Fireplace advice

[bwana]

We lost our Jetmaster to the elements not long ago, the chimney was almost completely gone in places and TBH I'm surprised I didn't burn the house down. However, it's time to start thinking about a replacement for next year.

 

[Neuk_]

This one?

Beckers 385 premium

A absolute beauty of a fireplace that can run for days long and can produce a good amount of heat for a very large area

beckers.co.za

I have a large-ish living room + kitchen area that I want to heat up. Have any experience with it?

Yeah, that is the one, meant to be rated for around 150 sqm but I think for normal ceiling height. The area we are looking at heating is around 100 sqm but has pretty much zero ceilings so is double volume. My inlaws had an older Beckers 385 in their last family home and it was brilliant, ran it 24/7 for around 3 months, supplied a lot of heat for the house and was reasonably affordable to run. We are waiting for the quote from Beckers for the 385 premium and installation, we are going to try use the existing flue from our Morso with a 90 degree bend and adapter as the Morso uses a 150mm flue whereas the Beckers use a 125mm from what I recall.

 

[Tongs of Destiny]

We lost our Jetmaster to the elements not long ago, the chimney was almost completely gone in places and TBH I'm surprised I didn't burn the house down. However, it's time to start thinking about a replacement for next year.

View attachment 1913649

Next year? You'll be dead by then... winter is coming!

Get one now and be warm in your hut. And don't get gas, too expensive to run. Don't get the one you have, those open front ones, they're hopeless and inefficient. The best would be like the post above, those closed glass door scandinavian type ones, don't cheap out either, it must be thick steel and the main pipe must be inside the room. You won't regret it.

 

[bwana]

Next year? You'll be dead by then... winter is coming!

Get one now and be warm in your hut. And don't get gas, too expensive to run. Don't get the one you have, those open front ones, they're hopeless and inefficient. The best would be like the post above, those closed glass door scandinavian type ones, don't cheap out either, it must be thick steel and the main pipe must be inside the room. You won't regret it.

It's more for the ambiance than anything. It doesn't get cold enough here for any serious investment.

 

[Napalm2880]

So I went to FireWood Farm (mentioned somewhere) in Fourways to check them out. Bought a few bags, and man what a difference between the wood you buy from the side of the street and these guys. Proper wood.
I will be stocking up next week or two.

What type of wood did you get?

I've had success with Sekelbos, Bluegum and Blackwattle.

This year I bought a bakkie load from some dude outside Purple Tulip nursery on Cedar Rd, and got some mixed stuff for R1450 incl. delivery but I can't identify the wood, and whatever it is, it doesn't give off much heat and doesn't last long.

I'm looking for guys that sell by the bakkie load, or even a large truck load near Johannesburg.

 

[Fuma]

What type of wood did you get?

Few bags of Bosveld. They have all sorts, but the guy suggested I use Bosveld or Blue Gum.

 

[W@P]

We lost our Jetmaster to the elements not long ago, the chimney was almost completely gone in places and TBH I'm surprised I didn't burn the house down. However, it's time to start thinking about a replacement for next year.

View attachment 1913649

How did you not see that coming?