Wood burner pro and con

[scottishjohn]

5 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

And for the stove effect it felt odd starring at fake flames. My model was not the one in the link above, therefore this effect would probably would be better.

 

there is no other one that gives same effect -only optimist

[scottishjohn]

8 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

The noise and dry fan heater were my primary dislikes.

no noise from my one - you bought a different type -- see the right type before making a decision

[Thedreamer]

3 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

there is no other one that gives same effect -only optimist

 

Yes, but still staring at fake flames.

 

1 minute ago, scottishjohn said:

no noise from my one - you bought a different type -- see the right type before making a decision

 

It has a fan heater and this is visible when looking at the heater. To be honest if this could be detached then it would be better. 

 

The earlier model was enough for me to make the right decision for us and install a proper stove. I did see the optimyst flames in real life in a store somewhere and I was not overwhelmed.

 

From your earlier posts if it works well for you and that's great.

 

Have you found your model to have any cons?

[TonyT]

Local postcodes to us have had power failures since Friday so a source of heating like a wood burner is great.

 

I like to watch the fire, it also heats a large area of

the house with doors open which I find helpful 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by TonyT

[saveasteading]

On 25/11/2021 at 17:59, saveasteading said:

12 against 6   isn't the issue as the weightings could be different.

Thanks to your comments  I now revise my counting to 15 for and 9 against.

Some of the 'againsts' could be legitimate vetoes depending on circumstances.

Contrary to  that is the over-riding expectation of a wood-burner in a forested rural area.

 

On the draught and heat-loss that will occur without much control, through the flues, my attitude is that 

1. there is a pragmatic approach that 'very good' will suffice.

2. insulation and airtightness first, then add controlled (or reasonably controlled) ventilation.

3. How much heat loss through a flue compared to doors opening?....I especially value porches for this.

4. As the power was off for 80,000 people for 8 hours yesterday, how much should we depend on electricity?

[SteamyTea]

14 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

As the power was off for 80,000 people for 8 hours yesterday, how much should we depend on electricity

A 2 kW portable generator would give you enough juice to keep you going.

And a lot less PM2.5/10s in the house.

[Thedreamer]

38 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

A 2 kW portable generator would give you enough juice to keep you going.

And a lot less PM2.5/10s in the house.

 

We have a generator but if you are in day after day of stormy conditions, it's not viable solution and often these generators need shelter if it is pouring with rain outside. 

 

You also need fuel ready and have to make sure it starts when you could be in difficult conditions.

 

Much better to rely on a basket of logs, ready to go when you need them. 

[scottishjohn]

3 hours ago, Thedreamer said:

Yes, but still staring at fake flames.

they look that fake that people who do not know have tried to put things on it to burn 

 you do not get any flames more real than these -see an optimist -do not compare with other types -there is no real comparison

[SteamyTea]

4 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

You also need fuel ready and have to make sure it starts when you could be in difficult conditions.

Isn't that the same as 

 

5 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

Much better to rely on a basket of logs, ready to go when you need them. 

 

I live in the Windy South West, yesterday there were a few thousand houses without power.

I have never been seriously affected.

I don't know if I was without power yesterday as I decide (actually had to) drive in 80 MPH crosswind for the first 100 miles, then the last 80 were in snow.

[ProDave]

7 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

Much better to rely on a basket of logs, ready to go when you need them. 

That, and an LPG hob, head light charged and gas camping lights to hand, and you can survive quite a long power outage.

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, ProDave said:

That, and an LPG hob, head light charged and gas camping lights to hand, and you can survive quite a long power outage.

I use my camping stove and some LED lanterns on the odd occasion it has been prolonged.

Having no water for half a day was worse.

[Thedreamer]

3 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

they look that fake that people who do not know have tried to put things on it to burn 

 you do not get any flames more real than these -see an optimist -do not compare with other types -there is no real comparison

That surprises me, most real fires give off some heat!

 

They look ok as fake fires go.

 

The other alternative is ethanol stoves, personally I would go down that route if I did not want the real deal.

[scottishjohn]

1 minute ago, Thedreamer said:

That surprises me, most real fires give off some heat!

 

They look ok as fake fires go.

 

The other alternative is ethanol stoves, personally I would go down that route if I did not want the real deal.

you can use the 2kw fan heater -which is part of it ,but  I never have as UFH takes care of all that ,maybe handy if you are a skin flint and turn off heating in summer

I never do my UFH runs 24/7 and is zone controlled - it don,t come on unless its needed

[Thedreamer]

9 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Isn't that the same as 

 

The log basket with logs looks nice.

 

If you make up fuel for a generator ready to go, it may gets hidden somewhere in the shed/garage when you need it. 

 

9 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

I live in the Windy South West, yesterday there were a few thousand houses without power.

I have never been seriously affected.

I don't know if I was without power yesterday as I decide (actually had to) drive in 80 MPH crosswind for the first 100 miles, then the last 80 were in snow.

 

I grew up in the South West and power cuts were rare. 

 

In more remote locations in the UK, you could be off for a while.

 

Glad to hear you made it back in one piece, as that must of been a tough journey.

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

Glad to hear you made it back in one piece, as that must of been a tough journey

I was driving up country, still here.

But for about 10 miles on the A30, at 6:30 AM yesterday were free Christmas trees in the road.

 

Driving against a stiff NE wind hurts my fuel consumption by about 10 MPG.

[Thedreamer]

1 minute ago, scottishjohn said:

you can use the 2kw fan heater -which is part of it ,but  I never have as UFH takes care of all that ,maybe handy if you are a skin flint and turn off heating in summer

I never do my UFH runs 24/7 and is zone controlled - it don,t come on unless its needed

 

As mentioned earlier if you can get a version without the fan bit at the bottom, it would be much better, as people would not know it was not a real stove from a distance.

 

Ultimately at the price you are paying for the optimyst, the premium is because you want it to look as realistic as possible, the fan heater detracts from this. 

 

And also my model was plastic rather than metal (at the price in the earlier link I would hope your model is metal!)