10668 Convection Fireboxes - Do they exist in Italy?

I have searched a lot of the threads re woodburners and very useful they have been but can find no reference to convection fireboxes - what are they you may well ask?

Let me explain what we are trying to do. We are restoring a trulli and in one of the rooms is a 17th/18th century fireplace that we want to keep as original as possible. The main heating in the house wil be GPL (yes I am filling out the second mortgage application forms) but this will only be until we have an extension built and then the heating will be termo camino/solar/accumulator. Therefore I thought that as it is at the moment only a small property - 60sqm - I could cut down on the GPL heating costs by installing a small woodburner in the living room fireplace.

Straightforward - yes? Actually NO. I forgot to consult my wife on this small matter and she is adamant that we have an open fire (supported by the builders who no doubt see this as the easier option!). I explain that 75% of the heat will go up the chimney and that that is crazy. Not detered she goes off to a fireplace supplier in the UK and they suggest a convection firebox. Quite clever really as it supplies radiant and convected heat as shown in the diagram below.

So now I have to find an Italian supplier as I really don't fancy lugging a 100kilo fire all the way to Puglia.

Any suggestions and ideas most welcome. Attached are a sample picture of a convection firebox as well as the actual fireplace

Category
Building/Renovation

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 13:03

Difficult. I think the idea of a convection firebox is very good. Jetmaster, a South African company, do them, and I've had one of them (in the UK). That worked purely on convection, like your illustration.

In Italy the idea of convection fireboxes is well established (they are generally fan assisted, and very efficient) but I can't find one without a glass door.

Here are a couple of links to items on the Edilkamin site (probably neither of the models are exactly what you want - but they might help you with useful 'search terms' in Italian). The key words are 'focolare aperto' if you don't want the glass door - but I haven't found anything without the accompanying 'firebrick structure'.

I have used the Edilkamin 'insert', and it was wonderfully efficient, and although I would have preferred it without the glass front I did find the ability to close the front made it extremely controllable - it would burn overnight - and of course with the door closed you didn't have to worry about sparks flying out. The downside was that the door stuck out into the room when it was open, and efficiency went out of the window when run in that state.

I hope you find something - though you might well find that the Jetmaster, sourced in the UK, is going to be your best and least expensive solution. Good luck, it looks like a smashing fireplace!

[url=http://www.edilkamin.com/inserti_a_legna/caratteristiche_tecniche_e_dimensioni_luce_piana.aspx]EDILKAMIN - Inserto a legna Luce 54/62 Piana: caratteristiche tecniche e dimensioni[/url]
[url=http://www.edilkamin.it/focolari_aperti_e_da_cottura_modelli.aspx]EDILKAMIN - Focolari aperti e da cottura, caminetti[/url]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 15:19

You could try

[url=http://www.stovax.com/products.htm?cid=2&sid=2&pid=767]Stovax > Products > Built-in Fires > Multi-Fuel Fires > Riva 16 | 22 | 26 Contemporary Open Convector Fire[/url]

Their website has an 'Italian' button and also talks about European stockists [they ask you to contact them by e-mail for details]

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/15/2008 - 06:41

Thank you so much for the research and suggestions. I have sent enquiries to all, and will report back with my findings