Masonry Magazine May 1980 Page. 15
Carefully designed masonry baffles (below and right) slow down air heated by the fire to make the best use of fire for heating purposes.
an open space back of the firebox called the heat exchange chamber. There the air is heated and forced out through a register in front of the hearth and circulated through the room. Fan operation is controlled by a wall-mounted thermostat.
Within the heat exchange chamber, a series of carefully constructed vertical brick baffles slow the flow of air to ensure it is properly heated before being forced back into the living area. The heat exchange chamber is divided into two separate areas (each to accommodate air from a single fan), which are formed by a vertical brick divider in the center. Thus, right and left heat chambers are created. The air flow pattern is the same for each side. They may work together and supply all heat to one room or, if desired, the flow from one heat chamber may be ducted under the floor to another nearby area.
Third, glass fire doors are installed over the opening to contain the intensity of the heat within the firebox and allow it to radiate through the back wall into the heat exchange chamber. These doors also eliminate the hazard of sparks into the living area.
With fresh air from outside the house for combustion, the circulation of room air through the heat exchange chambers back to the firebox, and the glass fire doors to retain the generated heat, the Brick-O-Lator fireplace becomes, in effect, an energy-efficient and cost-saving supplementary forced warm air heating system. In actual tests the Brick-O-Lator fireplace has converted 30°F air to 120°F air within a period of approximately one hour.
Public acceptance of the Brick-O-Lator fireplace has been unprecedented, according to the Brick Association of North Carolina. Literally thousands have been built nationwide. This success has resulted from two basic facts. First, it helps fill the American homeowner's needs for energy conservation. Second, any mason contractor who can build a standard fireplace can build a Brick-O-Lator.
Building a Brick-O-Lator which peforms properly depends on three things: 1) understanding the difference in this unit as compared to a standard fireplace; 2) the use of quality material, and 3) good workmanship. The Brick Association of North Carolina considered each of these factors carefully in preparation of the working drawings, specifications and step-by-step construction information and details. The mason contractor should be famililar with these exhibits before beginning his work.
(Top) All-brick firebox helps to retain heat longer. (Right) A glass fire screen generates more heat in the fire and prevents heat from escaping up the chimney.
MASONRY/MAY, 1980 15