new all night burner grate, what is it?

spinningsheep

Hi, I have really dropped on and won a fantastic all night burner grate for my fire on ebay, and only paid £5! Its in A1 condition and slotted into my fireplace with ease and required no fitting at all,which is exactly what I wanted. Can anyone identify what make it is etc? I cannot see any markings on it, but it looks remarkably like the parkray paragon fire

link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330327549317

Any ideas? Thanks, also if anyone has a similar fire can you give me any tips on operation, getting it to burn all night etc?

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello,

Your fire grate looks similar to a Dunsley Firefly.
Would probably be classed as a 16".

Although you say it's slotted in without any need for fixing, it may be better to secure, as it will add to the stability.

To keep mine in all night, I let the fire die down late evening, then bank the fire up with plenty of coal. I then cover with either slack or cold ash.
I keep a metal bucket outside for then hot ash to be emptied into. When cold, I save a little to use at night, and the rest can go in the bin.
Close the air flow down by moving the bar to the left.

Don't allow the ash pan to get too full, as the heat from this can reduce the life of your fire grate.

Regards

Munchie

spinningsheep

Cheers munch, looked at the firefly and although its similar its not quite that, but the ashpan and grate look the same so maybe its a Dunsley something! I cant secure it to the hearth as its a rented property so dont want to damage the tiles, but the whole thing is 100% secure, its going nowhere! Thanks for the tips, what fuel do you burn overnight? Im using a mix of Blaze, ancit and petcoke and I banked it up last night and when I came down 7 hours later, there was a few coals still in but majority had burnt away.

munchings-n-crunchings

It's really trial and error finding out works works for your fireplace.

I find the covering of slack or ash really slows the burn down, as it reduces the oxygen that the fire needs. I find slack gives a better insulation, especially when it's damp and you can purchases from a coal merchant, ash is not quite as good, but free.
I just burn regular house coal, and buy a mix of 2 different sizes. The smaller pieces burn quicker, but are cheaper, so I try and get a happy medium.

My chimney sweep identified my fire grate. If you have a traditional sweep in your area, it may be worth a phone call, they must have seen every grate.

If you burn coal, you should have your chimney swept once a year, if you burn wood, the every 6 months.

Munchie

spinningsheep

Cheers, yeh im due a sweep anytime now as we've been burning scrap wood and logs over the winter