Open fire or wood burner

savemoney

Oh I do, have two chimneys. One open fire unused and another multi stove Santa still comes

Cardew wrote: »

All these advocates of wood burners replacing open fires have no consideration for Santa Claus.

lynne1307

definately wood burner. i am so happy we switched from open fire. very safe, small burner heats our living space and uses little fuel. an evening maybe 8/10 small 6" logs.
do not regret the initial outlay at all. must get chimney lined i think due to potential of escaping gases.
enjoy

A._Badger

Lots of sensible commentary there but I would add one thought. I'm not prejudiced against stoves - I've had several in the past and have one now - but I am not 100 per cent convinced by the theoretical arguments about their vastly greater efficiency.

I don't deny that stoves are generally more efficient than open fires but they vary greatly, one stove from another and one installation from another - and an open fire, in my experience, can produce a heck of a lot of heat from a small grate, without needing much fuss and bother to get going or maintain.

An open fire also has aesthetic advantages such as the smell, sound and 'presence' of flames in a grate, which you lose with a stove.

Finally, do your sums very carefully. Ten to one you will be sold a liner (and I agree with Robwiz - it's sometimes a lucrative upsell) and then you will be charged a handsome price for the installation of what has become a fashion 'must have' for 'lifestyle' magazine readers - with all that implies for prices!

Add those costs to those of the stove itself and then work back to see how long you would have to suffer the relative inefficiency of an open fire to break even.

Stoves can be fantastic to live with, but a dose of reality is always good medicine!

MGolden

Cardew wrote: »

All these advocates of wood burners replacing open fires have no consideration for Santa Claus.

The wood burner won't mean getting rid of the chimney so Santa will be fine. On an unrelated note we did have a chimney breast removed about 13 years ago and our then 3yo was distraught. Our builder took him into the garden and showed that there was still a chimney stack so Santa could still get in. Huge relief all round!

MGolden

Thanks again all, to be honest I think we're a bit ambivalent. The stoves we've looked at have glass doors so we will still be able to see the flame, one of the real bonuses of a real fire. It seems that having a stove rather than just replacing the fireplace will cost about £1000 more so we do have to be sure it's what we want to go for.

Swipe

There's also the added advantage with a stove of leaving the house while it's lit. I'd never do that with an open fire, no matter how good the fire guard.

Tonjaren

I usually start our open fire fresh each day, but at weekends, if I'm lucky, it can still be hot enough to keep going in the morning.

I bank it up with smokeless fuel if I'm going out....it doesn't spit and fits together in the grate really well, so not likely to fall and no flames.

Of course I put a guard in front....even if I leave the room.

If I'm in I burn coal and logs.....can't beat the smell of wood smoke, the crackling of the logs burning and the sight of the flames......so what if some heat goes up the chimney? It makes our bedroom above lovely and warm! :j

SG27

Tonjaren wrote: »

I usually start our open fire fresh each day, but at weekends, if I'm lucky, it can still be hot enough to keep going in the morning.

I bank it up with smokeless fuel if I'm going out....it doesn't spit and fits together in the grate really well, so not likely to fall and no flames.

Of course I put a guard in front....even if I leave the room.

If I'm in I burn coal and logs.....can't beat the smell of wood smoke, the crackling of the logs burning and the sight of the flames......so what if some heat goes up the chimney? It makes our bedroom above lovely and warm! :j

Sounds great! My stove unfortunatly doesn't have glass doors so every no and then I like to have the doors open and have an open fire.

SG27

Cardew wrote: »

All these advocates of wood burners replacing open fires have no consideration for Santa Claus.

You just have to leave for the doors open and santa can get down fine!

EssexExile

Having been brought up in an age when an open fire was the only source of heat, I wouldn't have either. Oh the luxury of central heating! I've got gas fires if I need instant heat.