Open fire - help/guidance needed

[sellickbhoy]

Hi everyone

I live in a house that has oil fired central heating/hot water and i've got an open fireplace in the sitting room

as far as i'm away there is no back boiler behind it (it's a combi boiler i have so no tank)

I love having a roaring fire going, but of course, most of the heat just goes straight out of the chimney.

is there anyway i can reduce the amount of fuel i burn in order to heat up the lounge - thus reducing the amount of fuel used or is there a way i can use this heat to heat up more than just the living room??

it seems a bit of a waste

would putting a wood burner into the fireplace do anyhting for the amount of fuel i use or heat that is generated

(and yes, i am aware that i don't need to light the real fire as i have central heating, but it's just nice to sit in the house with the lights off, roaring fire and a glass of wine!)

[TheGoodEarth]

Open fires are incredibly inefficient, 90% of the heat is lost up the chimney. You would be better to have a woodburning stove fitted into your fireplace if there is room. Any gaps sucking heat up your chimney should be closed off and insulated.

You will use significantly less wood than you do now. The sizing and installation of these stoves is quite complex. It is not a DIY job unless you are very experienced. Consult a stove installer for advice..

[sellickbhoy]

thanks, i'll phone the nearest one to come and have a look

:-)

[prison break fan]

When I looked into having a woodburning stove fitted in my sitting room, the cost of the stove was fairly reasonable, but the fitting costs were way beyond me! So the open fire it is and a walk in the woods every day to fuel it!!! pbf

[snapdragon]

nod nod PBF - 500squid for the stove and 2000 for stove and fitting

There was one that will fit in a standard fireplace - diy job - but not my fireplace !! lol

[Thomzo]

Keep looking. I have a tiny little woodburning stove that has moved house with me several times. I think it was made by Esse. It's dead easy to install. Basically the flue pipe sticks out of the back. You shove it into the fire place and then seal up the fire place with a piece of plasterboard (which is fireproof) and seal with some fire cement. Not particularly pretty and you might have to pull it apart to have the chimney swept (and it probably breaks all sorts of regs) but it works.

Zoe

[Annpan]

Just watch out for the whole CO problem.... We got ours installed and it worked out at about 1600 for the stove and 400 for the fitting (including lining the flue) but it depends on many factors.

My local tree surgeon is planning on getting himself accredited so he can make a bit more cash... he was going to charge around £200 I think...

[MrDirtyBoots]

A wood burner is all we use to heat our house. They give out an incredible amount of heat. There is just no comparison to an open fire.


You will save masses of wood. I would definitely recommend one. You may be able to fit it yourself but it really depends on the configuration of the chimney as to how easy it will be to fit the pipe etc.

[Elizabeth]

Keep looking. I have a tiny little woodburning stove that has moved house with me several times. I think it was made by Esse. It's dead easy to install. Basically the flue pipe sticks out of the back. You shove it into the fire place and then seal up the fire place with a piece of plasterboard (which is fireproof) and seal with some fire cement. Not particularly pretty and you might have to pull it apart to have the chimney swept (and it probably breaks all sorts of regs) but it works.

Zoe

Is the chimney lined? I thought that was critical?

[shell]

we have a waterford stanley,erin its called,my brother and dh installed it,when we bought it the shop advised us to have a small door in the breast so we could open up and clean the chimney, bl88dy builder didn`t do this and we havnt got round to doing it yet,but a good idea to do,as it is it wouldnt be seen as we have a painting hanging there ,and it could only be taking out a block or 2 wouldn`t it?

[Annpan]

My clearview 650 has a removable back panel, it sits on top of the firebricks and you can remove the whole thing to get into the chimney....the fitters told me to take it out once a year give the pipe a tap and hoover out the soot and put it all back together.

In fact the top comes off of my stove too, and all the fire bricks come out, and the doors lift off and the plinth is just bolted on so it is actually really easy to clean out any part of it. I'd imagine all clearview stoves are the similar.

[The Waxbill]

I fitted one myself just last week. As everybody else has said it's a huge difference from an open fire. Far less fuel consumption and much more heat output, I'd highly recommend installing them to anyone and they are not too difficult to fit if you're a reasonably competent DIYer. They are looking for silly money to install them. Get one and go for it yourself.

Incidentally this is the 4th night since installing mine and there's still quite bad fumes coming from mine. I believe it's the paint curing ...or something...but how long will this last?

Ger.

[snapdragon]

///... they are not too difficult to fit if you're a reasonably competent DIYer. ///.

optimal phrase

[Annpan]

Incidentally this is the 4th night since installing mine and there's still quite bad fumes coming from mine. I believe it's the paint curing ...or something...but how long will this last?

Ger.

Have you got a stove thermometer? I was told by my fitters that the stove needs to be fired at 400 - 450F for around an hour for the paint to cure thoroughly just open the windows and stoke it up - this is preferable to having a few weeks of constant smell IMO... nut yes it will pass eventually.


HTH