Bio ethanol stove
Discussion
A friend is looking at getting a bio ethanol stove installed rather than a log burner.
The pros are it’s much cheaper to install and there is no real maintenance other than topping it up with fuel.
But the downside as far as I can tell is that the heat output is minimal and it’s really only for aesthetics.
We have a log burner , cyclindrical modern looking thing and the heat output is 5kw. He really likes this but not the faff and he’d need to buy the logs rather than gather them himself.
Can anyone chip in with advice as to how useful the bio burners are ?
The pros are it’s much cheaper to install and there is no real maintenance other than topping it up with fuel.
But the downside as far as I can tell is that the heat output is minimal and it’s really only for aesthetics.
We have a log burner , cyclindrical modern looking thing and the heat output is 5kw. He really likes this but not the faff and he’d need to buy the logs rather than gather them himself.
Can anyone chip in with advice as to how useful the bio burners are ?
te. Didn’t give off any noticeable heat and unless it was black dark, you couldn’t see the flames either.Don't know where you lot are getting your ethanol from, but ours heats the whole downstairs when SWMBO decides she's a bit chilly and fills and lights it.
The burner is just sat in a multifuel stove, and it gets much hotter than the gas one the other end of the house.
I wouldn't recommend one as an only heating source - fuel is not cheap (but 50 quid's worth lasts us 2 or 3 years), and even the odour free stuff has a slight smell to it - but as a top up/pretty occasional use thing, it's thousands of pounds less than a log burner to install, a thousand times less hassle/maintenance than a log burner, and produces far less (but still some) particulates etc (which are not great for health) than a log burner too.
The burner is just sat in a multifuel stove, and it gets much hotter than the gas one the other end of the house.
I wouldn't recommend one as an only heating source - fuel is not cheap (but 50 quid's worth lasts us 2 or 3 years), and even the odour free stuff has a slight smell to it - but as a top up/pretty occasional use thing, it's thousands of pounds less than a log burner to install, a thousand times less hassle/maintenance than a log burner, and produces far less (but still some) particulates etc (which are not great for health) than a log burner too.
defblade said:
...a thousand times less hassle/maintenance than a log burner....
We have two log burners. Takes two minutes to clean the ash out once in a while, and a bloke pops round and sweeps the chimneys every couple of years. I suppose getting wood delivered and stacked, then brought in to burn might be considered hassle, but equally it's wood and fire and we men love wood and fire. They really are no hassle, and they are also superb.We've got one very similar to this:
https://bioethanol-fireplace.co.uk/products/schill...
We use it as a room divider and are happy with it especially as a log burner wasn't a viable option in this house unfortunatley, like that we had before.
It gives off heat but no way would I use it as a sole source of heat as its not that much.
Think of it as a decorative source of real flames and he won't go wrong - try using it as a sole heating sourcing, it won't last a single winter before being ripped out.
https://bioethanol-fireplace.co.uk/products/schill...
We use it as a room divider and are happy with it especially as a log burner wasn't a viable option in this house unfortunatley, like that we had before.
It gives off heat but no way would I use it as a sole source of heat as its not that much.
Think of it as a decorative source of real flames and he won't go wrong - try using it as a sole heating sourcing, it won't last a single winter before being ripped out.
defblade said:
Don't know where you lot are getting your ethanol from, but ours heats the whole downstairs when SWMBO decides she's a bit chilly and fills and lights it.
The burner is just sat in a multifuel stove, and it gets much hotter than the gas one the other end of the house.
I wouldn't recommend one as an only heating source - fuel is not cheap (but 50 quid's worth lasts us 2 or 3 years), and even the odour free stuff has a slight smell to it - but as a top up/pretty occasional use thing, it's thousands of pounds less than a log burner to install, a thousand times less hassle/maintenance than a log burner, and produces far less (but still some) particulates etc (which are not great for health) than a log burner too.
How much ethanol do you get for £50?The burner is just sat in a multifuel stove, and it gets much hotter than the gas one the other end of the house.
I wouldn't recommend one as an only heating source - fuel is not cheap (but 50 quid's worth lasts us 2 or 3 years), and even the odour free stuff has a slight smell to it - but as a top up/pretty occasional use thing, it's thousands of pounds less than a log burner to install, a thousand times less hassle/maintenance than a log burner, and produces far less (but still some) particulates etc (which are not great for health) than a log burner too.
I've known a few people have it for cooking on boats, also some expedition camping types.
I think it works out dearer than the amusingly expensive Camping Gaz.
I think it has a place.
But that place is somewhere between candles and a proper fire. Probably closer to candles?
But then a lot of people want a log burner for the 'ambience' and all that. We used to have an open fire which was more 'entertainment' than heating.
Like all things in life, there is a massive difference from basic Bio ethanol stoves, which burn the liquid and the ones that burn the Bio Ethanol Vapor
We have just put one if these on live display in the showroom and have been impressed with it, and customers seem to like it , https://termatech.com/en/bio-fireplace/biotronic-2... . no smell and does give off some heat but would say realistically 2kw of heat . Certainly nothing like you would get from an equivalent wood burner, but for those who either can't have a wood burner or don't want the expense of a twin-wall flue and just want a real flame with some heat, it serves a purpose.
We have just put one if these on live display in the showroom and have been impressed with it, and customers seem to like it , https://termatech.com/en/bio-fireplace/biotronic-2... . no smell and does give off some heat but would say realistically 2kw of heat . Certainly nothing like you would get from an equivalent wood burner, but for those who either can't have a wood burner or don't want the expense of a twin-wall flue and just want a real flame with some heat, it serves a purpose.
egoold said:
Like all things in life, there is a massive difference from basic Bio ethanol stoves, which burn the liquid and the ones that burn the Bio Ethanol Vapor
It may be we bought a decent burner - like a Trangia, it has a perforated wall around the open slot and takes a few minutes warming up before it starts to burn properly - again, like a Trangia. Having extensive use of Trangias over the years, and only ever seen/used this one bigger burner, it didn't occur to me that there might be ones that are just pots/buckets with no vapour system.
defblade said:
It may be we bought a decent burner - like a Trangia, it has a perforated wall around the open slot and takes a few minutes warming up before it starts to burn properly - again, like a Trangia.
Having extensive use of Trangias over the years, and only ever seen/used this one bigger burner, it didn't occur to me that there might be ones that are just pots/buckets with no vapour system.
Defblade, I dont suppose you could share a pick of yours, or a link to the burner? CheersHaving extensive use of Trangias over the years, and only ever seen/used this one bigger burner, it didn't occur to me that there might be ones that are just pots/buckets with no vapour system.
defblade said:
egoold said:
Like all things in life, there is a massive difference from basic Bio ethanol stoves, which burn the liquid and the ones that burn the Bio Ethanol Vapor
It may be we bought a decent burner - like a Trangia, it has a perforated wall around the open slot and takes a few minutes warming up before it starts to burn properly - again, like a Trangia. Having extensive use of Trangias over the years, and only ever seen/used this one bigger burner, it didn't occur to me that there might be ones that are just pots/buckets with no vapour system.
Its boiling point is quite low.
At my school it was kind of an 'off curriculum' science lesson activity to put ethanol on your hands and light it, your hands don't get burned because the fire is in the vapour. The liquid on your hands is kept cool by the latent heat extracted to vaporise it.
If you light a puddle of the stuff, you can see a gap between the flames and the liquid.
TBH, I don't care if you try this at home, if you're old enough to know better. Or young enough to find it on youtube?
You can't odds the physics or chemistry, there is only so much calorific value in the stuff.
And the C2H5OH + nO2 > 2CO2 + 3H2O means that 34g of ethanol gives you 54g of water vapour. (my maths may be out)
The water vapour may be less of an issue in Scandinavia than it would be in Devon, to be fair.
If you want to burn ethanol, why not buy a Mamod steam engine?
:-)
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