Fuel, Flues & Fireplace Measurements
Before selecting your fire or stove, you need to make sure it's suitable for your home.
Firstly you need to choose what fuel you wish to use.
Secondly you will need to be aware of what type of chimney or flue you have. If you do not have a chimney it's not a problem, there have been models developed to suit your home too.
Finally you need to make a note of the existing fireplace measurements you have, or ask your builder or architect for the measurements that will be applicable.
Fuel
Fires and stoves are available to use a number of different types of fuel:
Natural Gas - provided by mains pipeline
LPG - usually supplied to homes in rural areas from a tank in the garden or from gas bottles
Solid fuel - wood, coal, smokeless fuel or other solid fuels
Oil - for stoves and cookers usually supplied to homes in rural areas from a tank in the garden
Electric - from your usual electricity provider through a socket
Chimney or Flue
Class 1 (Chimney)
Brick and stone built chimneys are easily recognisable.
The chimney stack rises well above the roofline and is topped by a traditional chimney pot or, possibly, a gas terminal.
Class 2 (Flue)
Many modern homes have been built with a class 2 flue.
You can readily identify them by either a metal flue cowl on your roof or by
a raised ridge terminal.
For properties with no chimney or flue:
Balanced Flue
Most balanced flue stoves or fires do not require an electricity supply, all are glass fronted. They operate via a twin-walled pipe, which can either exit vertically through the roof or horizontally through an outside wall. The outer pipe draws air from the outside while the inner pipe expels the products of combustion.
Fan-Flue
A powered flue uses an extractor unit mounted on an outer wall to vent the combustion gases directly outside, these fires tend to be open. A mains electricity supply is needed to operate the system.
Fireplace Measurements
When choosing a fireplace it's very helpful to make a note of your existing fireplace measurements before coming into the showroom, but we often find our customers are not sure which measurements to take. We have put together a handy guide to help you, print it out, fill in the gaps and bring it along.
Bring along your fireplace measurements and
it will help us advise you which fireplaces or stoves are appropriate for your home, as well as being able to provide you with more accurate estimates, given the actual measurements.
Download our handy pdf measurement guide here.
Don't worry if you're still confused! We are here to help, feel free to give us a call on 01727 823326. |
