# Forum Home Renovation Heating & Cooling  What Is The Best Combustion Heater

## echnidna

What Is The Best Combustion Heater? 
For a LARGE area 
What are the best Brands? 
Inbuilt or freestanding? 
Is freestanding more effective than inbuilt?

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## ozwinner

We have an inbuilt, but I built in the middle of the room so that the bricks in the chimney absorb the heat and is radiated back into the room at night when the heater is closed down, you can feel the heat off the bricks in the morning.  :2thumbsup:  
Its a Phoenix brand, but I assume its just a generic rebadged. 
Al  :Smilie:

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## Barry_White

I think Coonara is probably one of the best. I have a Masport it is adequate for the area that I heat but the firebox is a bit small.

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## DJ's Timber

I've got a freestanding Diamond heater which I think is made by Eureka. Good decent size and heats 15sq nicely with it shut all the way down

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## Cliff Rogers

Freestanding, get a Kent or a Saxon, all steel welded firebox, the Saxon has the thickest steel & you will find heaps of them in Tassie. 
We got a Kent 'cos it is a bit cheaper than the Saxon.

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## Just George

Wood fires are one of the most inefficient types of heaters available.   
Gas would be far better than a wood fire, you could always move to Queensland. We have an open fire place in our lounge, this is our second winter here and we still haven't used it.

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## ozwinner

Hey Cliff.. :Confused:  
Why do you have a heater? 
Dont you live in the tropics? 
Al  :Confused:

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## ozwinner

> you could always move to Queensland. .

  Cliff lives there, and has a heater... 
Al  :Confused:

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## Cliff Rogers

I must answer this question at least once a month.
You saw this thread, you made a comment in it, didn't you read it properly?  :Confused:   
We are 865M above sea level, it is 10°C outside at present, it was 9°C last night & 4° the 2 nights before that. 
Friday morning there was frost on the ground about 2Kms down the road & Ravenshoe (Highest town in Queensland) which is about 35Kms from here had a -7°C.  :Eek:   
Yeap, we live in the tropics, just below the clouds.  :Biggrin:   
865M is about 2600ft old money. I've been up in an open cockpit biplane above Cairns on the 4th of Jan & after 5 mins at 3000ft, I was shivering.

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## ozwinner

Cliff, I think your tropics is broke.
Maybe it needs a nudge or bump to set it right, or maybe you need to burn more fossil fuels?  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  
I always envisaged the tropics to balmy nights even in winter.. :Confused:  
Al  :Smilie:

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## Gumby

> We are 865M above sea level, .

  The stumps on that house must be bloody humungous !  :Eek: 
How do you get down from it ?    :Rolleyes:  
Coonara are out of business aren't they ?  
The Jetmaster inbuilt are excellent. A mate of mine has one built into a corner out in his covered BBQ area using Hebel panels as a surround and base, . Bloody fantastic.

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## Big Shed

> What Is The Best Combustion Heater? 
> For a LARGE area 
> What are the best Brands? 
> Inbuilt or freestanding? 
> Is freestanding more effective than inbuilt?

  Get a Cleanair, they burn very well overnight. We have a built-in, daughter has a freestanding. If you have a big area get the freestanding. 
They are made in Sunbury-Vic.

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## Grunt

I'm for the Clean-Air as well. They are really good. They are very efficient, very little smoke goes out the flue.

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## ptc

Saxon.
ours stays lit for about 3 months.

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## Barry Hicks

Had a Nectre brand heater for some years when we lived down the road from Cliff.  It was made from steel plate with cast iron/glass door - very solid.  We were very happy with it.
It was made by Pecan Engineering in Adelaide. 
Barry Hicks

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## echnidna

> *Get a Cleanair, they burn very well overnight. We have a built-in, daughter has a freestanding. If you have a big area get the freestanding.* 
> They are made in Sunbury-Vic.

  Thanks for the comparison

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## Iain

> Wood fires are one of the most inefficient types of heaters available.   
> Gas would be far better than a wood fire, you could always move to Queensland. We have an open fire place in our lounge, this is our second winter here and we still haven't used it.

  If you have gas, we don't and the gas bill for a single heater used to be one bottle ( those 5' high torpedoes, at present about $75 each).
We use wood as our only heat source and have an inbuilt Ultimate.
The freestanding are much more efficient as most of out heat goes up the chimney.

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## echnidna

> Wood fires are one of the most inefficient types of heaters available.   
> Gas would be far better than a wood fire, you could always move to Queensland. We have an open fire place in our lounge, this is our second winter here and we still haven't used it.

  Gas is very exxy heating in the sticks.
Plus our firewood is natural falls on tracks and camping areas etc.
If we didn't burn it for heating we'd have to burn it for bushfire prevention management. 
Now I won't get started on QLD's crappy weather

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## Terrian

> Wood fires are one of the most inefficient types of heaters available.

  that depends on how much (if anything) you pay for the fire wood  :Redface: ) 
we have an 'Ultimate' in the lounge room, not free standing though 
bye

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## Border boy

> Had a Nectre brand heater for some years when we lived down the road from Cliff.  It was made from steel plate with cast iron/glass door - very solid.  We were very happy with it.
> It was made by Pecan Engineering in Adelaide.

  I second you  Barry
we've had a Nectre inbuilt for about 6 years, as well as a gas wall furnace. On cold nights the gas heater struggles on it's own but when we fire up the Nectre - toasty.
The Nectre is a good solid unit built with thick steel compared with some of the units from Europe. When burning hot wood like redgum, this makes a difference.
They make larger freestanding units as well.
Stay warm!!!

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## Terrian

> I second you  Barry
> we've had a Nectre inbuilt for about 6 years, as well as a gas wall furnace. On cold nights the gas heater struggles on it's own but when we fire up the Nectre - toasty.
> The Nectre is a good solid unit built with thick steel compared with some of the units from Europe. When burning hot wood like redgum, this makes a difference.

  try burning yellow box if you want real heat  :Redface:

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## Border boy

Thanks Terrian,
I normally get mixed loads of redgum & yellow box so I know what you mean. The  tin fire boxes from some European makers  wouldn't last long.

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## Harry72

The best combustion heater... a internal combustion engine in lean tune.

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## ex-chippie

Had a largest model ultimate free standing unit in our first house and that chewed wood like you wouldn't believe - STAY AWAY!!!!! In our second and current homes we used clean air units- happy with the wood consumption and heat output, but when we get strong southeasterly winds, our main living area (12 sq's) fills with smoke(wish i knew how to post the pic's) and i keep getting the old i'll get back to you from Karen at cleanair. I think she's mentally scared by my name! Good unit-bad after sales service! 
                                               Best of luck,
                                               Jason.

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## journeyman Mick

> Had a largest model ultimate free standing unit in our first house and that chewed wood like you wouldn't believe - STAY AWAY!!!!! In our second and current homes we used clean air units- happy with the wood consumption and heat output, but when we get strong southeasterly winds, our main living area (12 sq's) fills with smoke(wish i knew how to post the pic's) and i keep getting the old i'll get back to you from Karen at cleanair. I think she's mentally scared by my name! Good unit-bad after sales service! 
>                                                Best of luck,
>                                                Jason.

  Jason,
put it in writing! Starting with : "my letter to you is formal notification of a dangerous situation which may be endangering the health and safety of the occupants of my house as well as posing a serious structural fire risk, failure on your part to act on this advice may result in you being held personally liable should an incident or or adverse health incident occur."  See how quickly they act :Biggrin:   
Mick the stirrer 
Mick

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## Big Shed

> Had a largest model ultimate free standing unit in our first house and that chewed wood like you wouldn't believe - STAY AWAY!!!!! In our second and current homes we used clean air units- happy with the wood consumption and heat output, but when we get strong southeasterly winds, our main living area (12 sq's) fills with smoke(wish i knew how to post the pic's) and i keep getting the old i'll get back to you from Karen at cleanair. I think she's mentally scared by my name! Good unit-bad after sales service! 
> Best of luck,
> Jason.

  I would say that has more to do with flue/andor placement of same than the heater itself.
Must say we had very good service from them.

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## Iain

> Had a largest model ultimate free standing unit in our first house and that chewed wood like you wouldn't believe - STAY AWAY!!!!! In our second and current homes we used clean air units- happy with the wood consumption and heat output, but when we get strong southeasterly winds, our main living area (12 sq's) fills with smoke(wish i knew how to post the pic's) and i keep getting the old i'll get back to you from Karen at cleanair. I think she's mentally scared by my name! Good unit-bad after sales service! 
>                                                Best of luck,
>                                                Jason.

  We have the small Ultimate and after replacing the 'rope' around the door it is fine, with the strong winds a lobster tail could cure the problems as they create a venturi effect.

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## Cliff Rogers

I'd try an extra length of flue or one of those lobster tails that Iain mentioned. I have seen them used a lot in windy areas.

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## echnidna

> Jason,
> put it in writing! Starting with : "my letter to you is formal notification of a dangerous situation which may be endangering the health and safety of the occupants of my house as well as posing a serious structural fire risk, failure on your part to act on this advice may result in you being held personally liable should an incident or or adverse health incident occur."  See how quickly they act  
> Mick the stirrer 
> Mick

  You got shares in a toilet paper company Mick ??  :Rolleyes:

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## journeyman Mick

> You got shares in a toilet paper company Mick ??

  Hmm, not a bad idea. :Biggrin:   
Mick

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## MurrayD99

I put a Yunca Excel freestanding woodburner in the shed.  It is rated at 18Kw and will burn all night on low.  We have a smallish Kent in the house and it isn't up to the job but it has a water booster that sure does boil the cylinder if you provoke it.  Previous house we had a Masport LE7000 freestander and it was excellent - something like 21Kw and a 16 hour burn time.  These guys only pollute if you shut them down tight overnight. Anyways, we are rural.  If I was buying again I'd look at a Yunca Wegj.

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