Fireplace heat exchanger

A method of heating room air using a fireplace having a combustion chamber, a chimney flue having an opening connected to a top portion of the combustion chamber, a heat source supported at a bottom portion of the combustion chamber for producing hot gasses in response to combustion, a front opening, a combustion air supply opening, and a fire screen or the like for closing the front opening to separate the combustion chamber from a room area to be heated;

• the method comprising the steps.
• providing a baffle for sealing the chimney opening, the baffle having at least one flue opening for exhausting combustion gasses into the chimney flue;
• to providing at least one elongate heat exchanger core having an outer hollow member with opposing combustion gas inlet and outlet ends separated by a outer member length, and an inner hollow member disposed within and generally coextensive with said outer hollow member forming an annular passageway therebetween, the inner hollow member having a medium inlet end and a medium outlet end, and further defining an interior passageway for a heat transfer medium flowing generally from the medium inlet end toward said medium outlet end, combustion gas flow within the annular passageway being generally in a counter-flow heat exchange relationship with the medium flow within the inner hollow member, receiving combustion gasses from the combustion chamber at the gas inlet end and discharging combustion gasses from the gas outlet end, and at least one nozzle disk positioned in the annular passageway proximate the combustion gas inlet to induce a swirling flow pattern of the combustion gasses about said inner hollow member generally between the combustion gas inlet and outlet ends,
• providing a supply conduit in flow communication with the medium inlet end for directing a flow of the heat transfer medium toward the medium inlet end of the inner hollow member and a return conduit in flow communication with the medium outlet end for receiving the heat transfer medium from the medium outlet end of the inner hollow member and directing it toward a desired location to be heated;
• providing a source of heat input to the fireplace in the form of a combustion process;
• heating the air within the combustion chamber by the combustion process and passing the heated combustion gasses through the annular passageway with a swirling motion caused by the at least one nozzle disc;
• and
• passing a heat transfer medium through the inner hollow member by way of the supply and return conduits, whereby relatively cool heat transfer medium supplied to the inner hollow member is heated and subsequently returned to the desired location to be heated.