[retrotecchie]

@Tommysgirl

Berry started selling them in the 1920s. Earlier models contained asbestos but that wasn't recognised as a problem back then. I would have been more concerned about the unearthed chassis and the twin double cotton covered flex. Fortunately, some things have improved since then.

[meldrewreborn]

@Tommysgirl

I have a flue less gas fire that produces a ribbon of flame. Its 100% efficient, but like all gas appliances a by product (apart from some CO2) is a lot of H2O so its not suitable for long term use or heating an entire property.

[Tommysgirl]

@retrotecchie

I remember the Berry name. I seem to recall that my mum and dads electric fires were the Belling brand. I didn't know about asbestos being in the early models, but people were unaware of the dangers until relatively recently. Most ironing boards had asbestos mats to rest the hot irons on, and I remember the asbestos and mesh squares in the school chemistry lab for putting over the Bunsen burners. That takes me back.🤣
Another thing people used to do up this way, and probably UK wide was to plug their electric iron cable into a ceiling light socket with an adaptor to do their ironing, and some hairdressers did the same with their large hood hair dryers. That must have been dangerous but it was normal practice.

[Beki]

When I was younger, we only had one of these gas bottle heaters. I still remember the click, click noise when trying to light it, and watching the heat move through the front heater elements. My mum used to have to lug the gas bottles up 3 flights of stairs!

[JoeSoap]

Originally Posted by Beki_EONNext

When I was younger, we only had one of these gas bottle heaters. I still remember the click, click noise when trying to light it, and watching the heat move through the froNT heater elements. My mum used to have to lug the gas bottles up 3 flights of stairs!

I lived in Cyprus for a while many years ago. Although a hot country, our house was high in the mountains where it was freezing cold in the winter. All we had for heating was two or three of those gas heaters that we had to wheel from room to room 😂

It was the standard form of heating in the mountain villages and we frequently used to see old ladies lugging those gas bottles up the hills. They were made of strong stuff.

[wizzo227]

A wood burner is better than the pictured corcho gas thing because you can collect heathy looking weeds and wood and make wood ash organic fertiliser for the garden.

[WizzyWigg]

Originally Posted by wizzo227

A wood burner is better than the pictured corcho gas thing because you can collect heathy looking weeds and wood and make wood ash organic fertiliser for the garden.

Just be a little careful some garden plants don't like wood ash. These don't like it:

• Apple, peach, and pear trees.
• Sweet corn, peppers, eggplant, rhubarb, parsley, sweet potatoes.
• Potatoes (Wood ash can lead to potato scab.)
• Blueberries, raspberries, and most other berries.
• Roses, azaleas, rhododendron, and hydrangea.
• Birch trees, red maples, and pin oaks.

[wizzo227]

For plants which do like potassium, calcium, plus trace minerals but dislike the alkalinity of wood ash, you can mix in a bucket, a jugful of rainwater containing six spoonfuls of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate until the fizzing stops. Highly recommended to dilute further by topping up the bucket with more water before spreading. Not organic, but a Ph balanced N,P,K high quality fertiliser with trace minerals too. BS on birch trees; they'll gobble up anything if it is diluted with enough water.

[geoffers]

Originally Posted by Beki_EONNext

When I was younger, we only had one of these gas bottle heaters. I still remember the click, click noise when trying to light it, and watching the heat move through the front heater elements. My mum used to have to lug the gas bottles up 3 flights of stairs!

When I was a kid we had an open fire in the sitting room, and the only other background heat in the house was an Aladdin paraffin burner like this

Big downside was the amount of H²O vapour given off, so our bedroom windows were always covered in a thick layer of "jack-frost" in the morning

[WizzyWigg]

Originally Posted by geoffers

When I was a kid we had an open fire in the sitting room, and the only other background heat in the house was an Aladdin paraffin burner like this

Big downside was the amount of H²O vapour given off, so our bedroom windows were always covered in a thick layer of "jack-frost" in the morning

Oh boy does that brings back memories. 🤗. And only one channel on the old goggle box 😉.