No fireplace is complete without a great fireplace grate…
A great fireplace grate is an essential addition to any home with an existing wood-burning fireplace. It raises your wood/coal off the ground, allowing oxygen to get in more efficiently. And this helps burn your wood more efficiently. Besides, the grate will keep most of the embers together until the logs have completely burned down.
The good news is that these grates are inexpensive and will serve you for over a decade, depending on how much you use them.
They also come in many sizes, styles, and shapes, which make it pretty hard to pinpoint the best match for you.
If you don’t have time to read, here’s our picks:
That’s why we have come up with the following guide to help you pick the best match for your fireplace…
Things To Consider Before Buying a Fireplace Grate
Type of Fireplace Grate
There are three different types of grated fireplaces (based on the material used to construct them) you’ll find on the market today. These models include cast iron, steel bar, and grate heater fireplaces.
Steel grates usually bear bars that are set apart by their thicknesses. The thicker these bars appear, the longer the grate is likely to serve you. If you go for steel grate with thin bars, you’ll be forced to replace it sooner that you think.
The key thing here is to consider how long you’re planning to use your grater. If you don’t plan to use it frequently, the lighter model will be okay. Otherwise, you’ll have to invest in the thicker quality.
Cast iron grates employ small gaps at the base which enable the coal and wood chunks to burn together. If you go with the cast iron model, you’ll first have to determine its weight. This will lead you to the ideal grate for your home. The heavier the grate, the more you will get out of it.
Grate heaters are expensive in the short term. However, they tend to perform better at keeping the heat produced by the fireplace into your room.
It generates heat from the fire, and its hollow tubes get hot. Then a fan blows this heat through the tubing and into your room. There are also thermostat controlled grate heaters that turn the fan on/off automatically.
Size of the Grate
Size is also an important factor since not all grates will fit your fireplace.
You might think that these products are standard across all the homes, but this isn’t true. It would, therefore, it’s important to take measurements of your existing fireplace before you hit the road to the market.
This way, you’ll be able to get the right size of the grate that will fit and work with your fireplace without any issues.
Shape of the Grate
Yes, the shape or the contour of your fireplace is another important feature to consider. As you’ll find out, many fireplace grates appear similar in design and size, but the self-feeding ones look a little bit different.
A self-feeding model has higher sides and deeper middle compared to the other grates.
This ensures that your logs are contained in the grate as they continue burning (as opposed to falling all over the edges).
Overall Construction Details
You need to thoroughly examine the overall construction details of the fireplace grate you intend to buy. You need to pay attention to the size of the bars to ensure they’ll help you get the most out of your grate.
Also, look at how the welding of the entire system has been done. Poor welding will defiantly lead to the fire falling into the fireplace.
If you can pick a fireplace grate with enough bars plus a well-conducted welding job, you can be sure to stay warm this winter.
Additional factors:
- You need to come up with a budget for the grate you wish to buy. Let the products that fall in your budget have a good performance as well as other great features that will help you get the most out of it
- The brand behind the design of your grate also matters. Buy from well-known brands, and you’ll never regret; buy from brands known for producing low-quality products, and you’ll not enjoy your grate
- What fuel do you plan to burn? This will help you pick the appropriate type of fireplace. If you plan to burn wood only, consider grate heaters and steel bar grates. But if you plan to use wood and coal, cast iron will serve you best
Our Top 5 Best Fireplace Grate Picks
I have invested a good amount of time researching the top choices fireplace grates on the market right now. I have selected the best-selling grates- with excellent performance, great design, and impressive features- ideal for any home. The culmination of my research is the unbiased fireplace grate reviews below.
Instantly transform your fireplace into a fully functional, heat generator, and a mesmerizing focal point in your home with the following fireplace grates:
1. Pleasant Hearth – 3/4″ Premium Solid Steel Fireplace Grate Review
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If you’re looking for the best fireplace grate to replace your old, low-quality grate, Pleasant Hearth 3/4″ Fireplace Grate is a safe bet.
It is a high-quality product made from rugged steel metal to make it serve you for over a decade.
It is unlike the cheap-quality grates that will overheat and melt and lost for a limited period.
It comes with a total of 8 super-solid steel bars that are thick enough to hold your firewood logs together. The bars are ¾ inches long and effectively lift the wood off the ground, creating passes for smooth air flow.
This ensures efficient burning of firewood. The curved design enables it to contain all your firewood so that they can burn safely without falling off your fireplace floor.
It also comes with an eye-catching black finish that prevents it from overheating and developing burning marks. In other words, it will remain as clean as new even after many years of use.
The exact dimensions of his grate are 30” x 15.2” x 7”, making it fit comfortably in most wood burning fireplaces. Best of all, it comes with a lifetime warranty!
Highlighted Features:
- Features eight solid steel bars
- Extremely durable grate, featuring heavy-duty steel metal
- Bears a heat-resistant black finish
- Curved design helps contain the firewood safely
- Works with most wood burning fireplaces
- Lifetime warranty
2. Pleasant Hearth – 1/2″ Solid Steel Fireplace Grate Review
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Pleasant Hearth – 1/2″ Solid Steel Fireplace Grate is a 4- model bar ideal for any homeowner looking for a top grate for their fireplace.
The 18-inch model comes with 4 bars made of heavy-duty steel metal. Each of the bars is ½-inch and thick enough to support your firewood.
Unlike its competitors, this fantastic grate also features an ember retainer- made of mesh metal. The retainer together with the solid bars lifts your firewood off the ground, enabling oxygen to find its way through the fire for efficient burning.
An added benefit f the metal ember retainer is that the heat generated will feel hotter.
The curved design of the bars enables them to hold your firewood logs safely as they burn out, ensuring they don’t fall t your fireplace floor.
The black finish on this grate not only makes the entire unit pleasant to the eye but also bears great heat resistant capabilities.
The product measures 18” x 11” x 7” and will work with almost any wood burning fireplace out there. No assembly is required for the unit.
Highlighted Features:
- Features 4 ½-inch bars made of heavy-duty steel
- Ember Retainer makes the fire hotter and burns more efficiently
- No assembly needed
- Designed to contain your firewood logs safely
- Ideal for almost any wood burning fireplace
3. Pleasant Hearth – 3/4″ Premium Solid Steel Fireplace Grate Review
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This is another great fireplace grate from Pleasant Hearth that is selling at incredibly high rates. The grate has up to 6 solid steel bars across it, making it an ideal grate for a sturdy construction.
These bars are ¾ inches long and lift the firewood off chimney floor, allowing air to circulate easily.
The entire grate is made of heavy-duty steel. The solid bars are thick and won’t bend easily. This guarantees you of the durability of this product.
It features a curved design to ensure that all your burning logs remain in the grate. The fantastic black finish has great resistant capabilities and thus good for keeping in your wood burning fireplace in the cold winter months.
This grate will fit most fireplaces.
Overall, you’ll like how the wood stays contained in this grate. You’ll fall in love with how the black finish prevents your grate from developing unsightly burn marks.
Air will circulate freely and make your home feel nice and toasty. And you won’t have to replace this grate anytime soon!
Highlighted Features:
- Six thick bars made of solid steel
- Engineered using Heavy-duty steel
- Designed to facilitate safe burning of wood
- Ideal for most fireplaces
- Comes with a heat resistant, elegant black finish
- Lifetime Warranty
4. Panacea 15403 Wrought Iron Fire Grate Review
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Panacea 15403 Wrought Iron Fire Grate helps you built a better fire in your wood burning fireplace.
The 24-long grate will help you get the most out of your firewood-achieve better burn quality- by just lifting the wood off your fireplace floor.
This lets air efficiently circulate underneath, making the fire feel hotter and more efficient.
Made of wrought iron metal, this unit offers you the ultimate durability to ensure you enjoy its services for long. Also, don’t forget that wrought iron is an excellent heat conductor and will efficiently be distributed the heat, not your room.
The bars, also made of wrought iron, are slightly curved to help hold your wood together. This enables you to add more woods when necessary and to reduce the risk of the hot embers rolling onto the floor.
The openings in the grate allow the smaller, burned pieces of wood to fall to your fireplace. This creates a bed of hot coals. This also allows your fire to burn from the bottom up.
The grate measures 20” x 23.75” x 13.875” and is ideal for use in most fireplaces.
Highlighted Features:
- Made of high-quality wrought iron
- Slightly curved bars help cradle your firewood
- Measures the 20-inch width, 23.75-inch width, and 13.875-inch depth
- Helps you burn your firewood more efficiently
5. Panacea 15424 Cast Iron Fire Grate Review
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Burn your firewood cleanly and efficiently with this Panacea 15424 Cast iron fireplace grate. The 23-inch long grate will enable you to lift your wood off your fireplace hearth and allow air to circulate underneath.
This will make your fire hotter and more efficient.
Raising the firewood with this grate not only allows free air circulation but it also helps draft smoke and fumes out through the chimney instead of into your home.
It also helps prevent direct contact between the flames and your fireplace hearth, which might weaken it.
The front part of this beautifully designed grate is slightly curved to help cradle the firewood excellently. As such you can add more logs when necessary without worrying about the hot embers falling onto the floor.
The perfectly spaced openings in this grate allow small chunks of burned wood to fall to your fireplace and create a bed of hot coals. Besides, this also helps you fire to burn from bottom up.
The exact measurements of this grate are 18.875” front width, 15.125” depth, and 3” height leg clearance.
Highlighted Features:
- Engineered from highly durable cast iron metal
- Ideal for use with most wood burning fireplaces
- Helps burn your fire more efficiently by raising it off the floor of your fireplace
- Allows smaller chunks of charred wood to fall through the open spaces, creating a bed of hot coals
Final Verdict
Investing in a grate fireplace is the best way to make your wood/coal burn more efficiently and increase heat supply into your house.
You only want to ensure that the grate you pick is durable, well designed, and able to handle your firewood. The grates featured in our fireplace grate review section above are excellent products that will never let you down.
Depending on your fireplace needs, you’ll find the best match for you above.
Note that all the five fireplace grates I’ve recommended to you above are made of high-quality materials, so they don’t warp. Besides, they can fit in almost every fireplace.
Before you make the next fire, be sure to have a fireplace grate installed.
Last update on 2023-03-30 at 16:51 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API