Fire dilemma

Such useful information. Thank you everyone. I was pleased nobody regretted the change! to you all.

Definitely gas no hesitation there, get it installed properly and then check it each year you will love to

We had an open fronted gas fire in our last home along with central heating. Looked like coals and had pretty flame effect when lit. We already had a cowl on the chimney, the supplier installed the fire, I can’t recall the detail but it was definitely sealed and no chimney sweeping was then needed. The only difficulty was a year or so later a tiny bird managed to find its way through the chimney cowl and we had to get the installer back to take the fire out and then put it back once the bird had been released. A different cowl stopped any recurrence. It’s worth talking with one of the specialist shops or suppliers about types and installation, we took advice about the right one for our situation and never regretted it. I miss it now.

I know nothing about this but have an open (unused) fire place. I'd really like to put a free-standing fire there to use when it's not cold enough for full CH, but don't want to have to get the chimney swept; is this impossible?!

Mine comes apart very easily, follow instructions in handbook. The glass slips into two slots at the top and then clips in at the bottom of the sides. No seals as such just a strip of rope like material that sits between the glass and the frame. All original. The only time I ever had soot like residue on it was because I'd put the coals back in wrong order, they have to go in certain places. It mists on start up when first used but it clears after a minute and is then fine for the winter.
The brass is, I think, lacquered. The only bit we have replaced are two brass strips that clip over the side edges of the glass, they went a bit pitted over the years. The trim on the canopy and the finials on the front stand are originals, never polished.

Coal is due to be phased out for domestic use quite soon.

Gas flame fires are attractive but can be overly hot in a small room. They are available for town gas or lpg.

You will still need to have your chimney swept regularly

I meant to say, the brass trims usually don't need polishing but brass frets do, in my experience.

You have been fortunate , Jusnoneed, if you haven't had fogging or needed to polish brass. I've noticed fogging on some working showroom fires! I liked the look of one glass fronted model so rang the manufacturer who advised that glass could be cleaned but the seal would have to replaced after every clean.

We have a glass fronted gas fire, over 25 years old now. It's our only heat (no CH).
The glass is easy to remove and clean, only do it once a year just before we start using it in the winter, but it has never fogged up. Same time the coals get a dusting too. It's black with brass trims, they don't need cleaning.

Thanks very much SpringyChicken, that was very useful. Our fire is in addition to CH too. And I did wonder about the glass fronted ones. You have confirmed my fears!
The chrome tip is useful too. I was wondering about the black finish fires to avoid brass polishing. ?

We have gas fires in the lounge and dining rooms which look like open coal fires. No regrets whatsoever.

We don't use them often because of the CH but they're so attractive when lit. They're especially useful to put on when we've come home at night and it's not quite time for bed but not worth putting the heating on. Or for those days where you want a quick blast of heat.

The fires with glass fronts are supposed to be the most efficient. However, I read (and have seen) that over time, the glass fogs because of deposits produced when the gas burns so we elected to have the no glass versions. For the few times we use the fires, the extra cost is negligible.

Whenever the CH boiler is faulty, we are thankful to have the fires as back up. Another bonus is not needing to store coal or logs.

We opted for chrome finishes to avoid the polishing of brass.