Open fire or log burner
I am looking at opening up our fire place ,we have an electric fire there at the moment, but can't decide on a log burner or an open grate , pros and cons on both please
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If it’s just for show (i.e not your sole source of heating) it won’t matter as much as if it’s all that keeps you warm.
We just had open fires, and struggled to warm the whole room. We now have two wood burning stoves (2 rooms) and the heat goes out into the room, and not up the chimney.
Check you have room to store logs (or coal), and a ready supply.
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We had an open fire which I always thought messy so about 6/7 years ago we put in a multifuel burner. It’s brilliant, lights easily and gives out a lot of heat plus of course easy to keep clean. Don’t have to empty the ashes every day. Be aware that you may well need a flue liner. If our house had been of modern design I might of considered having it connected to the central heating system. Well pleased with it and would certainly have another when required.
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Same as OP Husky. Do the research, if you go for a stove, right size and output for area you want to heat, suitable for smokeless area. We went with a multi fuel, gives more options, had chimney lined. Check out log supplies, wood isn't as cheap as it was if you need to buy in. Much cleaner than open fire, and much safer. Much much safer! Only down side for us is logs have to be cut a bit smaller to fit into stove, whereas with open fire we could burn big stuff! I will post a website link to our model, an Esse. Can highly recommend.
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This is ours HD. An Esse 100SE, gives out 5kw of heat, big single door to give that lovely fire glow. Easy to clean out and light. When we have this lit, we don't use CH unless it is very cold, keeps us toasty!
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We had a tortoise firebox installed in our last home. It's a bit more efficient than a simple open fire. Looked nice when lit but smelly and sometimes smokey, depending on the wind. Also burning logs it could crackle and spit. The biggest dog hated it and would leave the room if we lit it.
In this home we installed a log burner. Much less messy and no issues with wind direction. The dogs take no notice of it and happily stay in the room with us. Ours has a big window in the door so you can see the fire and the flames are hypnotic. It's more efficient still using less fuel.
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Funny thing with the dogs hastghyll! Our Airedales loved the open fire, but didn't half jump if it crackled! We have to shove the Labs out of way to put a log on stove nowadays!
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We have a small Morso log burner which we light in the winter afternoons and evenings. It gives a much warmer feel to the room, but as our supply of "free" wood is limited, we buy seasoned hardwood from a well respected local company. I find we use around £500 worth of logs each winter. I doubt we save as much as that in unused gas as the gas heating is on every morning and for a period each evening to take the chill off the bathroom and bedrooms. We love it, but the heat provided is very localised, and it isn't, in our experience, a cheaper option, but a lifestyle choice.
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Having previously lived in a barn conversion with two log burners, when we moved to this house 5 years ago, we gutted it and created what were, essentially two large open-plan living areas - and a wood-burner was an essential for us. We fitted a 6kW Jotul multi-fuel stove in the sitting / dining area and in the depths of winter (like now!) we light it in the morning and it's going all day - heating the whole of the downstairs areas to the extent that the central heating only has to be on for a couple or three hours a day.
Although it's a long time since I had experience of an open fire, I would say that a multi-fuel stove has the advantage of staying a lot cleaner (no ash etc all over the hearth) and is obviously much safer in terms of preventing the possibility of sparks jumping out.
One mistake which we have made (but didn't realise at the time) was to buy a stove with a fully enclosed ash pan which means having to lift the grate up to access the pan to empty it - which effectively means it can't be kept going day after day as we sometimes did at the other house when we had a prolonged cold spell.
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Husky - one other thing to bear in mind - I think I am right in saying that if the stove isn't installed by a registered HETAS engineer, you have to obtain Building Reg approval for the installation. I know we did, since the stove and flue were installed by our builders who weren't HETAS registered.
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When we installed our first log burner, we found three other fireplace behind the one we removed. A very dusty job! We restored the original one and strengthened it.
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Ours had formerly had a Yorkshire Range in it, been boarded up and a horrible 1960's gas fire inserted. One of our first tasks on taking on the house was to open it up, get the chimney checked out, and we then used an open fire in it for years. We decided to open wall between kitchen and back room up when OH retired, transforming these two rooms was a big project, OH did everything himself bar fitting the stove, that was done by a stove specialist as we wanted the certificate, and a sparky friend helped him install a new range cooker.
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We've got an open fire, we burn logs and occasionally other fuels. We had to rebuild our fireplace after a previous owner had blocked it off and with hindsight a small stove would have been more efficient. We do have access to reasonably priced logs or our own from the garden. I think logs are quite expensive unless you know a good source. At present nearly all our wood is from home due to trees dying or needing cutting back.
We don't always light the fire and it creates quite a bit of dust, but it's nice and cosy too.
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Most of our wood is from garden, or neighbour's gardens. Plus we have an Arborculturist and Tree Surgeon in family!
If your main source is to buy in, I would do a bit of pricing up though. As with other "trendy" things, it doesn't take long for sellers to realise they can up the prices! Shop around, get to know a wood yard owner. Kindling for starting fires is often most expensive bit, but you soon become proficient with a different range of axes!
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Yes, a small stove in the room does give off heat quite efficiently.
MOH and I prefer an open log fire if only because the chuckling sound of the flames seems to make everything more cosy and despite the drawback of the occasional spit and having the chimney swept every couple of years or so..
We use a carpet offcut to protect the carpet in front of the fire and remove it when burning season is over.
At present have about 5 yrs. supply of logs, stacked in various corners of the garden, so it is usually well seasoned before being burnt.
Stoves tend to project forward into the room taking up a little space whereas an open fire in the grate does not, on the whole.
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I pay £85 for a cubic metre of logs from our local supplier and probably only get through two loads a year and supplement it with smokeless fuel, used mainly for the initial lighting. I always have 'todays' logs in the log basket and another armful next to the stove, drying ready for tomorrow as I find that even having been stored in a proper log store, they are still slightly damp when they come inside.
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We have 2 multi fuel stoves, one in a large kitchen and one in the front lounge and I wouldn’t be without them. Keeps us toasty warm. (Too warm at times!) Much more usable heat than an open fire. We also have an open fire and it’s lovely when the coals are burning but with 85% of the heat going up the chimney I think a wood burner every time! However, they did lead to the purchase of a chainsaw, all the safety kit and a saw horse!!
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There are all sorts of stoves available nowadays. Some very traditional, some very contemporary. Quite a few don't need a fireplace, and you can get some suspended!
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Reminds me of the early 1950's when I started school in what were no better than Nissen huts with the big stove in the corner. I think they used coke rather than coal. My gripe was that they always staked the crates of milk next to the stove and I hate warm milk!
On a more serious note are they not thinking of banning wood burning stoves?
David
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Banning of wood burning stoves?, it is being considered due to the pollution increase in citys & urban areas generally. A lot of the problems are down to burning damp & unseasoned wood. The efficient use of wood & it’s burning is a skill rarely considered I’m afraid☹️
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On a more serious note are they not thinking of banning wood burning stoves?
Something from the Mayor of London and shouldn't effect householders.
Although you can never trust the weasel words of politicians
Khan’s proposed ban on wood-burning stoves in the most-polluted areas of London will not be enforced against householders and will only be in operation at certain times of the year.
Under the mayor of London’s plans, the stoves would be occasionally banned from use in zones in the capital from 2025 and UK-wide laws blocking the sale of all but the newest, cleanest stoves from 2022 would be brought in earlier.
In an attempt to reassure the thousands of Londoners who bought the stoves in good faith, the focus will be on educating owners not to burn wood during bad air quality episodes. Authorities will reserve enforcement for commercial users such as hotels.
There are about 1.5m stoves in the UK and 200,000 are sold annually, with the appliances often marketed as a green form of home heating.
That's a lot of votes Mr. Mayor so tread carefully
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Choosing, installing and using a stove isn't as easy as it sounds to get it right. By all means ban them in London, if they are not compliant with Defra regulations. London's problems are way beyond banning stoves and Emission Zones. Seriously overcrowded. But hopefully they won't foist regulations dealing with London onto other areas that have no such problems. We have enough to contend with up here with plans to frack/undermine our local National Parks, and HS2!
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I read somewhere (was probably on a stove manufacturer's website!
) that leaving timber to rot in the ground actually produces twice as much carbon dioxide as burning it.0 -
We buy logs in bulk from our coal merchant. We try to get them a year in advance and make sure they're well dried and seasoned before being used. They produce very little ash.
We have a multi-fuel stove and can burn both smokeless fuel and hardwood logs. Note that for wood burning, you need a larger double-walled flue liner. If you have an older house, you should have no trouble.. The other thing is to check the requirements for ventilation.
Here is our fire and the surround (being installed). Spid, our pet spider has already moved in. Note that the stove sits within the thickness of the wall which is 27inches thick!
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My log burner has glass doors which enable me a ‘multi’ sensory experience & the economical burn. . . .Win/win Micky Boy👍🏻😊
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Ah, but that thrill isn't there anymore, tamed, no more sparks burns on that fireside rug.
Muted spits and crackles as the logs burns. The beast is behind the glass, can get electric or gas fires which now provide that effect but they too don't cut the mustard! We lived dangerously with a dog grate for 20 odd years then changed to a log burner, so much safer I guess. it was great in many ways but just didn't quiet have the same cosy fireside appeal for us.
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