Heating In winter

Thanks.

you can even make your own ethanol gel and save money...

http://benjimester.hubpages.com/hub/Gel-Fuel

The manufacturer of the Blyss brand strongly warns not to use ethanol gel......

Wow!.........great feedback guys.

MikeInPoulton wrote:

And Mick.....I love interesting facts like yours (cold receptors and all that)- there's a place on our Tuesday night pub quiz team if you are interested.

Yer, that's me full of crap (useless information)

by the way these fires are available to bid on and to buy outright as well...... on ebay....

found an outlet in mriehel who sell the stuff for 10e plus vat for 5L......25L at 1.90e / L plus vat and  205L drum at 295e plus vat

http://www.levolab.com/

That's excellent, reckon I'll buy one of those heaters then.

do they do anything bigger than 205 Lts? would there be more of a discount if we purchased more off them? - excellent anyway

to be honest i dont know but am confident that like every other business they will "sell"....

sweet, may be worth investing in a couple before we come across

Just a word of caution - it's worth first finding out the ramifications of bulk storage/combustion. Would it affect your - or your landlord's home insurance?
On searching the internet there is a 'flashpoint' for this type of fuel depending on the ratio of ethanol to water....
It is also recommended that the burner is filled by means of a one litre squeeze bottle to prevent spillage, and if using a 5 litre container a pump action container is advised.

yes id agree.....i wouldnt go as far as bulk storage..and i have a sheltered outside area to keep a small amount _4x5L containers..at most. I only bring the one in i am using as it burns slower and with less heat when the fuel is cold....

and as for pouring you do need to be careful especially from the 3L and 5L containers as the pouring isnt too controllable...i always measure the amounts depending on need...and i do it either outside or over the sink away from any possible electric switching or flame sources when filling the cans..then take them to the fire place, i find that a good way to light them is with a joss stick dipped initially in the fuel from one of the cans and then light that at arms length away from the cans then light each can. Dont try lighting the cans with a lighter or short match as it flashes quite quickly.....some even use the slider control lever (as supplied with the fire boxes) dipped in the fuel then lit.

the joss stick goes out and is ready for re-use later

alls well so far


WARNING - my supplier of the fuel did issue a warning to me on purchase. He asked me if i bought my fire from him - i said no - so he then warned me of a potential flaw in some foreign cheap made burner boxes...not the cans...the corners are not sealed welded too well and can leak a burst into flames.

do be careful guys.

i have found that smaller quantities have tended to burn for longer  rather than filling each and every can to the full mark (about 2cms from top of can)

I have also tried filling each can to a different level say 1/3 full 2/3 full and full so you have full burn and heat and then a controlled reduction till complete depletion of fuel.....works well so far

Oh to be in Malta now that winter's here:

Six villages in Cornwall have been hit by flooding after torrential rain.

Up to 40mm of rain affected properties in St Keverne, Gunwalloe, Gorran Haven, Mevagissey, Polbathic and Altarnun.

Trains between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall and between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst in Hampshire have been cancelled after flooding on the track.
The Met Office expects more rain across England and the Environment Agency has issued 189 flood alerts and 30 flood warnings around the UK.

Jesus, thay have had it bad down there this year... hope everyone is ok and safe.

Not what you want just before Christmas.

by the way guys we get severe flooding here too..not as bad mindo you and prob not as often ...check out youtube for malta floods...we even had coffins floating down the road in Qormi last year..... mind you that was funeral directors workshop not the cemetery.......

toonarmy9752 wrote:

by the way guys we get severe flooding here too..not as bad mindo you and prob not as often ...check out youtube for malta floods...we even had coffins floating down the road in Qormi last year..... mind you that was funeral directors workshop not the cemetery.......

Sorry but that made me laugh out loud.
I've seen the films of the floods on Malta and the gale force winds etc. We are certainly bearing that in mind when considering our final location and type of property. We even intend to bring some wellies just in case!

NB the test for different level "fills" based on 3 cans - at full 400mls, 200mls and 100 mls is approximately 2.25 hours burn time....

so are you saying toon that it takes 1.2 ltrs per tin for 2.25 hrs burn time?

Rocking Ken wrote:

so are you saying toon that it takes 1.2 ltrs per tin for 2.25 hrs burn time?

no the 3 cans hold upto 0.5L each but i measured 400ml 200ml and 100ml as an experiment and they lasted 2.25hrs, 1.5hrs and 40-45mins respectively... am told that ethanol has a burn rate of between 300-400mls per hour. But thats full pelt..and without the ceramic wool..if you have the burn box you can control the burn rate - you can get the burner plates for the cans to help do that too.....

I wanted to see what the heat output was like on a reducing nimber of burning cans.....full pelt initially reducing by one burner each time one went out. 

with the wool and control plates/sliders - you must also remember the heat output will drop as well

Ah got it now, thought it seemed a lot

So with that basic calculation you could work out how much fule you need for to last 5 hours and then use that to calculate how much you would need for a month and work out costs..

What is the heat output like?

Yes you could estimate it that way but much depends on the layout of your property (for example halls and large windows, whether you have curtains etc etc, plus where your property is located, penthouses for example generally have four outer walls and a roof to loose heat through....whereas lower floors dont....are you mid block, are the windows double glazed are you exposed to heavy winds and rain all have a bearing on how warm or cold you may be.

the heat output is said to be about 3-4kw - we find it quite good.   

its good for our living dining and kitchen area for sure and its quite big...its a very large area....we tend to use the ethanol at night for the psychological warming effect of the flames as well.

Dont ever run way with thinking you will do away with gas but for us its a worthwhile change, and i dont think it should ever be considered as a main source of heat...

Toon, you're a star. Thanks for all this really valuable info.

we aim to please Red.....

Hi Toon.

Looking to buy a couple of these and bring them over with us. Have you found a cheaper supplier of ethanol? What size room are you heating up? Are you still impressed with it? Just don't want to waste money if they aren't worth the purchase.

Cheers!

Just ignore last post Toon. For some reason my iPad is lagging and it didn't update recent posts! X

Hi Dana,

When are you going across??

dana1 wrote:

Hi Toon.

Looking to buy a couple of these and bring them over with us. Have you found a cheaper supplier of ethanol? What size room are you heating up? Are you still impressed with it? Just don't want to waste money if they aren't worth the purchase.

Cheers!

Cheapest ethanol I have found is 2.18/L incl vat from a lab in Mriehel.

Much depends on what you expect - personally I cant see them ever replacing gas, and I hate the gas.....but we like the change, the effect and the extra "comfort" factor of a sort of living flame. In the right environment they would be excellent but most of these fires will heat a room of about 20-25sq m.....however you must remember that it is at a cost....and its whether that cost is acceptable to you....for us it is. The reasons being id rather have that for a 3-4 hours respite from gas heating, the air con is fine for short bursts of heating to take the chill off a room - but for long term heating is way too expensive, it may not be if you have the newer AC units...but most of the older properties dont....especially the ones for rental....for example I tested and assessed our use of AC in the living area (24000btu unit) for 3 days and it worked out at over 240 euros per month based on 16hours per day (6am -10pm) timed and temp controlled (23 degrees - the missus is always cold here in winter) usage. Plus once you exceed your eco allowances (all it takes is about 14-15 units over the top over the year) and all the discounts you have built up previously will be lost thus you will pay a monstrous amount at the end of the billing year. And believe me you will exceed it, if you continue to use it on this basis, even if its just for the 90 day winter period. My estimations are based on 1-1.5 units of elec per hr using a 12000btu unit or 2-3 units per hr using a 24000btu unit. NB my units are serviced regularly at landlords cost and were done prior to the test. In terms of gas last year we used 20 bottles of gas for the period, at todays rate of 20.60e per bottle its 412e....

But as with most things there's a price for everything and only you can decide what you wish to pay to be comfortable. overall we mix n match and use what suits us at that time....so we use mainly gas during the day as much as i hate it, a little bit of AC (mainly quick burst of 30mins early morning bedrooms and living) and about 2-4 hours of ethanol heating at night.... just love the flames in the loving room  for that nice cozy feel.

Ken, we are coming over in feb to look for a place to rent, in the hope of moving out here possible April/may time.

Thanks Toon, I think we will invest in a couple of these. They'll be good to use out on the patio too.

dana1 wrote:

Ken, we are coming over in feb to look for a place to rent, in the hope of moving out here possible April/may time.

Thanks Toon, I think we will invest in a couple of these. They'll be good to use out on the patio too.

you might like to consider a chiminea as these would work with ethanol too....