Tip for those with an open fire to save fuel!

mardatha

Me too Luxor, my pal next door got badly burned aged 9 when her nightie went up as she stood in front of the fire. And I knew a couple of other girls it happened to as well.

RAS

I would say, get any wood burner or multi-fuel fire you can off freegle or e-bay, rather than an open fire, particulalry if you have children. You can also buy very basic ones that do not meet smokeless regs for under £200.

mardatha

I have a friend on another forum who wants to fit a woodburner type stove but is being put off by the rules and regulations. He has a newish house with a gas fire, and a flue , Asking if that would be easily converted to a chimney for the stove ? And how would he go about taing out the gas pipes etc? Does anybody know ?

meritaten

when I was a child we didnt have central heating, just fire grates in the living room and bedrooms.
oh how COLD that house could get! also in the living room you could sit in front of the fire and get first degree burns to your face but your back bum and feet would be freezing! to go into the kitchen and make a cuppa required you drawing the short straw! no fireplace in there! the front room only had a fire going at christmas as it wasnt really used other times of the year. the bedrooms I can remember going to bed and actually clearing ice off the inside of the window! the bed was piled high with blankets - and mum used to put at least two hot water bottles in (one for the feet and one which warmed the part your back went on - then when you got in you had a hottie for each foot!), but once you warmed up it was lovely! except when you had to pee! a quick run to bathroom, then an even quicker dash back to nice warm bed (unless you forgot to put the covers back! in which case the bed got like ice and you would have to get warm all over again).
even now I hate warm bedrooms! so will have a window open all night. but with modern duvets its easy to get warm and even I dont need a hottie bottle! a nice warm cat keeps feet warm anyway!

mardatha

I was the same, and I still hate heating in the bedroom... but I like my electric blanket

Rebeccakristy

Hi, we have an open fire which is lovely but costly. We only have night storage heating so the fire is needed most cold nights. Does antone know of ways to save money? Cheaper kindling, firelighters, wood or coal?

RAS

Well, try and find free wood is one way. We used to collect the trimmings from a small factory that made roof trusses. Lots of small trianglar bits.

However, most of the heat went up the chimney, so I would strongly advise getting some sort of stove and getting that fitted, as it will improve the amouint of heat you get for each burn. My DS had a large one fitted that cost £400 and it makes a good contribution to a very large house. Check www.freegle.org.uk or freecycle.

Pink.

Hi Rebeccakristy,

These previous threads may help you to cut costs:

Tip for those with an open fire to save fuel!

Laying a fire

Looking after the fire

Wood burning fire

OS firelighters

Making Paper Bricks

Pine Cones on the fire?

Cheap Fire Kindler wood

I'll add your thread to the first link once you've had more replies to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

chella71

My dad helps me by getting chopped wood from his local golf course!! The green keepers etc have to manage their woodland etc and let dad have some of the wood for free, he is a member there but they do seem to have alot of surplus wood, don't know if you have a course nearby?
We have a multi fuel burner and as the previous poster says there is an option on ours to shut off the heat going up the chimney so its toasty in here most evenings :j it also means we can burn alot of stuff in it! Also with the stoves you have the option of turning the air off which means that your fuel will burn alot slower and therefore last longer, our stove has been a godsend and has saved us a fortune on our gas and electricity, it has easily paid for itself already and we are only on our third winter with it We also used a coal company this year that offered discounts if you bought 20 bags and free delivery will look up the name for you if needed but I understand that the initial larger outlay is not always what people can afford.
And lastly as previous poster suggested a few walks in the woods often means you can get hold of a bit of kindling that has fallen or the occasional log.
Chella x

2009ismyyear

We've always had an open fire at houses (all through my childhood too) and have NEVER bought any fuel. Always collected firewood - ask around there'll always be people who are chopping down trees, having woodwork done, find a local carpenter/plumber/builder - they all come across scrap wood (usually for kindling) and are often glad not to have to take it to the tip!!
:money: