Glass fronted gas fire or open?

jem16

I'm about to replace my fireplace and gas fire. The gas fire currently there is an open living flame fire.

I have looked at the glass fronted living flame fires which are obviously more efficient. However I'm not sure I like the look of it quite so much. I'm also a little unsure of how dirty the glass may become through use.

This is a fire that's not used often and is probably more for looks than efficiency.

Looking at the Paragon 2000 Plus or the Paragon Focus HE.

Any help in making a choice would be appreciated.

cattie

In my last home I opted for a glass fronted fire, it being the most efficient on the market & I didn't want to be paying for heat that just disappeared up the chimney.

To me the glass front wasn't that obvious. As a chilly mortal, I used my fire quite a lot, especially when it was a bit nippy, but not cold enough to warrant putting the central heating on. Even with frequent use I didn't find that the glass got particularly dirty. I had the fire checked & serviced each year by the Gas Safe man who installed it & he'd clean the glass as a matter of course & really on average a once a year clean was sufficient I found. The glass of my fire was pretty easy to remove for cleaning, so it wasn't a hardship for me to have to clean it myself if I felt it needed it in between being serviced & checked.

I'm not able to have a gas fire in the living room of my current home, but I'd definitely go for one of the glass fronted high efficiency ones should I ever move from here.

jem16

cattie wrote: »

To me the glass front wasn't that obvious. As a chilly mortal, I used my fire quite a lot, especially when it was a bit nippy, but not cold enough to warrant putting the central heating on.

For me the glass front takes away from the natural look of a living flame. This is in a lounge which is rarely used and so the fire is very rarely used and would never be on without the central heating unless the heating broke down.

Having the flame behind the glass just doesn't give the same look for me which is why I'm swithering.

Even with frequent use I didn't find that the glass got particularly dirty. I had the fire checked & serviced each year by the Gas Safe man who installed it & he'd clean the glass as a matter of course & really on average a once a year clean was sufficient I found.

That's at least good. My memory goes back to a Rayban coal fire behind glass that my parents had many years ago. The glass front panels always got very dirty. They were easy to clean as far as the whole front opened but they never looked as good as when it was new. This is probably putting me off too.

nearlyrich

We have a glass fronted coal effect model which is almost 10 years old it still looks good and it gets very hot very quickly in a big room.
It looks like this below but it has coals rather than the white gravel
it is from the same range
http://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/inset-gas-fires/designio-2/

jem16

nearlyrich wrote: »

It looks like this below but it has coals rather than the white gravel
it is from the same range
http://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/inset-gas-fires/designio-2/

The hole-in-the-wall type? If so yes glass fronted seems sensible.

The fire I'm looking at would be in a fireplace and would be like the ones at the beginning of this gallery.

http://www.charltonandjenrick.co.uk/brands/paragon/gallery/paragon-fires/

Some are the 2000 and some are the HE models.

jellie

I changed to glass fronted from open about 18 months ago. Much prefer it and I don't find the glass gets dirty. It heats the room very quickly.

rustyboy21

I sell fires for a living, and if it was me choosing a fire in my room, I would choose an open fronted gas fire.

My reasoning behind it is, that you have no glass to affect the flame, you get a lot of radiant heat from the open flames, whereas with a glass fronted one, you get mostly convected heat instead. If you are the type who likes to come into a room on a cold day and warm the back of your legs until they are toasty, get an open fronted one, if you dont then choose either.

Both will warm your room equally as well and the real difference in gas consumption is not that much, around 1.5kw extra with open fronted.

Glass fronted fires are good, but you have to ensure you choose the right brand. Some have loose coals in them, which if they move against the glass, will scorch it and be a devil to get clean. If your room is generally warm and this is for added heat, then a glass fronted fire doesnt need much cleaning. It is when the room is cold, you light it and condensation forms on the inside of the glass. Anything which affects the flames, like a moved coal will create soot and then mix with condensation to create tar, which is a mare to get off.

I am biased, I love Valor fires and that is because they are well made. Their glass fronted ones are called homeflame range and they have a rigid set of coals, so no issues with the glass, they also have the queens award for innovation for its design. One like this

http://www.valor.co.uk/product_details/0596102.htm?ref=/catalogue/Valor-Centre/index.htm

If you want open fronted, the best fire on the market, which most other manufacturers also agree with is this one...

http://www.valor.co.uk/product_details/0505561.htm?ref=/catalogue/Valor-Centre/index.htm It has been around for over 25 years and they havent changed its design in that time, because it looks like a real coal fire and is damn hot !

jem16

rustyboy21 wrote: »

My reasoning behind it is, that you have no glass to affect the flame, you get a lot of radiant heat from the open flames, whereas with a glass fronted one, you get mostly convected heat instead. If you are the type who likes to come into a room on a cold day and warm the back of your legs until they are toasty, get an open fronted one, if you dont then choose either.

I think if I use the fire it's more for the reason of getting toasty on a cold day so that's a very helpful way of deciding what's best.

Both will warm your room equally as well and the real difference in gas consumption is not that much, around 1.5kw extra with open fronted.

That's good to know.

Glass fronted fires are good, but you have to ensure you choose the right brand. Some have loose coals in them, which if they move against the glass, will scorch it and be a devil to get clean. If your room is generally warm and this is for added heat, then a glass fronted fire doesnt need much cleaning. It is when the room is cold, you light it and condensation forms on the inside of the glass. Anything which affects the flames, like a moved coal will create soot and then mix with condensation to create tar, which is a mare to get off.

The room is not used as often now so the radiators tend to be off or low. Using the fire as quick heat from cold may well be more normal although if I knew I was going to use the room I'd put the radiators on beforehand. So probably a mix of use.

I am biased, I love Valor fires and that is because they are well made. Their glass fronted ones are called homeflame range and they have a rigid set of coals, so no issues with the glass, they also have the queens award for innovation for its design. One like this

http://www.valor.co.uk/product_details/0596102.htm?ref=/catalogue/Valor-Centre/index.htm

If you want open fronted, the best fire on the market, which most other manufacturers also agree with is this one...

http://www.valor.co.uk/product_details/0505561.htm?ref=/catalogue/Valor-Centre/index.htm It has been around for over 25 years and they havent changed its design in that time, because it looks like a real coal fire and is damn hot !

Would you recommend Valor over Paragon then? I believe the company I'm looking to use is a Valor stockist according to the Valor website so I may well go in and ask for a price for that fire with a remote rather than manual.

It seemed to be the Paragon range they were offering without mentioning any other.

rustyboy21

I dont deal with Paragon myself, they are ok, it is only that the dealer will have a direct account with C&J ( the manufacturer) so the Paragon fires will cost them less to buy than a Valor one, as they have to buy them through their wholesale network instead.

I have dealt with Matchless which is a sister co to Paragon in the past and whilst the fires were ok, the after sales was horrendous ( My personal experience, although a lot of retailers complain about it too ). For a retailer to have to take the blame for something that is not their fault as the co refuses to come out to fix a fire is not on. Not every fault is Installer error, especially when it is a damaged trim on a fire! That is my experience with them. I have to be careful what I say, as they do actually post on here and I have had a run in with them a few years ago over some of their claims they make.

Valor has been around for over 100 years, is the Brand leader, is now owned by GDC who are Glen Dimplex. Most of the fires are now built in the UK and Ireland. The airflame has to be seen to be believed, it is absolutely toasting when it is switched on, only rated at 4kw, it feels a hell of a lot hotter than some fires which are rated nearer 5kw and the glow is amazing. It will be dearer than the Paragon, but the whole fire is a better one, Hopefully you will see the difference in the flesh, but you have to see it live in the showroom, it doesnt look any different when it is switched off. The burner technology is unique to it and is a large ceramic burner instead of a steel toliet roll type burner used by everyone else. This creates amazing flames, a brilliant glow and a lot of hot. The burner gets to 1200 deg c compared to 650 on a steel burner. Bit technical, but it does make a difference.

See if you can find a valor retailer with one live on display and you will see what i mean.


In your situation you have a choice of either type of fire. If it was different and you needed a sole source of heat in that room constantly, I would be saying Glass fronted as it would work out a bit cheaper to run. As it is a room you dont use 24/7 you can go for either.

Hope this helps

jem16

rustyboy21 wrote: »

Valor has been around for over 100 years, is the Brand leader, is now owned by GDC who are Glen Dimplex. Most of the fires are now built in the UK and Ireland. The airflame has to be seen to be believed, it is absolutely toasting when it is switched on, only rated at 4kw, it feels a hell of a lot hotter than some fires which are rated nearer 5kw and the glow is amazing. It will be dearer than the Paragon, but the whole fire is a better one, Hopefully you will see the difference in the flesh, but you have to see it live in the showroom, it doesnt look any different when it is switched off. The burner technology is unique to it and is a large ceramic burner instead of a steel toliet roll type burner used by everyone else. This creates amazing flames, a brilliant glow and a lot of hot. The burner gets to 1200 deg c compared to 650 on a steel burner. Bit technical, but it does make a difference.

See if you can find a valor retailer with one live on display and you will see what i mean.

Thanks you very much. That information was very helpful.

I shall try to see if I can see the Valor Fire somewhere and get a price as well.

matty17r

We had an open flame valor gas fire last year but after 12 years gave up the ghost and we couldn't get the parts for it. We have replaced it with a kinder revolution balance flue gas fire. This is glass fronted and to us is just as pleasing as the open flame one which used to have and at 94pc efficient much cheaper to run. Quite expensive though! Our large lounge really heats up quickly and it is very cosy!