Minuteman 22 Inch Plain Design Fireplace Fireback

We have a not so common fire grate brand Wall O Fire. It’s a self feeding grate that sits against the back of the fire box and is tall enough to stack several pieces of wood almost vertically. If it works as advertised it self feeds and literally builds up a wall of hot coals that puts a lot of heat into the room. Plus, it’s designed this way additionally to send all smoke up the chimney. Because of this extra concentration of heat it is harder on the back of the firebox even with fire brick. I had to caulk and repair this section annually because it would eventually need major work if I didn’t So this is why I bought this particular FireBack. It worked very well this past Winter and reflected even more heat back into the room. After the chimney cleaning this Spring the fire box was in real good shape. It wasn’t even blackened by soot However, since I have an uncommon fireback that concentrates so much heat, the fireback cracked on the hottest lower portion. Now it was 5 below zero F outside the chimney and very hot on the other side so maybe this helped cause the crack. Don’t know. I could probably use this same cracked fireback again this coming winter but I elected to buy a new one instead. We will see how this one holds up. Bottom line; this is a plain fireback as I wanted and even if it cracks it’s protecting the back of the firebox and it’s most likely cheaper than a brick mason. So this is the only reason I put 4 stars; because of the crack. If you need a plain fireback to protect the back of your firebox this is a very good choice.

Still early in time frame to be sure, but it appears to help in reflecting heat from fire box to living area. I tried to 'cure' the cast iron very carefully so it won't crack.

This fireback does reflect a lot of heat, but I wasn’t overly impressed. I haven’t tried any other firebacks though so I didn’t know what to expect. Still it was a good purchase.

This fireback does reflect a lot of heat, but I wasn’t overly impressed. I haven’t tried any other firebacks though so I didn’t know what to expect. Still it was a good purchase.

This product works exactly as described: it is solid and radiates heat into the room. It also arrived quickly.

This product works exactly as described: it is solid and radiates heat into the room. It also arrived quickly.