Sunhouse electric fire ( old flame effect)

I have bought an old ( circs 1960's/70's?) fire surround with built in cabinets and electric fire from a charity shop. Like all things I don't expect it to be perfect and its mainly for show ( I have an all electric house and its a centre piece in the sitting room).

The thing is it does work and was tested. I have replaced the old fire glow lamps . I noticed that one of the pivot things that allows the fan to swing round and cause the flicker flame is missing.

If you are old enough to know what I mean by this fan and pivot thing - can you tell me what it is called and if it is possible to get a new one? ( It looks like this thing is just a bit that is fitted onto an arm over the light so it goes round when the lights heat up and cause convection currents ) I have the flame pit, just not the pointy but and the end that keeps it on. I have tried searching built not knowing what its called I cant find it.

Thanks for any useful advice.

Reply to
sweetheart
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I know exactly what you mean but no idea what you'd call it. I'm also pretty sure that it's something which will be specific to the model of fire, so it's highly unlikely that spares will still be available for one of that age.

That said, AFAIK they are still used (I bought an electric flame-effect fire from B&Q about 5 years ago and it had them fitted) so you might just get lucky...

David

Reply to
Lobster

If one is missing, is another one still present?

From memory, the fan should have a sort of conical recess in the centre which simply balances on a point.

All you need to do is bend a bit of stiff wire to position the point above the lamp where you need it.

If it is like that, then I don't quite understand what the "end that keeps it on" would be.

Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

You could almost make one up. A bit of ally and a pointy bit of metal fastened to it. There is usually a piece of distorted glass in there to make the flicker look less regular. The glass is kind of dimpled or patterned of course like a bathroom window. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Yes, the one fan thing is fully fitted and works perfectly. The other I have the conical fan thing but not the ponted thing it is supposed to sit on. I have the arm the pointed thing is supposed to fit on.

Yes, I have the fan, I dont have the point fitting.

Ah, right. I see. That might work

There is sort of a plastic bit on the end that stops the wire slipping through the fan and allows it to revolve freely. I could always use blu tack for that.

Reply to
sweetheart

Mine has a set of paper (?) proper flames at the back of a screen that flicker in the air current set up with the fan thing ( this is all none motorized) . Earlier version maybe? A bit like those artificial candles you see around sometimes.

Either way. I will try the bit of wire technique. Thanks

Reply to
sweetheart

Nail on the end of a bit of heavy galvanised garden wire ought to do.

Plastic suggests quite a modern one then. The rotors on the ones I remember tended to be too regular and so gave more of an impression of a slowly rotating fire than a proper flame flicker effect.

Reply to
Martin Brown

Well the existing one is made of tin or aluminium . I do have a newer fire with a cap like this that is plastic. ( no I cant rifle the one for the other - wrong size).

I suspect the fire is mid 1960's I remember my mother having something similar in our house in 1964. Possibly not later than 1970. I dont know what my mothers cost orginially. Although I also know that surrounds like the one I have were made until around 1985. I always wanted one for my first home but they were very expensive( around £399.00 by then) and I was saving up ...... and then they stopped making them just as I had the money.

I didnt pay anywhere near that for this. It was a snip ( I think) at £30 and the charity shop delivered it too. I also got a lovely 1960's G plan glass display cabinet with pretty flower pattern on the doors - which might have come from the same house clearance - I think the shop had a lot of stuff donated from a house.

Now you know why I couldnt resist this one ( which was a top price model in mahogony with display cabinets either side as well as the built in sunhouse fire in the middle)

But the thing is a lightweight metal fitting on the original Thanks.

I am trying to find a suitable pit of metal. Nail sounds good Off to rifle through OH's nail boxes.

Reply to
sweetheart

A gramophone needle, for example.

Reply to
Frank Erskine

Does anyone know if "Sunhouse" are still going and if they still make electric fires? Just curious. I know you can buy the elements (bars) for the fires.

Reply to
sweetheart

Thank you. I might just have one of those somewhere ( from my old, now defunct, stereo record player)

Reply to
sweetheart

I doubt that a stereo record player would use the type of needle I'm thinking of - a steel thing about 1/2" long, generally used with "wind-up" panatropes. :-)

Reply to
Frank Erskine

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions. I have fixed the fan piece. I looked at the other one and found a small piece of plastic ( end off plastic window) cut it to size and put a small nail ( tack) like you suggested, in it. I lodged this in the arm attachment and stuck the fan on top. Job done. Thank you.

Reply to
sweetheart

replying to sweetheart, pat wrote: You can buy Flicker vanes and pins from ebay very cheaply they come usually together in pairs and are much safer than home made bits as there is quite a lot of heat generated from the lamps.

Reply to
pat

Spinner flicker vane. Seem to have them here.

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Reply to
harry

Since it was 4 years ago I'd assume it's fixed by now. Get yourself a sane portal to newsgroups, there are several options out there.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

However although its old, some time ago somebody told me a ruse to help sticky flame effect vanes. Use a soft lead pencil and spin the fan on it, and also clean the point on the pin. They whizz around after this. However I wonder if the fireglo tungston bulbs are still legal. Oone could cover a cf type replacement in a coloured coating but the heat would not be enough to get the fan to work. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

I have one with a single effect fan and the fireglo bulb failed and as I didn't have a spare I tried a 10 watt osram 60watt equivalent led lamp which is the same shape as an old gls bulb and after a while the fan started to slowly rotate. I coloured the globe of the lamp with a red marker pen and it looks OK, how long it will last is another question.

Reply to
Trevor Smith

I think Fireglo bulbs are still legal as it's a specialist item which needs to supply heat to turn the vanes. There is an old fashioned electric shop near me that still sells them.

Old vanes are reluctant to turn because the glass pivots have become rough through wear.

Reply to
Dave W

replying to Lobster, Bishbosh wrote: Think it is called a spinner pin

Reply to
Bishbosh

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