log burner Vs. Open fire

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katy
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby katy » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:25 pm

Aidian, ours was built into an exisiting fireplace.

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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby oliveview01 » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:50 pm

katy wrote:I find it weird how you are always in your neighbours in all the posts :shock:

Not weird, our neighbours are elderly and have no family close by (brother and sister with no children) we keep an eye on them and take them shopping or anywhere they need to go. Don´t you get on with your neighbours then Katy? What a shame if you don´t, it is lovely having such friendly neighbours all about us. :D

If the neighbour hasn´t seen us about in the garden he pops down to see if we are alright just before it gets darks :lol:
Last edited by oliveview01 on Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.

oliveview01
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby oliveview01 » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:51 pm

hillybilly wrote:
katy wrote:I find it weird how you are always in your neighbours in all the posts :shock:
She sneaks in to sit by their fire when they go out :wink:

Saves me buying wood for our fire Hilly :D

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princess peach
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby princess peach » Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:08 am

I am finding this post quite interesting as we are looking into a fire being put in for next year(if we are still in spain..lol)
I must admit the open fires remind me of being at my grandmas and no matter how hard you try you always stink of smoke when they are on...I hate smells,and i find it a horrible stink on your clothes.
The log burner sounds a great choice,i like the "controlling of the temp",and shutting the door and being safe from spitting embers. :D
Not weird, our neighbours are elderly and have no family close by (brother and sister with no children) we keep an eye on them and take them shopping or anywhere they need to go
How lovely are you Olive.That is a really nice thing to do,im sure they appreciate you doing this for them,especially in this weather. :wink:

katy
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby katy » Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:25 am

An open fire doesn't smell if you keep the chimney maintained and the wood is ok. I do remember someones house smelling like kippers though. I would just like not to have any, can't beat putting a switch on auto :D

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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby oliveview01 » Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:49 am

We had dreadful trouble with the log burner smoking last winter, it was dreadful- we had a chimney that had 2 bends in it. We decided to get the chimney changed (luckily) the bend was chock a block full of soot, it was lucky we didn´t have a chimney fire or worse. Now we have a straight up chimney (and have bought chimney brushes) so no more smoking fire. :D
I do agree though it would be nice to have just a switch to turn on gas central heating

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country boy
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby country boy » Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:13 am

We have re-built our Cortijo over the past 8 years and consequently had the opportunity to put in central heating at the same time. I have to say that although we can heat the living area with the central heating we choose to use the wood burner ( which is free standing in the fire place but protrudes beyond the mantel piece ) both for economy and ambiance. We heat just the bedroom and master bathroom for warm dry towels etc.with the CH. Smokey chimney was cured by fitting a cowl!

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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby barry » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:59 pm

We use a log burner to heat the whole/hole 4 bedroom cave, the only incovenience being having to clean it out ourselves since the loss of our gardener/handyman due to the 'credit crunch'.
Barry.

katy
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby katy » Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:42 pm

Hey, watch for the sour grapes when you do your gardening. Swallow too many and you can't get rid of the bitter taste.

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country boy
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby country boy » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:01 pm

Anybody got a log burner with a back boiler?

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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby katy » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:14 pm

No, but I wish...all that heat wasted.

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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby crazydiamond » Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:46 pm

We have just been contemplating getting a log burner. Our open fire looks lovely but guzzles up wood, fills the room with smoke unless we leave a window open and only heats part of the rooom. Do log burners vary much or do you just pay more for better looking ones? We want one that is efficient but also looks attractive as we have a really nice fireplace which is the main focal point of the room.

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toddcl
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby toddcl » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:09 pm

We have a small free standing log burner with an oven on top. Fantastic stews and bread.
The flue goes through the upstairs bathroom and heats it up [no condensation].

What we have learnt is :

Store olive logs for at least six months or they give off a lot of tar that smells like kippers and also choke the flue up.

Buy your logs in March and April when the prunning is being done. it's cheaper and plenty to be had.

Save money in the long term buy using a stainless steel flue instad of the cheap tin or galvernised ones. they ony last a few years while a stailess one is for life and seems to collect less soot.

Always load the fire to max and keep it just slumbering day and night. you use less wood and always have a warm house.
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toddcl
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby toddcl » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:29 pm

Forgot to say. I offered to put central heating in but the 'Boss' says she loves the log burner. I must admit it stirs my hunter gatherer instinct and a few days with the chainsaw is great fun. there is nothing more rewarding than six tonne of fire wood cut and stacked.

One good tip I got from a Spanish friend is to spray pesticide on you wood store, or you may find you take some wood chomping bugs into you house and end up with no doors etc. :roll:
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby geegee » Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:03 pm

aidan wrote:Does the log-burner have to be unconcealed to get the benefit of the heat. I mean is it best to have it 'Free Standing', or do they work just as well set in an open fireplace?
It is definitely more efficient to have your log burner free-standing as it throws out the heat at the sides and top as well as through the pipe. Our pipe goes straight up through two upper floors before emerging on the roof, so acts like a giant radiator in the upper rooms. A friend has one in a chimney which does not throw out the heat nearly as much as ours but is probably still more efficient than an open fire.

Size and build quality also affect efficiency - I find our extra-large, heavy cast iron chamber generates much more heat and retains it for far longer than some of the smaller ones and it means you can bung on a beast of a log and leave it untended for hours/keep it in overnight so you wake to a cosy house.

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toddcl
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby toddcl » Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:17 pm

My friend has built a system of ducts that run to the bedrooms. A canopy above the stove has a slide door that he opens to alow the warm rising air to heat his bedrooms as required. Works a treat.
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country boy
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby country boy » Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:02 pm

crazydiamond wrote:We have just been contemplating getting a log burner. Our open fire looks lovely but guzzles up wood, fills the room with smoke unless we leave a window open and only heats part of the rooom. Do log burners vary much or do you just pay more for better looking ones? We want one that is efficient but also looks attractive as we have a really nice fireplace which is the main focal point of the room.
Cast Iron...costs more but is more durable and pokes out latent heat like a radiator, my favourites are Jotul from Norway, you get what you pay for with them...give 'em a Google :)

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Wicksey
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby Wicksey » Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:27 pm

country boy wrote:Cast Iron...costs more but is more durable and pokes out latent heat like a radiator,
I second that. Our current home has an 'insert' built in fire and I really don't like it as I feel much of the heat is going into the vast chimney breast and the rest up the chimney :? We had a Clearview woodburner that I don't think you can get here, but the heat it gave out was incredible and it held the heat for hours even though there may have only been a tiny ember left alight. If this was my house I would demolish the whole chimney breast and put in a nice little cast iron free-standing fire (with a flat top so I can put my mulled wine on it :lol: ).

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Tabby
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby Tabby » Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:43 pm

We are considering a log burner when we move to Caniles in the not too distant future.....unfortunately there is no chimney vent in any of the rooms, how do we go about creating a chimney vent?
The only fire we have is in the old andalucian kitchen, which gets a bit smoky. We want to heat the whole house from the front room, but it does not have a chimney vent or a hole for the smoke for want of a better word.
Tabby

K chameleon
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Re: log burner Vs. Open fire

Postby K chameleon » Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:17 pm

Easiest option is to put it against an outside wall, you can put a hole through that and have the chimney pipe up the outside wall.


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