We have a 10 year old gas fireplace that has been operating flawlessly. There is no blower/fan unit. After annual cleaning, I've always replaced the rockwool and situated the logs as before using a before-photo.
Last fall, I didn't have any new rockwool, so omitted that. And I forgot to reapply the 2 bottom spring loaded clamps of the glass panel.
Over the winter, it hasn't seemed to put out as much heat. Finally got a hold of some more rock wool. Took off the front screen and discovered the unapplied bottom clamps. This time, I placed the rock wool over the only the front row of orifices, and moved the front log to on top of back log, leaving the rockwool exposed to view. And have left off the front screen.
Sure looks gorgeous with all the rockwool embers glowing. It is definitely putting more heat into the room, and might be more heat than it ever has. But it could be due to any of the three: 1) no screen mesh, 2) properly clamped glass front, 3) rearrangment of logs.
What do you think, and for maximum heat, is there an optimal strategy for placing rockwool and/or logs? Does rockwool aid heating?
Best Answer
The "optimal" placement of the logs is that shown in the manual for the unit.
Rearranging the logs doesn't change the amount of gas being let through the gas valve, which is the only variable that will change how much heat the fireplace produces.
It can however cause the unit to burn dirtier and create soot, if you place the logs in a way that causes impingement (flame touches them, essentially).
Chances are it feels warmer now because you've moved the front log which is allowing more "radiant" heat to come straight into the room, but the unit would not be creating any more heat than normal.