Advantages / disadvantages of turning off the gas and heating the home by open fire?

QTC

Rabiddog wrote: »

.In london you need to have attended an open fire safety awareness class before you are allowed to have a coal fire.

PLEASE tell me you are joking!!

Stoves are the way to go, though. As people have said, you get 80% of the fuel's heat with a stove, whereas it's only 10-20% with an open fire. Also, an open fire draws an awful lot of air out of the house, which is replaced by cold air from outside. In some circumstances, an open fire can actually make a house colder.

Cardew

Rabiddog wrote: »

In london you need to have attended an open fire safety awareness class before you are allowed to have a coal fire.

I passed the Boy Scouts firelighter test(2nd class) and had a badge to prove it, so am I exempt?

Also my Gran showed me how to hold a newspaper over the fire to get it to draw properly, the paper only used to catch fire occasionally.

Tigerpants

We had oil fired central heating at our last house and it was so expensive. We ended up putting it on for about an hour in the evening just before the kids went to bed to heat their rooms. We had a wood burner in the lounge and it threw the heat out. The logs lasted really well too.

Take advice from your sweep as to the best way to run the fire too as when we first moved in we cleaned the burner out completely each time and apparantly logs burn better on a bed of ash - go figure!!

I wish we had open fires here as they are just lovely in the winter and in our experience a lot more economical too.

elsien

I have an open fire, but I have to admit to using it in conjunction with the central heating, as it's in the coldest room in the house. I find it useful when the rest of the house is warm enough, and I don't want to zap up the thermostat.
I'm a wimp, and have bad memories of staying at my grandparents house with no central heating, and the ice on the inside of the bedroom window when we got up. We used to wait for my nan to get up and relay the fire each morning, so it was warm enough to get dressed. I wouldn't go back to that again unless I was really strapped for cash - the rest of the house was freezing.
You also need to be ultra cautious with fireguards - I had some unseasoned wood that spat everywhere and nearly set my rug on fire, even with a guard in place. It's also no fun having to go out in the snow because you forgot to bring enough fuel in while it was still light enough to see.:mad: I don't want to put you off, because I wouldn't be without my fire, but they are messy, ( coal dust all over the tv and windows), frustrating when they won't light, and take a bit of planning ahead.

A._Badger

Rabiddog wrote: »

I used to live in a house with a coal fire and an unexpeted benefit is that its great for people with asthma.. possibly because there is constantly refreshed air. Agree it can be hard work, but is much nicer than a gas fire. Also more dangerous, check with your home insurance that you are allowed to have a coal fire.In london you need to have attended an open fire safety awareness class before you are allowed to have a coal fire.

Whoever told you that was pulling your leg.