wrote:
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/b...s?OpenDocument

Anyone has any thoughts on the problems associated with open fireplaces?

I'm using my open fireplace every Friday when I have friends over for a late
evening party. I found that if I cut the redgum wood to a (human's) arm
length and width, the fire burns quite nicely and doesn't have any smoke
problems.

Some of my friends suffer from asthma but say they love my fireplace and
don't suffer from any side-effects afterwards.

But the government site claims that there are no safe level of wood smoke;
.... then again this is the same government that's operating a nuclear
reactor at Lucas Heights... just kidding there

Any comments on open fireplaces?

Your asthma-suffering friends will not be affected by the smoke while
they are sitting in front of the fire or even just being in the room
because - and this is why open fireplaces are such a damn waste of
resources and are major polluters - all the air in the room is sucked
out thru the flue! The smoke ends up OUTSIDE the house. The open fire
also burns the oxygen in the room (and sucks it out outside) so you need
a way to replenish the burnt oxygen.

What heat you feel sitting in front of the fire is only radiant heat,
and this is only a small fraction of the total heat which is just blown
out thru the flue. One of the most inefficient ways of keeping warm.

--
"I'd rather be a has-been than a never-been-at-all."