the walls, etc as long as "we" are rearranging all the furniture, so project is on hold until she finds the "right" color for "us" to paint)

IMHO, the gas insert fireplaces in the newer homes are just put there to burn up your money, both on purchase and forever after.

Go

Well, I don't think it's quite that bad for us. Thought I've not actually tried it w/o the power on I was told by the previous owner that it kept them warm during the last ice storm (no power).... might be worth a test though. There isn't any power running to the area. There is an low voltage switch to turn the fire on but my understanding is that is uses the heat from the pilot lite to generate that (or I misremembering and inventing that myself). I don't see any reason it wouldn't work when the power was out. If it was our only source of heat I'd expect us to have to pretty much stay in the same room....

Also, we don't use it as a primary source of heat. We keep our thermostat fairly low in the winter (around 65) and my wife likes to turn it on when she first comes down in the morning to take the edge off a abit. It works well for that, and to cozy things up in the evenings. The thermostat is in another room so this doesn't throw the main heat off.

In terms of weatherproofing we're also not too bad off. It's a direct vent unit so it's already sealed off. I'm sure there is some energy loss as it's just the glass pane between us and the outside but there's no direct air flow. We were getting some draft from under the unit. Turned out to be coming in through the hole the gas line used to come up from the basement. I added a good layer of insulation from underneath and that is much improved. I also kill the pilot light and shut off the gas line for most of the year to save money...