I recently purchased a Fireplace Radiator (Nov. 2005) after rising natural gas prices here in the Northeast made it clear it would be a very expensive winter heating season.  My wife and I have a 1968 colonial with a fireplace in our family room but the room is large with lots of windows so it's always cold. (1960's code requirements for insulation was nothing like today)

I did a lot of research into alternatives to keep the room warm.  Electric heaters would be too expensive to run continually (we'd need four or five).  The fireplace worked fine but as fireplaces are, they're more for show than for heat output.  This left me with two alternatives.... a blower unit (eg. the Fireplace Radiator or one of several similar units that I found on the Internet) or a professional fireplace insert.  The one problem I had when doing my research is that I couldn't find any reviews of the Fireplace Radiator on the Internet.  There were a lot of opinions, hearsay etc. but no independent reviews by anyone who had actually purchased and installed one so I decided that I would write a review myself so there would be at least one 'first hand' review on the Internet. 

I looked into a fireplace insert first. One of the first things that I discovered quickly was that a quality insert along with required installation would run at least $2,000 and more likely at least $3,000.  Even with a 50% increase in natural gas prices, it would take 4-5 years to recoup this type of investment. At that rate I may as well run my standard furnace and take the extra hit. 

I then looked into alternatives. There is a "tubular" unit that has been around for years (I even remember them being marketed during the 70's gas crunch). One doesn't have a blower (natural convection) and another does.  The problem with these unit (in my opinion) is that you need to either have a fireplace with no doors or leave the doors open.  This can lead to a lot of smoke in your home. Also, the blowers on the unit are inside the fireplace.  This limits the size (and therefore the flow rate) due to the heat in the fireplace. 

There were several inserts made of steel that went inside the fireplace but I had already seen mediocre reviews on them (and found a bunch being sold second-hand on eBay which is never a good sign).

I then looked into the Fireplace Radiator.  First thing that attracted me to this unit was it was made of cast iron just like a quality insert or pot belly woodstove would be. Cast iron gets real hot and retains heat for a long time. The other thing that I liked was that the blower was outside the fireplace.  You can't put a blower of decent size inside a fireplace, the heat would melt the seals and the smoke and dust gum up the bearings very quickly.

As I mentioned above, an insert was too expensive so I decided to purchase a Fireplace Radiator. I've used it now for over a month.  Here's my review:

The basic question that I (and probably everyone else) wondered.... DOES IT WORK???  The answer, "YES".  The one thing that I did have to learn however was in setting my expectations (not of the Fireplace Radiator but of wood fireplaces in general).

Positives...

1. This unit puts out a lot of heat.  The blower is strong enough to push out a strong stream of air and that air is HOT, probably due to the cast iron construction.  When you have a good fire going, you cannot put your hand closer than one foot from the outlet, the stream of air is that hot. Since btu's etc. don't mean that much to many people as a comparison tool (after all, how many people know just what "xxxx btu's" feel like) I'm going to compare it to a standard 1500 watt ceramic heater.  Fifteen hundreds watts is pretty much standard since this is equal to 15 watts which is a standard residential house electric circuit.  In comparison to this, the Fireplace Radiator puts out as much as two or three of those heaters.

2. It is very easy to assemble.  I took pictures while assembling mine and put them below.  Click on them to view full size.  The unit is VERY SOLID.  This is a quality, made to last piece.  After using it I can absolutely say, cast iron is the only way to go (which is why it's used in woodstoves). Don't even consider anything less (eg. steel)

Negatives....

1. About the Fireplace Radiator itself, none really.  The only thing to remember is that your fireplace burns wood and wood is a fuel that costs money just like gas, electric etc. (just less expensive).  We get our wood supply free of charge (my brother in law is a professional landscaper and he's very generous in supplying us) so any heat we get from our fireplace (and through it, the Fireplace Radiator) is free supplemental heat but if we had to purchase the firewood it would be much more expensive since fireplaces aren't anywhere as efficient as a modern home heating system. Why am I mentioning this if this is not a limitation of the Fireplace Radiator?  Well, perhaps that I just had the thought in my mind initially that I would heat my whole house with my fireplace all winter for free and now I've become a little more realistic and I'm trying to set expectations to anyone going into this with the same thoughts that I had.  Now, maybe you can heat your whole house (or a substantial part) as again, I am heating a large, poorly insulated room with 12 windows in the cold Northeast so this may not apply to you. Just to say it one more time, this isn't a limitation of the Fireplace Radiator.  The same is true whether it be the bare fireplace or an insert too.  Wood has a cost so if you're tying to use your fireplace as a replacement for your house heating system, consider what your wood supply will cost you. 

So, in summary, I consider it a very good purchase.  No question does it put out heat and the construction is quality and will last. I'm very happy with mine.  It serves its purpose and between it and a 1500watt ceramic heater keeps an 800 sq. ft, 12-windowed, non-insulated cold room in the cold Northeast warm for the children to play in. Maintenance is non-existent and Go Sales was very helpful answering all my questions and putting my mind at ease. I HIGHLY recommend them.

I'd be glad to answer an specific questions.  Feel free to email me at jim_wilson_@hotmail.com.  Enjoy and STAY WARM!