Bio ethanol fire recommendations/experience

[HermioneKipper]

Does anyone have a bio ethanol fire in a wood burner style.

we’re looking at getting one and there don’t seem to be many reviews on how much heat they kick out/if they’re realistic etc.

this is the one we’re thinking of getting.

www.imaginfires.co.uk/ledbury-black-bioethanol-fireplace-1

Does anyone have any personal recommendations or pictures of their ones?

I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts too @HermioneKipper as we're also considering getting one.

We already have two real wood burners (one is a multifuel but we only burn wood as we have a free supply on our land), but need something to give an extra boost at one end of a large room where the wood burner is at the opposite end.

My own observations from the little research I've done is that a bio ethanol stove would be fine as a secondary source of heat or in a small room because they only seem to give out an average of 2-3kw (or at least the ones I've looked at do). Our existing stoves are 7kw and 9kw and with the 7kw one (a recently fitted Charnwood) you need to be sitting fairly close to feel really hot, whereas the 9kw (a Dovre Vintage, also recently installed) gets our large kitchen almost too hot!

Imho, the bio ethanol stoves (unless there's a hotter one out there I've not discovered) are going to be more like the Aarow electric 'wood burner' we used to have - ie looks pretty but no heating benefit.

I had just a little one in a fireplace where I didn't trust the chimney for a real fire (rented).

It was largely ornamental - burner was about a foot wide, 3 inches across - looked lovely, did almost nothing to warm the room.

i'm interest in this

This is from Stove Hunters, it's a French Godin cast iron stove that's been converted to run on bioethanol.

Highly recommended to add a bit of warmth (and it's really pretty), wouldn't be enough as the single source of heat.

That is very pretty @boathouse20 . Is there a smell with bio ethanol?

Thanks Katie - and yes, there was a smell at first, but either it was something burning off the new bioethanol box, or I just don't notice it any more!

We've just had the Howarth from imagine fires. I love it, looks great.
We did mainly buy it for the look rather than heat. It does get our small living room warm and feels cosy but warmth wise, not comparable to the real thing.

Also should mention, their customer service was fab so would recommend them if you're getting one.

You can get scented bioethanol, pine and Christmas's maybe more. Didn't like either personally. We have a stove (not like a log burner) and agree only good as secondary heat or in a small enclosed room. We've just started putting the fan from our log burner on it and that has helped to distribute the heat. The fuel is cheaper on amazon than from the stove manufacturer.

OP, you may be interested in reading more about the environmental impact of ethanol production and use. There is a lot of debate as to whether ethanol is more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. Some studies suggest it is in fact much worse.

www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-ethanol-worse-climate-than-gasoline-study-finds-2022-02-14/

I’ve been thinking about getting one of these as well, mainly for the visual appeal and a bit of extra heat. I’ve read that bioethanol stoves aren’t super powerful compared to traditional log burners, but they could be a nice option for a secondary heat source in a smaller room or to add a bit of ambiance to an open space.

Does anyone have one in a larger room? I’m concerned that it might not provide enough warmth for a big space like our living room. Also, @featheryfancy, I’m glad to hear you’re happy with the Howarth from Imagine Fires! Do you find it effective at all for helping with the chill, or is it more of an aesthetic piece for you?

I was also looking at Chama Design for some options, they have some stylish models that might be worth considering too!