Fireplace construction for mobile homes

Claim 1

A prefabricated fireplace structure adapted for mounting in a building wall and comprising: (a) a fireplace structure having an internal firebox and upper and lower and spaced side support members adapted for supporting the fireplace structure in a wall with the firebox positioned outside of a building and with the firebox having an entranceway to a room; (b) a flue situated outside of the building and having an internal passage connected to said firebox and upstanding therefrom for exhausting combustion gases to the outside atmosphere, said firebox and said flue being disposed outside of said room and communicating with the outside atmosphere; (c) an open bottom portion of said fireplace structure located substantially directly below said firebox and open to and communicating the outside atmosphere with the firebox and flue; (d) outer walls defining an outer shell generally surrounding the firebox and flue and providing air current passageways therearound, said outer walls directly communicating said open bottom portion with said passageways whereby outside air is drawn directly upward by thermal siphoning from said open bottom portion around said firebox and flue for cooling thereof and substantially eliminating the transfer of heat from the firebox and flue to the building wall before being exhausted back to the the outside atmosphere; (e) said firebox having an interior area with a plurality of draft openings leading thereinto and communicating with said air current passageways for drawing the outside air upwardly through said open bottom portion and into the firebox by said thermal siphoning; and (f) said draft openings being arranged around said firebox and of an area commensurate with the size of the internal passage in the flue for supplying all of the air necessary for combustion and for uniformly distributing the outside air to burning fuel in the firebox, including (1) a firebox base having opposite side portions with a plurality of apertures therethrough and which abut associated side walls of the firebox, said apertures being located directly above the draft openings and communicating the open bottom portion with opposite bottom side areas of the firebox so that the outside air flows through the apertures and over the firebox base for supplying a fire located thereabove; (2) said firebox base including a forward portion having a forward margin with an airflow opening means therealong communicating the open bottom portion with a lower, forward area of the firebox for flow of outside air thereinto; and (3) a firebox rear panel having opposite side portions with respective openings therein communicating the open bottom portion with a generally lower, rear area of the firebox, whereby the outside air is drawn through said rear panel openings and into the lower, rear area of the firebox and flows over the firebox base to supply a fire located thereabove and whereby, during combustion in said fireplace structure, a portion of the outside air is drawn smoothly and evenly upwardly through said open bottom portion and into said firebox to supply the burning fuel therein with outside air for complete and even combustion thereof without drawing inside air from the room and whereby another portion of the outside air is drawn into the passageways around the firebox and flue to thermally insulate the building wall therefrom.