Introduction

I bought my first bioethanol fireplace in 2012, and for my family, it is the absolute best way to keep my house warm in winter. The delivery man comes to the house with the fuel every month over winter, and the fuel is stored in the garage until required. The heat rises like a wood fire, and the whole area stays warm and cozy.

Ethanol Fuel

There is something reassuring about the naked flame, it is very like the wood fires of childhood, and there is absolutely no smell as the bioethanol is odourless. My fireplace was one of the early ones and is a big white cube box, refuelled by pouring the ethanol into a slot in the base, and lighting with a wand. Once lit it burns for five to six hours and then it needs to cool off a bit before refuelling. On a winter’s night, everyone gathers around it and we all love the warmth. It looks like a fireplace, but one of the benefits is we can move it around the room and now have found the ideal spot.

When we sold one house and moved to another three years ago our fireplace was always lit for open house inspections, and everyone admired it and one prospective buyer wanted us to sell it with the house. However, it went with us to the new home, and we are now going to upgrade to a new design to fit in with our more modern room.

If you live in an area without a Gas energy supply then Ethanol Fuel may be just what you are looking for, as it is like having a wood fire without the work. To clean it you just wipe it over with a damp cloth every week to keep the dust away from it.

If you have small children it is important that you purchase a fire screen, as it is dangerous to leave kids exposed to it. Pets are fine, as cats and dogs adjust to the fire. Ours just lie down on the fluffy mat in front of it for hours.

Gas Fire

Twenty-five years ago we had a gas fireplace in our old house, which had very high ceilings. It looked very decorative but was not actually large enough for the size of the room, so we weren’t getting a lot of heat from it. Now the gas fires are much more efficient and the new ones throw out a lot of heat and can warm the whole house while being very cost-effective.

Conclusion

Burning wood is now banned in many local areas, so it is important that we find other ways to keep warm in winter. To me, the Ethanol Fire is a great alternative as it is warming just to see the flame. For our newest renovation project, I am getting the suspended fire that hangs from the ceiling, probably the CURVE-120, as this suits the design of our room to perfection and will throw out as much heat as the old Fire Box did.