Stove to suit Victorian fireplace

Monbretia said:
So you do mean the fire logs like the manufactured type? I meant logs of actual timber, I bulk buy them and I know most of them would not have fit in the smaller stoves I looked at. Will have to go out and research again I'd say.
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No, you can get logs cut in sizes of 20cm, 25cm and 30cm, but most bags will come sized 25cm.
Manufactured wood based briquettes can be any size - the "pinikette" and willow warm types are around 20cm, whereas the ones
Monbretia said:
So you do mean the fire logs like the manufactured type? I meant logs of actual timber, I bulk buy them and I know most of them would not have fit in the smaller stoves I looked at. Will have to go out and research again I'd say.
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No I mean cut logs - most just sell in a standard length of 25cm - I can get about 4 of these stacked into my stove. Some places will also optionally cut to 30cm or 20cm. 20cm is fine but wastes space and 30cm if just too big.

As for manufactured briquettes, RUF birch briquettes are the small but messy, pinikette types are under 20cm, as as the willow warm you see in shops everywhere (4 for 25 euro in woodies - good deal). There's also longer ones you'll see sold in Lidl, as "e-briquettes" by Rathwood, and others - these are around 30cm in length, but they are not densely packed so you can break them in two.
 
Thanks for info, I'm not going to buy the manufactured briquettes/logs type. I'm in a small town, there is very random different size logs in the bags of wood I buy, there isn't going to be an option of specifying a size I'd like, these don't seem to be standard but none would be huge as such.

I might have a look into it again later in spring, limited options around too for one stop shop types, one was the expensive quote I got, another wouldn't even come give a quote unless I paid for €150 for a camera down the chimney inspection first and the third I don't really deal with There is just one other that I didn't try as I was told they were the most expensive, maybe I'll have to give them a go!
 
I might offer an alternative, cheaper, solution
My mother had a gas inset stove which was on the way out. She also could no longer bend down to turn it on or off, so we were looking at a remote controlled replacement. This was also in an old victorian fireplace.
Quotes were coming back in the region of €3000, just for the stove, the chimney was already lined.

So we went shopping and finally settled on a plug-in 2kwat electric stove that she is delighted with. It was on special offer for €200 and looks better than the gas stove in place. The fire effect is pretty good, in fact it looks better in real life than the photos, theres a rolling ember effect under the logs as well as a flame effect above them. The fact that she has a remote control, and can actually turn on the effect without the heat is great for summer nights. There is a built in fan heater with two settings and a thermostat hidden underneath it.


And the difference in price buys a lot of electricity!

It may not be "authentic" but I'd suggest it can't hurt to have a look.
 
A good option for when lighting it is no longer easy!

We picked up the remote gas stove for my father on done deal for 500 euro, it was an excellent purchase at the time, great heat out of it and light enough on gas considering it was on all day during the colder months. I actually have a gas pipe capped off beside my fireplace so I think I would put in one eventually if needs be and I'd nearly prefer to spend the money on that than the solid fuel one if gas had not become so expensive. Not a huge fan of electric effect fires and I have a quite nice lamp effect thingy with flickering flame effect that I stick in the fireplace for the summer. It nearly satisfies the liking for a fire in the grate!
 
The mother actually has one of the older 2kw heaters - the older types really do look like the real think & it costs literally nothing to simply turn on the light. they are nice for cosmetic use.

But - 2kw costs 60c per hour. I tried using electric heating before I had the stove fitted - in 14 weeks I consumed over 1400kw overall when typical use would have been 750kw, and that included me supplementing with portable gas & a biofuel burner which cost over 600 euro. 650kw to partially heat the house at least years rate added more than 280 euro to my bill.
This year I've bulk bought around 800kg of wood at a cost of around 500, that's heated my home from Sept comfortably to now using the stove, & I have enough left to do me til end of spring, while my electric bills are down by nearly half compared to Nov-Feb for the previous year. Take from that what you will.
 
I agree, electric might make a pretty ok focal point to look at but not as a heating source these days!
 
Monbretia said:
I agree, electric might make a pretty ok focal point to look at but not as a heating source these days!
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If you have central heating the electric stove will be fine - a nice little top up of heat now and then but the ambience of a fire without the mess. But electric heating is awful as a substitute for gas or oil central heating.
 
Just to clarify in my mothers case. She has gas heating. The stove would be akin to a little electric oil-filled rad, or a small electric fan heater. Just used to supplement the heating occasionally, but much nicer to look at.
I agree, it shouldn't be used as a main heat source (It even says so on the box/manual - only to be used as an occasional heat source).
 
You are grand so. She can also put on the light without the heating so it looks like a fire. My mother has one of these and absolutely loves it.
 
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