Variable high efficiency gas burning fireplace

Claim 1

A variable high efficiency gas burner fireplace structure of the type adapted to be mounted on a wall of an interior space to be heated, comprising: a box shaped fireplace structure having six walls comprising four substantially vertical walls, a top wall and a bottom wall, at least one of said four vertical walls having a glass side wall connected to the sides of said fireplace structure, the rear vertical wall of said fireplace structure being adapted to be mounted against a blind wall of said interior space to be heated, said rear wall said bottom wall and said top wall each having two plenums comprising an inner and an outer plenum wherein said outer plenums are interconnected to form a continuous U-shaped heat exchanger for circulating interior space air to be heated around a combustion chamber, a combustion chamber inside said inner plenums of said top wall, said rear wall, and said bottom wall and spaced away form said six walls, gas burner means in said combustion chamber, an exhaust gas passageway connected to said combustion chamber comprising said inner plenums of said top wall and said rear walls, combustion air inlet means connected to said combustion chamber below said burner means, air baffle means connected between said inner plenums of said bottom wall and said rear walls for adjusting the amount of combustion air bypassed from said inner plenum of said bottom wall into said exhaust gas passageway for optimizing the burner combustion efficiency and simultaneously cooling said exhaust gasses, and an induced draft fan/blower having an inlet connected to said exhaust gas passageway and an outlet connected to an exhaust pipe which extends outside said top wall or a side wall for producing a predetermined pressure drop across said combustion chamber and for creating an optimum gas burner efficiency.

Claim 14

A method of setting the efficiency of a burner system in a fireplace structure for optimum burner conditions, comprising the steps of: providing a fireplace structure having a U-shaped heat exchanger surrounding a combustion chamber, providing an induced draft fan in the exhaust passageway which conduct the combustion gases leaving said combustion chamber, providing combustion air inlet means coupled to said combustion chamber, adjusting the amount of combustion air that is diverted from said combustion air inlet means directly into said exhaust passageway for adjusting a first optimum burner efficiency under standard factory conditions, and adjusting the speed of said induced draft fan in said exhaust passageways for providing a second and final optimum burner efficiency condition after said fireplace structure is installed in its intake and exhaust environment.

Claim 15

A method of setting the efficiency of a burner system in a fireplace structure for optimum burner conditions, comprising the steps of: providing a fireplace structure having a U-shaped heat exchanger surrounding a combustion chamber, providing an induced draft fan in the exhaust passageway which conduct the combustion gases leaving said combustion chamber, providing combustion air inlet means coupled to said combustion chamber, adjusting the amount of combustion air that is diverted from said combustion air inlet means directly into said exhaust passageway for adjusting a first optimum burner efficiency under standard factory conditions, and adjusting the speed of said induced draft fan in said exhaust passageways for providing a second and final optimum burner efficiency condition after said fireplace structure is installed in its intake and exhaust environment.