Now the new question!

[CatherineB]

Here's our one remaining fireplace.

The chimney was successfully swept last year, and there is no reason I know of why it shouldn't work fine, but as an open fire novice I have a couple of questions.

It's a baxi fire, vented from underneath, and as you can see in the picture it has some sort of grate in it already. The main question is, do we need anything else, or do we just lay the fire directly onto this grate?

The second, more general question, is - is there anything special I need to know about running a baxi fire like this? I have a little experience of "ordinary" fires, but this is a new one for me.

Many thanks!

 

[Flyfisher]

We had a Baxi open fire at a previous house, and very good it was too. I think the full name is Baxi Burnall.

You're right that you lay the fire directly on the grate. Our fire had a 'deepening bar' that slotted into the fire front and allowed more coal to be heaped onto the grate. it's a bit difficult to see from your photo if your fire has one of these.

There should also be a damper control in the centre of the fire front. If you remove the grate and the ash pan, you should be able to feel the under-grate ventilation hole (at the front of the ash-pan cavity) and the damper control rod connects to a butterfly valve in this hole. I can't remember which way it operates but if you put your fingers into the hole and operate the damper control you'll feel the valve open and close and will be able to work out the open and closed position.

Before your first fire I would recommend checking that the ventilation hole is completely clear as some ash can find its way past the ash-can. I used a vacuum cleaner to clean below the grate, but only every month or so. I'd also suggest finding the ventilation grill/airbrick outside the house (probably near the chimney) and ensure it isn't blocked.

Basically, that's all there is to it. Open the damper, lay a fire, light it and enjoy! I tended to use a couple of small firelighters (those individually wrapped ones are marvellous - no need to unwrap them before lighting) and kindling together with ordinary house coal, though you may need smokeless fuel depending on your location.

When lighting our fire when the chimney was cold, i.e. first fire of the winter months, it would sometimes take a while to 'draw' properly when first lit. This is more to do with the 'plug' of cold air in the chimney than the fire itself. I used to screw up a page of newspaper, hold it at the entrance to the chimney with a poker and light it. The brief burst of flame and heat would clear the chimney and allow the fire to draw properly when first lit. This sort of thing may or may not be necessary but it's all part of the fun of learning about how your particular fire/chimney behaves.

We usually lit the fire around 5-6pm and would burn a bit less than a bucket of coal during the evening (we had a 24-inch baxi). It's only necessary to empty the ash can when full and in our case this would be every 3-4 days, which was very handy. To prepare the next day's fire, just sweep any residual ash through the grate, and lay a new fire. Very quick and easy.

Enjoy!

 

[CatherineB]

Fab, thanks FF!

We do indeed have one of those damper control valve things, and the sweep explained to me how to work it, but I'd forgotten, so it's good to have it in writing.

There is no deepening bar, so I will see how we go with the capacity we've got.

So excited, a real fire in the grate for Christmas, if we're lucky!

 

[Flyfisher]

If you do decide you'd like a deepening bar then they are widely available from a variety of online shops. We found it very easy to find a new ashpan and grate when we needed them.

 

[Penners]

we had a 24-inch baxi

From my personal experience of fishermen's tales, I reckon this probably means that he had an 8-inch one - but its size gets a bit exaggerated in the telling! :wink:

Seriously though, a first-class operator's manual from FF there. We had a Baxi a very long time ago and its operation was exactly as he has explained.