electric flame effect wall mounted fires

Thanks for the information Aka. I've found that there are a couple of places quite local to me that stock them, so will go and have a good look at the weekend.

We bought a wall heater a few years ago ( it's in our bedroom) and each winter when it becomes cold and dark we put in on for the cosy fire effect
( not for it's heat may I say) although there us a little warmth if left on long enough. It's an electric fan heater which really has purpose and we love it. We have various coloured slides which can be slid into the back of the fire and they give off different colours depending on the mood. Shop around cause there are a real variety out there. Hope this helps.

OK test carried out under the following conditions

Thermostat last night set at 17oC. No altered this morning as wanted to test in as scientific way as possible.
Room temperature at start of test 16oC. Room size 6m x 5m. One largish window, west facing, one set of patio door to conservatory (12oC in there)
One door to hall left slightly ajar.

Unit used 'Blaze' medium
Filled with ethane gel 180ml (approx £1 worth)

Gel burned for 63 minutes.
Room temperature rose 3oC in that time to 19oC
Room felt distinctly warmer than adjoining room and hall in entering.

Comments
Smell of gas similar to a portable gas heater. This faded after the flame went out and I put the lid on the pot.
Pot not hot to touch on sides but didn't risk touching top.
Portable can be used outside for BBQs etc.

My conclusion:
We only need this as an occasional top up in winter rather than use the electric flame effect wall fire.
This will do the job and will look good in the alcove we intend to build into the chimney breast, when not in use (which will be most of the time)
Not cheap if you intended to use it on a regular basis.

Re your conservatory Ceesnan I tried it yesterday for 30 minutes and the outdoor temperature was 4oC, conservatory was 11oc. It did heat up a bit but it wasn't fair to expect it to do any better in that short time given the outdoor temperature.
I think I'd buy the bigger one for that purpose.

Looking forward to that Aka. I've had a look at their website and really like the look of the tabletop ones.

Sorry not got back on this. Decided I needed a room thermometer to do the test correctly. Went out to buy one, bumped into old friend, got chatting, we decided to grab a coffee in local hostelry, by which time it was the school run. So will conduct a scientifically sound test tomorrow morning Ceesnan

First test over. Will do another when it cools down enough. We half filled it and it burned for 30 minutes. It has taken the 'edge' off the cold but there's a light smell, not unpleasant sort of like a gas heater.

aka I'm thinking of getting one of these for our conservatory, so will be really interested in your opinion.

That's good, Aka. Let us know how you get on.

Just been to the Naked Flame warehouse in Hinckly and bought one of their table top burners. Testing it in the conservatory as we speak.

We've got one of those Phoenix for when it's not cold enough to light the fire. It's a Dimplex. Lovely and bright. I stand candles on top and it's cosy.

Hi
which make and model did you go for,?? worried it will either be too big or too small for the room. Thanks everyone else for their input.
June

I live in a modern house with no chimney. I have gas central heating but I also have a newish electric fire with flames if that makes sense. It is for effect mainly and I would only switch on the heat if my central heating died for any reason.

We just wanted something as a focal point, and it does the job well from that point of view. Just looks nice and sort of welcoming.

The testimonials say they give out quite a bit of heat Jane and the table top ones I'm looking at burn for over an hour - at least the largest one does. I'd only want it for back up heat and the effect anyway. Think I might get one just for the conservatory and outside first though before I go knocking holes in my chimney breast

The gel fires are so expensive to run and give out virtually no heat. My sister bought one and it was so disappointing, they really are for effect more than heat. Multi-fuel burners are best, then you can use smokeless fuel in a town or wood if it is available. We had a new chimney built and one installed because I missed them so much from other houses. I love knowing that if there is a powercut we shall still have heat. Every pruned twig is hoarded and all rubbish is burnt. I love the feeling I get when i burn junk mail.

Love the look of the portable ones but as they only burn for 45-50 mins per fill, uh eyre not very practical

Hey I like the look of these Mamie. I could have the old fire place opened up and still have the effect without having to worry about flues and chimney cleaners etc.

Hard to explain harrigran, but I hate living in houses without a fire. I think gas is fine and has the advantage of working in a power cut, but I don't much like electric fires.
I am sure the gel ones are safe, but I can't find much about heat output.
We have a pellet stove in our guest cottage. It is easier than the log-burner, but doesn't work in a power cut.

I don't understand the need to have a fire, naked flames look quite dangerous although there are no products of combustion.

These came up when I googled Aka
www.thenakedflame.co.uk
Just wondered if anyone had any experience of them. When we move (no sign of any buyers yet) we will probably not be able to have a real fire or wood-burner so I was interested in the gel.
I love the wood-burner for the warmth (11kw), the fact that we can stick a kettle or casserole on top, the carbon footprint of wood from our neighbour's field, but stacking 10 cubic metres in August and flogging up with massive baskets of wood all through the winter won't be sustainable for ever!

Mamie you probably could, but I have taken little steps to make it harder for others! It has the flue pipe section up from the middle, then going to the wall (does that make sense?) and I have a small basket of logs next to it!

We don't usually have the convector switched on as we have oil fired central heating (no gas in the area) so we just switch on the flickery glowing bit.

I used to live in a power-cut ridden area of the UK. If we didn't have a power cut one month then we'd surely have two the next! So the log burner was great. Not only did it give heat but it simply made you feel better, something to do with a real fire.
When we weren't using it I used to put a lit candle inside just for the effect.

Never heard of gel fires Mamie how do they work?

I love our log burner, but realise they aren't always possible. Sorry Phoenix, I can always spot the fake ones! I prefer gas effect fires and find the electric ones seem to make the air a bit dry. Has anyone tried the gel fires?

I think, if I lived in a cold country, I'd have a solid fuel heater, for times when the power was out, such as after a storm. I felt so sorry for those Americans in sub-zero temperatures with days-long electricity outages.

We have a mock wood burner in our sitting room, most people think it's real until we tell them otherwise!