BioEthanol Fire

Hi All,

Not strictly period property but I know we all like a good fire so this is an option I thought I'd share.

Since we removed the deathtrap cooker, I mean AGA, our kitchen doesn't have any heat so we've been after an option and saw bio ethanol fires mentioned on the other place.

A bit of googling and we've just got this:


They use "renewably" sourced ethanol and burn clean (CO2 + H20) so no flue needed.
They come in a wide range of styles from antique, log burner to ultra modern and you can even retro fit them into existing fireplaces.
The heat output for this model is said to be 2 kw, it gets warm / hot but not log burner temperature.

Thought I'd share as this might be of interested to some of you here.

Cheers,
Richard B.

Very nice

We've been planning getting one for our extension which is primarily going to be a *summer* room...
when we finally get around to building it (it's only been in the pipeline two years, lol!), although over the past few weeks - since Pip suggested adding a wood burner in our bedroom - I've been thinking about putting one in there too!

I'm looking at the Le Feu type :wink:

Mims x

Two comments:

Be careful when filling with bioethanol and lighting, I'm told there have been some pretty nasty accidents with this type of appliance - probably all down to operator error, but we all get distracted and make mistakes from time to time.

The bioethanol fuel for these is a lot cheaper than any other alcohol available in the DIY stores (meths, rubbing alcohol etc) and is often a good alternative.

Hmm... that one duplicated for some reason. Sorry!

worms said:

Be careful when filling with bioethanol and lighting, I'm told there have been some pretty nasty accidents with this type of appliance - probably all down to operator error, but we all get distracted and make mistakes from time to time.

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Yes, pouring fuel into a burning or hot fire can be very bad news. One big drawback of them.

worms said:

The bioethanol fuel for these is a lot cheaper than any other alcohol available in the DIY stores (meths, rubbing alcohol etc) and is often a good alternative.

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Yes, its not cheap if it was the main everyday source of heat but I last paid £39 for 12 litres.

Cheers,
Richard B.

Would they be safe in an underground space? I use our vaults as a workshop type place occasionally and it gets chilly in winter. There's some ventilation because the door, although new isn't exactly up to hermetically sealed modern standards. There's opening windows, with trickle vents. I know there's other options, but a real fire is so nice

RBailey said:

They use "renewably" sourced ethanol and burn clean (CO2 + H20) so no flue needed.

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As with the paraffin heaters that our ancestors used, and those 100% efficient flueless gas fires; it's that H20 bit (condensation) that would concern me.

LadyArowana said:

Would they be safe in an underground space? I use our vaults as a workshop type place occasionally and it gets chilly in winter. There's some ventilation because the door, although new isn't exactly up to hermetically sealed modern standards. There's opening windows, with trickle vents. I know there's other options, but a real fire is so nice

Click to expand...

I'm not sure, personally I would be very wary.

Stevers said:

As with the paraffin heaters that our ancestors used, and those 100% efficient flueless gas fires; it's that H20 bit (condensation) that would concern me.

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It doesn't seem to put out much noticeable moisture. (Window condensation etc.)

I only burn about a 0.5 / 1 litre at a time so I don't also see how it could put out more than a litre of moisture. (This winter we only burnt a total of 48 litres .)

Its also normally only used when we are in the kitchen which also means the hob extractor is on. (We are not short of drafts so plenty of ventilation. )

Cheers,
Richard B.