BURNING COAL, COKE TO BEST EFFECT

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30737, 29 April 1965, Page 15

BURNING COAL, COKE TO BEST EFFECT

The really big gain in efficiency comes with convector fires. They supplement the radiant heat from the fire by warming air around the firebox and discharging it through louvres at the top of the unit. Invariably, these appliances have a means of varying the supply of air under the fire so as to control the burning rate.

The appliances also have a flue damper—a device which can reduce the amount of air which is drawn into a room and up a chimney. This reduces the draught normally associated with an open fire.

It is most important to take care when installing convector fires. Unless the converted warm air is completely sealed off and cannot enter the flue, the value of converted heating may be lost.

If the appliance has a built-in convection chamber, the seal must be around the frame of the unit so that warmed air is not drawn into the chimney. The drift of smoke from a cigarette or lighted taper will indicate whether there are any leaks around the frame.

This appliance, or a slow-combus-tion stove, are the best way if to save fuel and to improve efficiency. Grates which control burning do add to efficiency, but they do not add to the efficiency with which the fuel is used.

The useful heat which the fuel provides is no greater than that extracted from an open fire. The convector doubles the efficiency, and the stove can more than treble the amount of useful heat obtained from the fuel.