With an esteemed legacy of French fireplaces, Cheminées Philippe is highly respected for their world-class designs and heating capabilities. And one of the most popular models in their designer collection is the classic French provincial style Radiante 700.
It’s the powerful heating output and elegant detailing of the cast iron firebox that make the Cheminées Philippe Radiante 700 a true masterpiece. With its unique retractable door for open fires, you can transform the fire immediately into a slow-combustion fireplace simply by pulling the door down. The standout features of this French–made fireplace include:
- Handmade cast iron firebox with ceramic glass door heat-resistant to 800° C
- Heat output up to 300 square metres
- Easy to clean with a removable ash pan
- Unique design
- Dual-opening door mechanism
- EPA-approved and certified
Operating instructions for the Radiante 700
Living with the Cheminées Philippe Radiante 700 is truly a satisfying and rewarding experience. Please take a moment to read over these operating instructions to ensure you get the best performance and enjoyment from your new French fireplace:
1. Lighting the first fire
For brick enclosures, you should allow four weeks of drying time to ensure that moisture evaporates accordingly. Once this is done, light the first fire with a moderate amount of firewood. Keep the first ten fires small.
Please reduce the opening of the air intake to limit the intensity of the fire and avoid rapid expansion of the materials. Also, ensure adequate ventilation during this process.
2. Open and closed-door operation
When using the door-open operation of your Cheminées Philippe Radiante 700, make sure to keep the damper in the open position to minimise the chances of smoke being blown back. Do not use the unit with the door open for prolonged periods of time.
Additionally, avoid leaving the door open unsupervised. For the door closed operation, open the damper to ensure that smoke is not blown back out when refuelling the wood fireplace.
3. Fuel and combustion
It is recommended to burn hardwood only, with a moisture range of 15-20%. Anything over 20% will not burn efficiently and may produce dangerous amounts of soot. You can dry your firewood by splitting it and then exposing the inner core to the sun. Make sure you store it for at least 12 months before use.
For sustained heating, try small logs and for a longer-lasting fire, you can use larger-diameter logs. Don’t burn any domestic waste, such as plastic bottles, rubber, oily products, etc. Also, never load more than 14 kilograms of firewood.
4. Safety and extending longevity
To ensure maximum performance for your Cheminées Philippe fireplace, refuelling should be carried out several times rather than overloading the unit. Avoid using the fireplace for a longer period of time at a very slow burn rate with vents and damper fully closed. This can cause deposits of soot on the window and in the flue.
Have two pieces of firewood burning off each other. Plus, don’t use the French fireplace with the door and air inlets open at the same time, as well as having an excessive load of firewood. This would generate extremely high temperatures inside the firebox that may damage the cast iron elements of the unit.
Final thoughts
The innovative Radiante 700 insert is a great example of Cheminées Philippe’s visionary slow-combustion fireplaces. It is a complete package of elegance and quality that is second to none, providing the opportunity to create the ultimate feature for an open-plan living space. Feel free to explore Cheminées Philippe’s Designer Collection at Wignells.