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• Pennsylvania fireplace: In the 1740’s, Ben Franklin, concerned about a local fuel shortage in Philadelphia and the inefficiency of existing fireplaces, invented the Pennsylvania fireplace. This de vice was essentially a metal box with a draft below that provided air for the fire to burn, and additional air that was circulated around the firebox before being forced back into the room by the construction of the instrument. When a metal top plate was added, Franklin’s stove warmed the room both by convection and by radiation. • The Franklin stove today: Today’s so- called Franklin stove is not so much a descendant of the original as it is a variation on the freestanding fireplace. Al though it doesn’t use the air-circulating system that made Franklin’s fireplace remarkably efficient, it does use his folding or sliding doors, which allow the air flow into the firebox to be regulated easily. The efficiency of these stoves depends on tight seals all around the box, as Franklin himself noted. As a result, contemporary Franklin stoves cover a wide range of efficiency and inefficiency as heat-producing wood-burners. Over the past few years, as Americans have demonstrated a renewed interest in burning wood for heat, the wood-burning stove has enjoyed a corresponding renaissance. Long-established manufacturers and dealers have prospered and grown, and dozens of new ones have emerged. Whatever your reasons for burning wood, a stove— and especially an airtight stove—is the best way to do it. Not only does it burn wood more efficiently and therefore heat more of your house longer for less money, a good stove actually costs less to install than a masonry fireplace, and is safer and more durable than a prefabricated metal one. If you already have a fireplace, a wood-burning stove can be installed in to this opening, even in an apartment. If you have no fireplace, and you are a renter, you can use a stove only if you can make the structural alterations necessary for proper venting. However, if you own your own home, you can do what you want, including making small holes in the roof. Before you invest the $500 to $3500 that such a unit will cost (the price depends chiefly on size, weight, and ornamentation), you should know a little bit about how they work. • How a wood stove works: To some extent, all wood-burning stoves heat by conduction and radiation. But the most important mode of heat distribution for warming a space as large as a room or even a house is convection. Next: Airtight Stoves and Non-Airtight Stoves Prev: Heat Exchangers |