A safe open fire has a calming effect on a person. After all, it creates an atmosphere of comfort and warmth. But not everyone has the opportunity to build a fireplace in their home or on the site. A great alternative to this device can be a biofireplace - a living fire without smoke and ash. Unlike the traditional version, the biofireplace does not involve the arrangement of a chimney, since no harmful substances are released during the biofuel combustion process.
What is a biofireplace and what is it good for?
Biofireplaces can be safely called the new generation of traditional wood-burning fireplaces and heating devices. Real living flame, resulting from the combustion of biofuels created on the basis of alcohols, does not emit soot and smoke and does not leave traces of burning and soot.
Modern bio-fireplaces have long won love among a wide range of customers due to their attractive appearance and safety in use
They can be installed both in open areas of a suburban area and indoors in a house. But since open fire has the ability to burn oxygen, the room in which the makeshift fireplace burns needs to be ventilated periodically.
Depending on the location of the device, several types of biofireplaces are distinguished: wall, floor and table.
Wall - compact flat designs, the side and rear walls of which are made of metal, and the front part is protected by glass
Board - act as a miniature imitation of fireplaces. They have a protective glass screen through which live fire is clearly visible.
Floor-mounted - imitate traditional wood burning devices. They are installed on the floor of open areas, or in niches or corners of the room
Depending on the size of the structure, biofireplaces can have from one to several fuel blocks - burners. Bioethanol, which does not leave combustion products, is most often used as fuel.
Biofireplaces have a lot of advantages: ease of installation, does not require the installation of a chimney, there is no dirt from firewood, there is no soot and soot. The only drawback of popular heating devices is their price. However, masters with basic knowledge and construction skills will be able to confirm that making a bio fireplace with your own hands is not so difficult.
We invite you to watch a video where the simplest model of a biofireplace is constructed so that you understand how simple it is:
Self-made bio fireplace methods
Design # 1 - a miniature desktop device
To make a table fire we need:
- Glass and glass cutter;
- Silicone sealant (for gluing glasses);
- Metal grid;
- Metal box under the base of the structure;
- Fuel tank;
- Non-combustible composite materials;
- Lace-wick;
- Fuel for a biofireplace;
To equip the fireplace screen, you can use ordinary window glass 3 mm thick or glass with photo frames.
The simplest form of a desktop biofireplace is with a rectangular or square base. Arrangement of such a design will take only a few hours
As a metal mesh base, a baking tray for an oven, a barbecue grill or a stainless steel construction mesh is perfect. To equip a tank for fuel, you can use a metal cup. The fuel block of a biofireplace is easiest to make from a metal planter of a square or rectangular shape.
An alternative to non-combustible composite materials can be sea pebbles and any heat-resistant stones of small sizes
Dimensions of the design depend only on the wishes of the master. However, when calculating the dimensions, it should be borne in mind that the distance from the burner to the side windows should not exceed 15 cm. At the same time, if the glass is too close to the open flame, it is likely that it will burst. The number of burners is determined taking into account the dimensions of the site or room. On average, on a 16-square-meter area, a tabletop biofireplace with one burner is enough.
Having decided on the dimensions of the structure and taking into account the dimensions of the lower part of the biofireplace - a metal fuel block, we cut 4 glass blanks.
From the blanks we assemble a glass casing, which will act as a biofireplace screen. We connect glass elements with silicone sealant.
Carefully connecting and gluing all the glass elements, we leave the screen until the sealant completely dries. It is convenient to clean the remnants of dried silicone sealant with an ordinary blade.
To fix the glass blanks well, we place the assembled screen between stationary objects and leave it for several hours
We proceed to the arrangement of the fuel block.
In the center of the metal box we install a jar filled with fuel. If we use two or more burners to equip a biofireplace, then we place them in the box at a distance of 15 centimeters from each other
We make a mesh flooring: we cut out a rectangle from a metal grid using scissors for metal, the size of which corresponds to the dimensions of the box.
We put the metal grate on the walls of the box, for reliability, grabbing the corners of the structure in several places with welds
We twist the wick from the lace and immerse one of its ends in a container with fuel. We cover the metal mesh itself with heat-resistant stones, decorate it with ceramic logs and other non-combustible materials.
In addition to the decorative function, heat-resistant stones will evenly distribute the heat of the burner over the entire surface of the grate to the glass casing
Desktop bio fireplace is ready. It remains only to install a glass box on the metal block and set fire to the wick soaked with fuel.
Construction # 2 - angular variation for the gazebo
The corner version of the biofireplace is interesting because it can be safely placed in the corner of the arbor or porch. Occupying a minimum of space, it will bring notes of coziness and comfort to the atmosphere, conducive to a pleasant stay.
Since the biofireplace is an object of increased fire hazard, you should always leave a sufficient distance from the hearth to the walls and the upper part of the structure
To make an angular structure, we need:
- Guide and rack metal profile 9 m long;
- 1 sheet of non-combustible drywall;
- 2 sq.m of mineral (basalt) wool;
- Finishing gypsum putty;
- 2.5 sq.m of tile or artificial stone;
- Grout and heat-resistant adhesive for tile;
- Dowel-nails and screws;
- Capacity for fuel;
- Heat resistant stones and non-combustible decorative elements.
Having decided on the location and design of the future hearth for the competent calculation of the necessary materials and visualization of the image on a sheet of paper, we draw a sketch, observing the proportions. Then you can tinker, it is best to start with the markup.
We apply a marking on the wall, along which we fasten pre-cut guide profiles. We insert rack profiles in them, fixing the elements with screws
After checking the verticality of the structure using a plumb line, we attach the frame to the wall using dowels, nails and screws. It is advisable to fasten the fireplace racks with jumpers.
The frame itself is sheathed on the outside with drywall, screwing it onto the screws every 10-15 cm. In the furnace area, we lay a 5-cm layer of mineral wool
At the bottom of the furnace, we leave a recess in which we will subsequently install the burner. Since during the operation of the hearth the temperature around the burner can reach 150 ° C, the base of the fuel part is made of rigid non-combustible material.
We plaster the structure sheathed with gypsum plasterboard and clad it with tiles, refractory tiles or natural stone, which will organically combine with other elements of the recreation area
After completing the work, overwrite the seams with a special grout.
The fireplace is ready. It remains to wipe the surface first with a damp, and then with a dry cloth and lay out heat-resistant stones and decorative elements
It is convenient to use a special tank or a cylindrical burner as a container for biofuel. To ensure the safety of loved ones, the front wall of the biofireplace can be covered with heat-resistant glass and a forged fireplace grate.
We make fuel for such a hearth
The fuel for the bio-fireplace is bio-ethanol - a liquid without color and odor, containing alcohol and acting as a substitute for gasoline. Its main advantage is that during combustion it does not emit harmful gases and does not leave soot and soot after itself. Therefore, biofuel fireplaces do not require the installation of hoods, due to which one-hundred-percent heat transfer is achieved. And besides, in the process of burning bioethanol due to the released water vapor, air is humidified.
You can buy fuel in specialized stores. It is produced in plastic bottles and cans. One liter of liquid is enough for 2-5 hours of continuous burning
Fuel for a biofireplace can be made with your own hands. This will require:
- Medical alcohol 90-96 degrees;
- Gasoline for Zippo lighters.
Gasoline is able to turn a blue laboratory flame into a living center of orange. It is only necessary to mix these two components in such a proportion that gasoline makes up 6-10% of the volume of medical alcohol. Shake the finished composition well and pour it into the fuel tank. Fuel consumption is 100 ml per 1 hour of combustion.
After igniting the fuel for the first 2-3 minutes, until a small flame within a radius of a few meters from the biofireplace, a slight smell of alcohol is felt. But as the fuel heats up, when the fumes begin to burn, and not the liquid itself, the smell quickly dissipates, and the flame becomes lively and playful.
