Multi-fuel burner units prove popular with consumers

Press, 7 April 1987, Page 29

Multi-fuel burner units prove popular with consumers

Sources within the Canterbury. solid-fuel heater supply industry have noted the changing pattern of demand in recent years has created much more interest in multi-fuel burning units. While installation criteria vary widely from area to area in Canterbury and requires checking by buyers the strong appeal of multi-fuel units in areas where they are permitted is easy to understand. It is another instance where close consultation with the retailer willing to take the time to inform clients of unit abilities is required.

This is because such multi-fuel units do show a fair amount of variation in the materials that produce the best results. Most will burn either a mix of coal or alternatively reasonably dry wood. The technology that has gone into some, of the models available at present can produce some surprising claims of efficiency. One popular unit available in Christchurch at present is claimed to provide a home with a similar amount of heat to that produced by 17 one bar heaters all plugged in and operating at the same time.

This particular multifuel burner can apparently heat up to 2000 square feet of house space on average. This unit provides a good example of the versatility in fuel capacity that is increasingly in demand from some consumers of solid-fuel heating. It was specifically designed from the outset to burn either coal or wood with equal efficiency. It is a slow-combustion unit that can bum such mediums as coal, wood, or lignite, a combination of wood and coal or logs only, with a capacity for logs up to half a metre long. Operating efficiency in terms of heat return is improved by a design that permits the burning of gases produced by the combustion process. In areas where local authority by-laws permit doing so the Yunca Can also have a water heating booster added on further reducing heating bills. This unit also demonstrates the innovative design versatility that has come to be a feature of New Zealand-produced burners. It come available in either the free-standing model or in an in-built option that with modification can be fitted into an existing fireplace.