San Francisco Examiner
- Sunday January 10, 1999
San Francisco Examiner - Sunday January 10, 1999
Keeping
the home fires burning clean
Fireplace grate creates
so much heat that pollutants are incinerated
Sunday January 10, 1999
By Laura Maggi 
STATES NEWS SERVICE
Washington
- A roaring fire might be a rustically romantic way to heat the
home, but one Bay Area inventor was more concerned about the pollutants
hearth fires release into the air.
So
after years working on more environmentally friendly ways to burn
garbage, Richard D. Smith created a fireplace grate mechanism
that fosters fires so hot pollutants are burned before they can
be carried up the chimney.
"The
whole objective is to reduce the pollution from open burning fireplaces,"
said Smith, who lives in Palo Alto.
Smith's invention is designed to replace the wrought-iron fireplace
grates that hold wood logs. The base of the grate is made of stainless
steel tubes about an inch in diameter resting on legs.
A
fan attached to the grate apparatus blows hot air through the
tubes, in which holes have been drilled - allowing the air to
rise to feed the fire. 
(Showing the original EcoFire Super-Grate)
Behind
the grate is a shield that curves slightly forward toward the
fire. The inside face of the shield is a thin layer of stainless
steel, which can heat up quickly to radiate heat back toward the
fire and into the room. The hot air shield combine to create an
extremely hot fire. The air blowing through the tubes also creates
a more uniform fire with fewer logs, Smith said.
"A
regular fire is not uniform and is difficult to maintain. This
fire is warmer and much easier to maintain," he said.
While
a regular fire typically reaches temperatures of 1000 or 1200
degrees Fahrenheit, a fire built on Smith's grate can reach temperatures
of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
Those
extra degrees mean pollutants, such as hydrocarbons, can be burned
fast, before they escape into the air, Smith said.
"You
have to burn this stuff while it is right there in the fire. If
it gets any chance to get away and cool down, you've had it. The
hotter the fire, the better you are," he said.
Smith
is part owner and technological advisor to Andiron Technologies
in Woodside, which is currently marketing his grates in the Bay
Area.
Smith
received patent N0. 5,850,830 in December.