Gas Fires

[Tigercubrider]

I am looking at replacing a living flame/coal effect Marseilles fire. I think it may be made by Valour?
My local fireplace shop sells fires by Paragon, Charleton&Jenrick, Infinity and Gazco.
Could someone rank them in some kind of order?

I could go elsewhere but it's easier to use a local company.

thanks

 

[muggles]

Gazco are good. Have never heard of the others

 

[Tigercubrider]

thanks

 

[Gasguru]

Paragon & Infinity are just brand names of Charleton & Jenrick, looks like they've been around a long time but I've never heard of them.
Likewise Gazco (Stovax) have been around for decades...fitted a few many years ago and they were good quality then.
Whatever you do don't be tempted by all the cheap B&Q type fires.

 

[DP]

Look at the input and output for the fire. A more efficient fire will have higher output for gas consumed

 

[tell80]

As all the above esp looking for good efficiency - but can you trust the mfrs specs? does which magazine do anything on gas fires?
The other thing is what type of fire and hows it going to sit in the fireplace or inset up the chimney breast. all will affect efficiency.
I dont know where you would buy the better made appliances but I do know the prices have rocketed up. probably using your local fireplace shop is the thing to do.

 

[Gasguru]

Which magazine has become totally corrupted...their boiler reviews are laughable. They ceased to be a reliable source of info decades ago.

 

[DP]

probably using your local fireplace shop is the thing to do.

Customer sometimes ends up buying a fire made by unknown makers and parts availability can become an issue

 

[muggles]

As all the above esp looking for good efficiency - but can you trust the mfrs specs? does which magazine do anything on gas fires?

Manufacturers specs are far more trustworthy than Which magazine

 

[JohnD]

Manufacturers specs are far more trustworthy than Which magazine

but advertisements and salesmen are not.

 

[Madrab]

What do you want from the fire?

Open flue'd gas fires, efficiency wise , typically range from decorative fuel effect as the less efficient rising through, inset open front fires without convection, inset fires with convection, glass fronted convection and then balanced flue. There are flueless but I wouldn't ever recommend them as I believe they are an accident waiting to happen.

If you are just looking for a replacement to what you have and aren't looking at efficiency then Valour/Gazco/Verine/Flavel are well known brands with others seemingly coming in behind but a lot of these are now owned by single larger manufacturers (BFM/Nu Flame/C&J). TBH Valour are the only manufacturer I know of that have stayed the same over the years.

The key here though IMO is good support and availability of parts longer term. Has your local fireplace shop been there a long time and will they provide servicing and support over the life of the fire?

 

[Tigercubrider]

Thanks all
It’s to replace what I believe is this one
http://www.boilermanuals.org.uk/boi...FIRE MARSEILLE MODEL BR622 GCNo.32-032-09.pdf

It is secondary heating for a home, mainly used to take the chill off cooler evenings when the full central heating isn’t needed.

I am going by appearance for the current ID. It looks the same although I haven’t actually measured it.
It’s currently fitted and out of service. A previous gas engineer recommended replacement due to age and spares.
It’s been well over 5 years out of service.

The local shop has been there a good 20 years.

 

[Madrab]

One of the benefits of owning a well known manufacturer, being Valour is that parts will be available for a long time. I can find all the basic service parts for the fire. I'd call Valour and confirm availability of parts for your fire longer term. I'm a firm believer in not replacing things just because it is older, especially if it is perfectly serviceable.