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Original poster

Open fire v wood burner Cast your votes now.

73 replies

NaturalBlondeYeahRight · 06/11/2013 20:53

I have a beautiful inglenook fireplace. Its part of the reason I bought the place, if you stand in it and look up you can see the sky. Fully lit with 5 logs it gives out as much heat as a large candle only just exaggerating
My friend has a good woodburner in hers, it doesn't look quite so lovely but my goodness the whole house is warmed by it without CH on (thinks of oil savings)

Help. What should I do??

OP posts:
WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 07/11/2013 18:22

Another multi-fuel burner vote, one of the best things we have ever bought

wonkylegs · 07/11/2013 18:23

For efficiency and practicality - logburner.
For character - open fire.
We've got open fires but they are the Victorian variety and have dampers to reduce the drafts. We only use them as supplementary to our gas central heating so their efficiency isn't such an issue.
I think as romantic as your Inglenook is, realistically in the dead of winter I'd be looking at a log burner.

Geckos48 · 07/11/2013 18:24

Get an inset stove, the look of an open fire with the heat of a wood burner.

smellycoat · 08/11/2013 00:05

About 9 years ago I had the same predicament and went for a multifuel clearview stove. I have never regretted it, amd love being warm, even hot, on cold and stormy nights. It is much safer too.

Geckos48 · 08/11/2013 07:50

An inset is a clearview built into the chimney breast, so you can see the flames but don't have the box in the room.

Fishandjam · 08/11/2013 08:01

Another vote for woodburners here. We have a double ended one which extends between the sitting room and dining room, and it gets the place toasty warm. It's multifuel so can burn coal too, though we find it's better on just wood. (Though it can belt through wood very quickly, especially if we forget to close the vents!) It's also very pretty.

In our old house we had an open grate fire which wasn't anything like as efficient.

Alwayscheerful · 08/11/2013 08:11

Another wood burning stove vote, far more efficient than an open fire and I would only buy a Clearview.

onedogandababy · 08/11/2013 08:41

Woodburner/multi fuel stove - safer, cleaner, way more efficient.

I also have a Clearview and love it!
It's very controllable - I lit it around 3pm yesterday and had it going til about 10, think we put in around 6-7 logs and it was burning at 400-500f.

Sunnyshores · 09/11/2013 15:59

logburner...but the £7k you'll spend fitting it c9uld be used for logs on the open fire

Geckos48 · 09/11/2013 16:07

7k?? We got our inset with liner put in for 2.3k all in.

We've saved around 500 of that already in not paying for gas to heat the house.

seventiesgirl · 09/11/2013 16:21

Log burner. Open fires just waste heat, cause more dust etc

Original poster
NaturalBlondeYeahRight · 09/11/2013 16:25

Seven thousand?? Is it made of gold? Grin

I think we have a clear winner, know just have to convince DH.

OP posts:
Littlefish · 09/11/2013 16:31

We paid about 2.5k for 2 woodburners including chimney lining and the cost of a cherry picker to install them because our house is 3 storeys high.

Geckos48 · 09/11/2013 16:37

Get a clear view or an inset so you can see the flames

lolalotta · 09/11/2013 18:28

Another vote for the clearview pioneer here!!Grin

Talkinpeace · 09/11/2013 20:34

woodburner
get one with a BIG window so you can watch the flames

  • safer : you can dash out of the room without worrying about fire guards and can leave it burning over night
  • more efficient : by a long way
  • no open chimney to the room
  • no smoke in the room

we "acquire" most of our wood
make friends with your local furniture repairer or staircase carpenters or sawmill ....

Talkinpeace · 09/11/2013 20:35

ps ours is an Aarrow Ecoburn and cost £2k including fitting, lining the chimney and building the hearth

VerySmallSqueak · 09/11/2013 20:37

We had Morso woodburners in our old house.They were a thing of beauty.
Now we have an open fire and I would have a woodburner again like a shot if we could afford to install one.

Talkinpeace · 09/11/2013 20:39

we bought Aarrow because we could not afford Morso !

Chlorinella · 09/11/2013 20:40

We have a Charnwood multi fuel burner ( defra approved )
Chucking out the heat very nicely thankyou .

We've taken out the multi fuel grate and just burn logs

Cost about £2 k for the stove , flue , certificate and fitting

peggyblackett · 09/11/2013 20:41

Wood burner!

VerySmallSqueak · 09/11/2013 20:42

Yes,Talkin they were certainly not cheap!

Liara · 09/11/2013 20:44

I have a wonderful contraption which is both. It's called a Polyflam, it's basically a stove which you build into your chimney. You can build a fire on top, which looks like an open fire, but due to air circulation is more efficient.

Then when you are ready to go to bed, you open a trap and drop the fire in, and it functions like a log burning stove. When you come down in the morning you still have embers in it, if you stock it up a bit you can keep it going and warming the house all day, then in the evening you can build another open fire on top.

I'm in France, though, don't know if you can get it in the UK.

MissBeehiving · 09/11/2013 20:46

I have two Handol/Contura stoves - one of which is in an inglenook -they are brilliant. Open fires make the house dirty and are inefficient.

charleybarley · 09/11/2013 20:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.