Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Smallhold Farming and Rural Living => Property, Buildings, Equipment and Alternative Energy => Topic started by: mrs mud on January 26, 2012, 10:04
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We currently have an open fire which personally I love. For me it's only downside is you only feel the heat when you sit close to it, the rest of the room is quite cold.
My OH wants to install a multi fuel type stove, he says it will heat up the room and stay warm for longer.
I feel it's such a shame to loose "the real thing" and replace it with a black box, but I do agree it's inefficient as most of the heat goes straight up the chimney.
I know wood burners are popular now but has anyone got regrets about losing the open fire?
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None at all! You can still, and we do all the time, have the doors open when you're sitting around it. The added benefit is the safety aspect of running it with the doors closed when you are not present. There are also the benefits of buying one which runs central heating, but that's another, much more expensive story! :D
:)
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I've always had open fires and my earliest memory of them was having a lit fire in my bedroom when I was little. It's something I'd find hard to live without and have maintained open fires all my life; having five fireplaces at my last house :D
The new wood burners have air flow over the fire itself so you get a lovely waving flames, so it's still great to look at. They also are efficient so you don't get the glass door all tarred up if you use it properly
I love mine :)
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Over here, open fireplaces are a 'must have' in new house sales these days. And the happy owners quickly realize what a cold sink it turns out to be and soon have it closed up with some sort of built-in burner. Sadly, it's the way of life.
The fireplace in my house went the same way with the original owner. They installed an insert, which is as inefficient as you can get. When I can spare some money, I plan to replace the pricey clunker with a stand alone unit fitted into the existing piping. This way more heat will stay in the room since inserts don't come with flues to regulate heat loss.
The only alternatives to keeping a fireplace is to 1) hire staff to maintain the fireplaces (clean, sweep chimneys, supply and bring in wood) or 2) eat more fats that you body will hopefully burn off in the cooler rooms (and pray your heart doesn't get blocked).
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We loved our open fire - even in this day & age I would never buy a house without a working fire & chimney of some sort - but realised that we were cooking our fronts and freezing our.....backs.
They say that an open fire puts 20% of the heat into the room and the remaining 80% goes up the chimney, so had the hearth altered, the chimney lined and a multi-fuel burner put in as this is supposed to keep 80% of the heat in the house and only send 20% up the flue.
No regrets! It lights like a dream, puts loads of heat into the house without using loads of fuel (& is not fussy about the fuel), is safe to leave when shut and nice to sit by whether shut or open, makes great toasted muffins....
We chose a burner with double doors and a make that has a spark guard available for extra safety when the doors are open (it hangs on the door hinges so has to be double doors).
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We have a standard open fire with a back boiler for hot water and the radiators. We don't have an option for gas - so, it's either solid fuel or oil.
I don't know what style yours is, but ours is the only heat source in the living room, and always in winter have the front grill flap lowered to send the heat into the room (when we're in!). We live in an old stone house, stone floors, single glazing = potential cold zone.
If this is the style you have, and you havent tried that, give it a go and you'll feel the difference straight away. You can still have the damper out to continue to send heat round the back boiler - if you have one. The type of fuel also gives variations in heat output, so it's worth finding out which is best. Much as we have lots of wood, the fire is more efficient with coal (and even that varies) or sometimes a combination of both.
Hope this helps - unless you have an entirely different fire design of course
Ps - if anything was to change - we wouldn't miss cleaning the fire in the morning !
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Because of their inefficiency which is really really bad, i personally think an open fire should be illegal and can see the day soon when they will be.
I would be the last person on the planet to impose red tape and beaurocracy on peoples freedom, but i think they are so bad for the environment and in today's world we can not afford stuff like this.
Saying that they are nice to look at and poke around with especially log fires.
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I'm glad you qualified that digga. :D Wood is one of the "greenest" forms of fuel we have. :)
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We had to move (work) from a house with an open fire and we do miss it. Our friends had a wood burner that sat in front of the chimney and I know which we prefered.
In terms of efficiency you do loose heat up the chimney although the fire place we had had a damper that you moved once the fire had warmed up and sent more heat into the room , a jetmaster I recall. We were fortunate to be able to access plenty of free wood so we were not bothered, the heat was free! It was an ideal way to get rid of junk mail!
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We have a wood burner in the living room, no back boiler system in it (but wish we had got that type now), but we still have a combi for the hot water and heating when we're out to keep the house 'ticking over' until we light it.
The biggest thing we noticed was the amount of gas we cut down on using!
Even after the W/B had gone out, the residual heat 'stored' in the brickwork up around the chimney, kept the house warm until we re-lit it. This usually happends during weekdays when we come in from work.
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Thanks so much for everyones thoughts :)
I was very reluctant to lose the fire, I have wanted one all my life and we only moved here two months ago so I was heartbroken when my OH said he wants a stove. However we are freezing cold. We have ordered a Stovax Multifuel, (with option to have a clip on boiler at a later stage) we also have a combi oil boiler for radiators and water (no gas here) but only intend to use this the minimum amount of time due to the oil cost, which is currently using £70 a week of oil, and hardly ever on!
My OH now wants to know what sort of surround/hearth I want !!! the stove is going in front of the opening rather than inside it (the space is too small) and the opening will be blocked off and the flue pipe going out of the back of the stove into the old fireplace flue. So basicly we will have a flat wall :( and no chimney on the stove, just a flat top
I'm thinking quarry tiled hearth but no idea what would look good on the wall behind the stove and I can't imagine a mantle piece would look right somehow
Feeling a tad stressed because I didn't want to be making these types of decisions until we lived in the house for longer and the OH prefers to leave the decor matters to me :unsure:
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Some people have them standing against a plain painted wall and make a feature of the flue clad in metal going up towards the ceiling or roof. It looks good! :) And yes, a tile or slate hearth.
This sort of idea:
(http://www.northweststoves.co.uk/_include/images/stoves/dik-geurts-tor.jpg)
Here is an example with a shiny flue:
(http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/contemporary-wood-burning-stove-cast-iron-290367.jpg)
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Mrs Mud, this is our set up, the stove's free standing with the flue out the back and away up the existing chimney...
(http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv225/Goldfinger_photos/IMAG0175.jpg)
It's the only way we could do it, but we're still way happy with it. :D
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How do you sweep the chimney?
smud6ie
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we love our open fire, we do also have central heating though so it only goes on when we're having a night in :D
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we put a logburner in three yrs ago and never
regreted it , it not only looks fantastic but is so efficient ,it's a large one 10 kw and keeps our bungalow so warm through out, it's 20 degrees in the lounge as i speak , don't us the heating much at all, would'nt go back to an open fire .
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How do you sweep the chimney?
smud6ie
Most likely from the roof and down.
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We love our open fire, and burn coal, wood, stuff like old crates etc, in fact anything which is going to either rot or get chucked out anyway.
We also buy offcuts from a shed maker for a few pounds a cubic metre, and I bring home any stray branches and cut them up. At the moment, there's a load of old rhododendron branches, which burn like crazy.
Next week, we'll have a couple of loads of cherry and oak, so, as Argyllie says, wood (especially when it's going to be dumped), is one of the greenest fuels around!
We say that if there's a good reason to heat our own home, instead of trying to meet 'green' targets, we'll also burn cardboard etc, because that's our prerogative, not some faraway politicians'!
I also think wood burners are marvellous, and the only reason why we don't have one is that we also have night storage heaters, which are very cheap to run if you do it properly.
Phew ;0)
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It is good that you will be having your woodburner in front of the wall rather than in the recess. Ours is in the recess and we are losing a lot of heat to walls of the recess.
I have always wanted an open fire but was pleased to be able to get the woodburner (we have a Stovax too, a Stockton 5 woodburner). As others have said, you can still open the door and have practically the same effect.
I am sure it will all work out well for you!
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How do you sweep the chimney?
smud6ie
Most likely from the roof and down.
Mind readers! ;)
Yes, that's how we do it.
The fire is on a 'male / female' sleeve type thing my dad made before he retired, so all we got to do is slide the fire forward and off, 'heavily' tape off the fitting and sweep using the brush on a ball and chain.
This... http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?id=164024196
Together with this...http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?id=162544132
Then suck out the soot with the 'ash can'.
Then all we do is renew the fire cement around the join when the fire goes back.
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Ours is not in a recess and it is true you get much more heat , my OH brings all manner of wood whenever he can get it, and also friends give us wood too, we never burn coal although its a multi fuel, you have to think well ahead so u don't run out of wood .
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we to love our woodburner We dont have it in the recess so makes it so efficiant Often if we dont want to run the rayburn or have run out of room we cook on the top great for just heating up or making soups and stews . Just make sure of the fuel supply as more people are getting them fitted so increasingly free wood is in short supply and you need a lot more than you think
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Yes we cook soups and things on ours too, neighbour had his trees down today so thats the wood for 2013 sorted :)
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Quick update :)
Our new stove has been installed, a stovax 7 multifuel. We are already amazed how it warms the whole room (compared to the open fire) and I must admit I do quite like it's appearance :blush: The wall behind it still needs finishing off, and it can be pulled forward for maintenence and sweeping. We use a lot less fuel and have it on all day at the moment.
Thanks for all replies, it helped a lot, I was very reluctant to lose the open fire but realised after reading the posts that it was not the way ahead in the long run
:) :) :)
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Well I'm always pleased we have the woodburner. This winter I've been on a 'if you're not going to light it, neither am I' kick. But for some reason today I decided to brave the cold and go and get some wood.
I'm pleased I did, as himindoors hasn't been checking the oil level and we've run out! On what they reckon is going to be the coldest night of the year! >:(
I wouldn't mind, but because we've not had the woodburner alight, we've used in 3 months what normally last us 5!
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Well am sure you won't be dissapointed, enjoy :)
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Such a lovely thread. Only one important detail missing. The reason, why do you feel cold in the room with fireplace or wood burner is the room slightly UNDER pressure and cold air coming in the room/house. To solve it, you have to install in the ceiling small fan, which will blow air from attic. If you can setup heat exchanger on the chimney, that will be a bonus
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You can also get a little fan that sits on the stove itself
I find my room gets toasty with the log burner going so we have to open the door and the heat dissipates to the downstairs rooms
My recess was not very deep but I looked at Stovesonline and found a slim stove which is wide but not deep and it fit perfectly. Mine log burner is a smokeless model and it will burn smokeless fuel but I really only wanted it for logs, which I love burning. We had a mini forest to clear when we bought our house so it made sense to use the felled timber
The daily lighting of the log burner is the signal to sit down and get comfy :)
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...And if we're going to get this forecasted snow, we'll be relighting ours this week.
I thought we were done for the year with ours.
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We invested in a large wood burner with a big curved glass front. we call it our baked bean tin. It was the best thing we ever did. Heat is fantastic The fire is beautiful - Better than an open fire - safer and easier to keep clean. We really wish we had got multi fuel tho and the kind that heats the rest of the house and water too. You can even get one that has a oven compartment too! But they did cost a lot more. It has cut our winter heating bill enormously.
I'm busy making eco logs ready for next winter now!
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same here, steel pipe, paper from the neighbours :D
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We have an open fire & really love it. Most houses i've had, have had open fires. I opened up the chimney in our house as it was boarded up. I bought a bigger lintel in and extened the opening so the opening could be made bigger for the cast iron basket, a new fire back & did the brick work. Had it tested and swept. We burn coal and wood - any kind of wood. Keep stuff from DIY projects over the year, old fencing. Anything woody and free - pallets are good but hard to break up as they are strong!!
Joiners yards & furnature makers are good sources for off cuts of bits of wood to start fires with. Had bags of wood off them.
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I have lived in 4 houses with coal open fires in, the last hose I bought (the one I am living in now) I bough the house and in the blink of an eye I put a gas fire in with a back boiler for the central heating....... I love gas!! never have to clean it every morning.... or keep it on all night so it doesn't go out so I dont have to light it again in the morning, I have never had to shove gas in to it... or indeed have a gas bucket to keep it in...... well you get my drift I think ;)
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..... well you get my drift I think ;)
We certainly do, but you don't get piped gas in the country. ;)
Edit to add:
47 Kg Propane cylinders are now 80 quid a pop!
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47 Kg Propane cylinders are now 80 quid a pop!
OMG They've gone up a lot!
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47 Kg Propane cylinders are now 80 quid a pop!
OMG They've gone up a lot!
They've doubled in price in 8 years. I'm still very glad we didn't opt for oil heating! Its why we love our multifuel burner (in which we burn mainly wood) so much, but I did mention that much earlier in this thread. :) After all that is the topic for this thread, not how convenient gas is in London!
:D
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The only 'down side' as such to having a wood burner, is if you see any wood up for grabes (that's free), is to grab it there and then!
There's been some trees took down next to my work, their business signs cannot be seen so down with the trees!
Anyway, spoke to the 'feller', and he said help yourself - saves on hiring more skips, he only needs to get rid of the tops then. :happy:
So, there was a nice stack cut into 3ft lengths ready for anyone to take, so the next day I went to work with my trailer.....
Whole lot GONE!! :( So between 7pm and 7am, someone must have came along with something bigger than a transit tipper - there was that much, and took the lot.
Guess the wood business is really taking off now....
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Gas fires are all well and good but completely lack any character. You might as well sit and watch the washing machine :D
Log burner chimney clean tomorrow morning so we are all set up for log burner heaven for the next sixth months or so. Logs cut from our own garden are stacked and matured ready for the off. We have had fires in the past few weeks but not every night. Soon it will be a nightly ritual. The good thing about it is that it forces you to sit down and relax. You just have to flop down on the sofa in front of it as it's so soothing.
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That is true compost queen about gas fires, yes they give you heat but boring. We are the only one on our road that has a open fire and passers by always comment on it when its lit. Especially the older generation.
As much as possible, I try to burn wood, as our local coalman, well 20 miles away, puts the coal up by £1.00 per 20kg each year!
Plus I like "open fire" time as its when I do baked potatoes wrapped in foil, baked in the fire - nothing like them.
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i have wood burners in my sitting rooms in the fire place and one in the kitchen which sits on a brick plinth up through single storey roof. I boilwater on it to cook, wash up, drinks and often cook and warm up bits a pieces too. Along with the solar hot water I spend about £100pa on gas and about the same on electricity in the bedroom only when really cold and get loads of free pallets.
its also great for dried apples ect. I could really tell the difference when I put one in the small lounge after haveing an open fire 4 time the heat from a tiney little burner.
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Have lit ours the past couple of nights. its lovely :)
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Fireplaces are romantic and sentimental but truly inefficient. The woodburners are out of the niches and radiate the heat rather than send it up the tube, like my fireplace insert does >:( I know I use more wood than I need to with my insert versus the freestanding burner I had at my last place.
But one day I'll find the money to replace the insert and we'll be enjoying real heat again, as well as using free cooking heat. 2 days ago we drove down some local back roads and filled my SUV with loads of thick fallen tree branches that we'll cut up later. When fossil fuels become too expensive to freely use I suspect there'll be lots of competition for fallen wood.
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Fireplaces are romantic and sentimental but truly inefficient. The woodburners are out of the niches and radiate the heat rather than send it up the tube, like my fireplace insert does >:( I know I use more wood than I need to with my insert versus the freestanding burner I had at my last place.
But one day I'll find the money to replace the insert and we'll be enjoying real heat again, as well as using free cooking heat. 2 days ago we drove down some local back roads and filled my SUV with loads of thick fallen tree branches that we'll cut up later. When fossil fuels become too expensive to freely use I suspect there'll be lots of competition for fallen wood.
Nearly there Trills...
Local firms are getting logs for the small machines in private houses to burn constantly.
(PS, do they still do log-rolling in your part of the world...?!)
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When river logs jam up there's still need for the log rollers to go out and sort it, but you don't see it as much as these days floating excavators do most of the work as well as men in boats with chainsaws. It was a real art and talent and the men had to be very light on their feet a shown in the first minute HERE. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ekqsHP9Sck)
Log rolling contests are still very popular: LINK (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOeHB_RrSRs)