Many fire grates on the market these days tend to be made from brittle pig iron. Typically they retail at about €25, but will only last for about 2 years. (Based on only using your fireplace from October to March). This is due to the fact that Polish coal and smokeless coal burn at very high temperatures which tends to be very harsh on fire grates.
As your grate begins to detoriate, the heat output of the fuel you are burning goes down. The result is that you end up burning more fuel than is necessary.
Kevin Walker, who recently appeared on the Dragon’s Den on RTÉ, has developed the Olympic Grate Saver. The Grate Saver not only goes a long way towards preserving the life of your fire grate, it also prevents small particles of fuel falling through your grate and smouldering into ash resulting in a huge loss of heat.
The Olympic Grate Saver is a steel plate which is designed and manufactured in Ireland and can be used on open fires, stoves and ranges. With the grate saver installed on your fire grate it is estimated that you will reduce your fuel bill by up to 20%.
