Using open fire in lounge for heating - what do I need to buy?

Magentasue

Hmm, loved our open fire although I have to say we used it as an addition to central heating and for looks as much as warmth. Did think it gave out heat, though. Coal more so than wood.

Favourite time was dull rainy days when it wasn't cold enough for the central heating.

Igol

Poppycat, sounds more like the old bedroom coal fire than a living room one. Got one here next to me in the back bedroom, you can stick about 5 books on it if you use it as a shelf but its tiny compared to the 16" living room one I used to have. That pumped out plenty of heat, couldnt sit right in front of it some days. It was nowhere near as efficient as the woodburner I now have but its output would have eclipsed any gas fire.

You are right though, coal fires are filthy and sweeping the chimney twice a year would generally produce 1 1/2 - 2 bin bags of soot. The stove half a bin bag full and only swept it once - god how I hate that job.

scope

Although ours is open gas, its a waste of money and hardly produced any heat when we used it. We have now stuffed a pillow up the chimney to stop the draft and keep the warmth in.

Poppycat

Nope its a proper fire and its in the living room. We tried all sorts to get it to pump any heat we had on some occasions smoke in living room. They are romantic, but mucky and inefficient.

Compare that to a stove and they are the opposite, although the costs can be a put off

Igol wrote: »

Poppycat, sounds more like the old bedroom coal fire than a living room one. Got one here next to me in the back bedroom, you can stick about 5 books on it if you use it as a shelf but its tiny compared to the 16" living room one I used to have. That pumped out plenty of heat, couldnt sit right in front of it some days. It was nowhere near as efficient as the woodburner I now have but its output would have eclipsed any gas fire.

You are right though, coal fires are filthy and sweeping the chimney twice a year would generally produce 1 1/2 - 2 bin bags of soot. The stove half a bin bag full and only swept it once - god how I hate that job.

TBeckett100

Scubabe wrote: »

Hi all,

Been looking on some fireplace accessory websites tonight, we've just moved to a house with an open fire in the lounge and I want to get myself all sorted - never had a fireplace before! Looking forward to the cosy winter evenings with a glass of red wine and a crackling fire

We know we need to have the chimney swept, I'm calling a few places next week for prices and to arrange someone to come and do it for us.

Now I need to think about accessories, can anyone tell me what I need?
I'm thinking : fire guard (we have labradors, including a young puppy, so this is very important), a set of fireplace tools (you know, the pokers and things).
Unsure what else I need...
- a grate - is this the bit the logs sit on?
- an ashpan - I take it this sits under the grate and collects the ash so it's easy to chuck after the fire has gone out?
- a fret - what is one of these and why would I need it?
- fire dogs - what on earth are these and what are they used for?

Can anyone suggest a good place in the Reading/Oxford/Swindon area to buy this stuff from, or a good online retailer? I do need to buy budget items, got a few big bills this month so certainly not looking to splurge... £80 absolute max for everything.

Any/all advice gratefully received, bit of a fireplace newbie here!!!

I am "selling" a fireplace basket. If you PM me with your email address, I will take a picture and some measurements.

We are selling stuff as the new woodburner has arrived. I live in West Berks and pass by the Reading every day.

A._Badger

Don't write-off open fires. Having grown up with them and having recently moved from a house with a small but powerful open fire, I can assure you that a properly designed one can throw out an enormous amount of heat.

Similarly, though stoves can be good (I've got one in my new home and another in a holiday home I own) they are by no means perfect. They can be slow to heat-up and with the doors closed you lack the wonderful radiant heat you get from a well-used open fire.

In my previous house, built in 1923, a relatively tiny grate produced so much heat from its small fire that I regularly used to turn off the central heating - and it would still roast me out of a large living room during Autumn and Spring.

The key there is the year the house was built. By the 1920s just about everything that needed to be known about how to draught an open fire had been worked out. Since then, much of that knowledge has been lost. The secret is in the shape of the flu, the design of the basket and, most of all, in the chimney. Get that wrong and the draughting problems lead to poor burnng and excessive smoke.

It is proably true that stoves are more efficient, but my experience suggests to me that the theoretical advantages do not always transate to reality. Stoves are fine, I love mine. But a good open fire takes a hell of a lot of beating!

Scubabe

TBeckett100 wrote: »

I am "selling" a fireplace basket. If you PM me with your email address, I will take a picture and some measurements.

We are selling stuff as the new woodburner has arrived. I live in West Berks and pass by the Reading every day.

Thanks so much for letting me know! PM duly sent!

Kaz2904

I have to say that I love my open fire. I only had it fitted on 19th September & we've not used it many times yet. Before it was there we had a 1930's monstrosity. We used to get a terrible draft but now we have a soot flap so we don't get too many drafts. We lit it last week and only used 1 carrier bag of wood. The whole downstairs heated up to 21 degrees.
Last year I bought a paper brick maker and had mixed success with it. Mainly because I couldn't wait for them to dry out properly!

Lass

To answer your question about firedogs - they're ornamental items with a bar extending from the back of the 'dog' - each dog sits at one side of the fireplace and the grate sits across the bars. They come in all shapes and sizes, just have a look on the net, there are lots out there.

kez1234

i wouldn't change mine i love it