I'm in the market for a logfire for a new house. This thread is 4 years old so any new thoughts on what fire to buy would be great. Fire will be in 60sm open plan area. Total house is 150sm. I'm assuming the fire should not be too big or can a big output fire be throttled back ? Keen to get one with modern styling to suit new home but not at the expense of efficiency.
Metro Tiny Ped. Cheap, small form factor so doesn’t dominate lounge, low maintenance design, very efficient and pumps out a truckload of heat for the size.
I definitely want a log fire. I had a new house previously with ducted heat pump setup . As convienent as the a/c system was, I prefer radiant heat and am happy to make the effort involved to make it work. (Chop wood, clean fire etc) Just want to find a fire that works well and suits my house.
ermat: I'm in the market for a logfire for a new house. This thread is 4 years old so any new thoughts on what fire to buy would be great. Fire will be in 60sm open plan area. Total house is 150sm. I'm assuming the fire should not be too big or can a big output fire be throttled back ? Keen to get one with modern styling to suit new home but not at the expense of efficiency.
There have been other more recent threads that you've missed. This one in August started with Pyroclassic Mini then moved to other models https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=274446
Chimney Sweep here! I've swept over 10,000 chimneys in the last few years and this is how it breaks down:
#1: Firenzo. We call them the "Rolls-Royce" of the logfire world. Built like brick toilets, heat well, and do the job. The oldest one I've serviced was 40+ years old. They can be refurbished so they go another 10-15 years. Farmers out in the middle of nowhere only buy Firenzos (Canterbury) for this reason. They do have a certain "look" that would more suit a character home, but do have some more modern offerings.
#2: Masport. Toyota of the logfire world. Any model is good, just avoid the double-chamber Ultra-Low Emission burner models (Mystique & Cromwell) as they have issues with their dampeners seizing up. Well built, do the job.
#3: Yunca. Built in the South (Invercargill) for the harshest of winters. The Wegj is a favourite of mine as the door folds down rather than out. Simple, built well.
Avoid:
#1. Woodsman. One of the cheapest brands found on the shop floor of your local M10, 4 Seasons, Placemakers, ITM etc. Cheap for a reason. Heat well, just wear through their consumable parts (bricks, baffle, airtube) very quickly i.e. every 2-3 years.
#2. Metro. Still use a material in their logfires (Promatech H/Eterpan) that everyone else stopped using 10-15 years ago as it's rubbish material. Still have an issue with cracks occurring around the spigot (where flue connects to firebox) which means a write-off/warranty job.
#3. Kent/Jayline. These are shells of their former selves from the 1970's & 1980's. Both of these brands have been bought and sold a few times and are now owned by importing companies; Kents are (I believe) made in China, Jayline simply rebrands other logfires.
Special Mentions!
#1. Bosca are cool, but have a tendency for cracking around the door opening - they only have a 5 year warranty so when this happens you're often out of luck.
#2. Pyroclassic. Some of you will already know how I feel about these fires; they are a style over function fire. "They have a cook-top!" So does every freestanding logfire. "They can have a wetback" Just about every logfire will have holes in the back (plugged) for a wetback to be installed (insert and freestanding). You have to sweep these from the top - just a pain in the backside. You also need to cut your wood to a certain size to fit.
#3. Ethos. Not bad, but not good; just mediocre. Also, when parts wear out, be prepared to pay top dollar for a part that would be half the price for any other fire -e.g airtube $140 ethos, $80 for a Masport.
#4. Jetmaster/Warmington/Stovax. If money is no object and you want an open fire - have at it. Start at $7,000 - $10,000. Built well, costly to buy, install, and can be finicky to operate correctly. If something breaks, expensive to fix.
So! As a chimney sweep, what would I have? Firenzo Lady Kitchener/Contessa (same fire, just one is narrow, one is wide), Masport R1500/R5000/R10,000 (same fire, just bigger versions of one another), Yunca Wegj (if you like the style of how the door operates).
Feel free to ask me anymore questions about wood fires, stoves, or wood fired pizza ovens.
Chimney Sweep here! I've swept over 10,000 chimneys in the last few years and this is how it breaks down:
#1: Firenzo. We call them the "Rolls-Royce" of the logfire world. Built like brick toilets, heat well, and do the job. The oldest one I've serviced was 40+ years old. They can be refurbished so they go another 10-15 years. Farmers out in the middle of nowhere only buy Firenzos (Canterbury) for this reason. They do have a certain "look" that would more suit a character home, but do have some more modern offerings.
#2: Masport. Toyota of the logfire world. Any model is good, just avoid the double-chamber Ultra-Low Emission burner models (Mystique & Cromwell) as they have issues with their dampeners seizing up. Well built, do the job.
#3: Yunca. Built in the South (Invercargill) for the harshest of winters. The Wegj is a favourite of mine as the door folds down rather than out. Simple, built well.
Avoid:
#1. Woodsman. One of the cheapest brands found on the shop floor of your local M10, 4 Seasons, Placemakers, ITM etc. Cheap for a reason. Heat well, just wear through their consumable parts (bricks, baffle, airtube) very quickly i.e. every 2-3 years.
#2. Metro. Still use a material in their logfires (Promatech H/Eterpan) that everyone else stopped using 10-15 years ago as it's rubbish material. Still have an issue with cracks occurring around the spigot (where flue connects to firebox) which means a write-off/warranty job.
#3. Kent/Jayline. These are shells of their former selves from the 1970's & 1980's. Both of these brands have been bought and sold a few times and are now owned by importing companies; Kents are (I believe) made in China, Jayline simply rebrands other logfires.
Special Mentions!
#1. Bosca are cool, but have a tendency for cracking around the door opening - they only have a 5 year warranty so when this happens you're often out of luck.
#2. Pyroclassic. Some of you will already know how I feel about these fires; they are a style over function fire. "They have a cook-top!" So does every freestanding logfire. "They can have a wetback" Just about every logfire will have holes in the back (plugged) for a wetback to be installed (insert and freestanding). You have to sweep these from the top - just a pain in the backside. You also need to cut your wood to a certain size to fit.
#3. Ethos. Not bad, but not good; just mediocre. Also, when parts wear out, be prepared to pay top dollar for a part that would be half the price for any other fire -e.g airtube $140 ethos, $80 for a Masport.
#4. Jetmaster/Warmington/Stovax. If money is no object and you want an open fire - have at it. Start at $7,000 - $10,000. Built well, costly to buy, install, and can be finicky to operate correctly. If something breaks, expensive to fix.
So! As a chimney sweep, what would I have? Firenzo Lady Kitchener/Contessa (same fire, just one is narrow, one is wide), Masport R1500/R5000/R10,000 (same fire, just bigger versions of one another), Yunca Wegj (if you like the style of how the door operates).
Feel free to ask me anymore questions about wood fires, stoves, or wood fired pizza ovens.
I've been in many houses, these fires are seriously nice. They are incredibly heavy due to the cast iron construction, but they give a good even heat.
The ones I'm most familiar with are the Lady Kitchener model and the Contessa.
We've got a Lady Kitchener and I can't say i'm all that happy with it. Got it as it was recommended from a few people, but we just can't seem to generate any heat from it. Even stoked fully, it doesn't get to that "stand back" temperature i've experienced with other people's fires.
Takes the chill off the large room it's installed in, in winter but it's never comfortably warm. Does little with the wetback and absolutely nothing with the heat distribution i have installed.
Have tried a number of different wood combinations as well with the same result.
That's odd. I would have it serviced and inspected to see if anything is wrong.
Also, Firenzo's operating temp's are significantly higher than many other fires - around 1100c at the centre compared to a Woodsman/Masport/Metro which is around 500-700c. What that means is you need to burn your fire hotter for longer before loading it up and shutting it down. Remember, the firebox is lined with firebricks and the top is very thick cast iron - these need to be heated up for it to radiate heat.
Next time, start a good base fire, leave the door open for the first 10 minutes, leave the dampener on high, continue to build up the fire for the next 45-60 mins, then see how you go.
@onebytemike since it was almost 4 years ago hopefully you did get your fire sorted. A neighbor was disappointed with her new fire until the installers added another section of flue then it started to work as intended.
We have approx 120m2 (60m2 in the lounge) area, and this thing pumps it out ...
depending on the wood (kanuka/manuka the best for heat and little ash) you only need a couple of arm fulls for the night .. and still have embers in the morning
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