Fire baskets or Wood burning Stoves - Style against Efficiency User Icon

Fire baskets and Wood burning Stoves are the two best sellers in the fireplace industry, ask any shop in town and they will tell you stoves and fire baskets out sell traditional fireplaces by a reasonable margin.

Fire baskets don’t generate as much heat as a wood burning stove, but they add a special touch to that old fireplace or you can put them in any corner of your living room to enhance the room’s decoration.

Wood burning Stoves have a more traditional style and might not suit a room that has been decorated in a more contemporary way, but boy, they sure bang out the heat. Most stoves can burn wood for up to 10 hours without the need of refuelling and with the new airwash system they stay clean.

If your room has an alternative heating system, fire baskets are favourite. Imagine that romantic evening curled up in front of the fire and your favourite DVD, or friends round for supper, what could enhance the atmosphere more than a beautiful fire basket glowing in the corner. Fire baskets can also be a feature in the summer, just decorate with logs and pine combs.

So it is up to you decide know which one will suit your needs; fire baskets add a nice touch to any room but can cost a few extra pounds to run and don’t generate as much heat. On the other hand, wood burning stoves can run at a very low cost, generate up to 9kW of heating power not to mention they are also eco-friendly.

What Is A Decorative Fire?

A question that i've frequently come across in the industry from consumers is:
What Does It Mean By A Decorative Fire? Aren't All Fires Decorative?

What Does It Mean By A Decorative Fire?

The term decorative fire is used to describe larger open fires such as baskets or the Verine Atina. These fires all have 1 thing in common, a large opening and a large area around the flames in the centre, although this finish does create stunning finish that really showcases the living flame effect inside, this large empty space is unfortunately the reason that these fires are decorative only.

Everyone knows that hot air rises, and as the hot air from the large open flames rises, it rises up the chimney, this natural convection draws air from the room into the fire to be heated and rise up the chimney, this natural air current draws all the warm air up and out the chimney, a normal chimney will draw all the air out of the room every 2 hours.

This natural draw means that all the hot air will rise up the chimney with only radiant heat warming the room, meaning that these fires are incredibly inefficient and shouldn't be relied upon as a source of heat, as it all goes up the chimney!

Aren't All Fires Decorative?

Strictly speaking...Yes! All fires are decorative, they are all part of the decor of the living space so are decorative. But when lit they aren't just decorative, they provide heat as well, which is the main difference between a decorative fire and other gas fires, when lit a decorative fire is just that...decorative! Where as another fire would give out heat as well as showcasing the living flame effect.