Gas Fires - do I always need the vent?

roswell

Get an electic fire thats what we did then stuffed 2 bath sponges in the vent ;-)

moonrakerz

andrew-b wrote: »

True enough but can you link me to a page on the internet (that's not going to cost me money) giving me a guide of how to determine the requirements for ventilation for a gas fire in order to meet the regs?

I appreciate the regs are there for a reason and the dangers of incomplete combustion of gas with the associated affects of carbon monoxide ..however as a member of the general public as yet i've drawn a blank on where i can establish exactly whether i need ventilation for my gas fire or not. If i were telling people well actually you don't need a vent and that's wrong then that's clearly dangerous!

Like electricians, those on the gas safe register can't really give a definitive answer..their public liability insurance and gas safe register advise them not to?

This is the problem the regulations on ventilation of gas appliances need to be more readily available.

Safety nearly always involves money unfortunately!

Sorry Andrew, but is not your life, and anyone's living with you, not worth a few quid on a gas fitter ?

The internet is handy, BUT it is not the Gospel !

The regulations are available - to gas fitters - who know what they are doing !

As I said, my C/H was serviced yesterday - I now have a "Home Owner Gas Safety Record" - one of the boxes says "Ventilation provision satisfactory" the fitter has said YES, that's what I paid him for.

Adrian is quite correct - I'll be a little more blunt - gas is b****y dangerous !

andrew-b

Sure get a gas fitter i'm not saying not to! Having had a boiler replaced with a flue that was actually leaking and could have poisoned us to death i agree it's not something to be left to the DIYer!

That is why i purchased a carbon monoxide alarm. However i've had my gas fire serviced in the past and no mention was made to it not meeting ventilation requirements. But there have been many posts here recently saying vents must be installed with every gas fire - so can you see how i am not convinced whose telling me the right story? So who do i believe? Should i just trust the fact that it was serviced before and no mention of ventilation was made when others are saying you need a vent? Or should i get someone else in whose going to tell me i need vents and then charge me a second time to remove the fire when i say i don't want one!

Who to believe? All i'm asking is for the information to be freely available on the ventilation requirements...not on fitting the fire or servicing it...not on replacing thermocouples, gas injectors etc. There are plenty of documents for example on ventilation requirements for a bathroom extractor fan yet to install such a fan must be done via a Part P registered electrician.

Gas IS dangerous and shouldn't be DIYed i agree absolutely! However the vents themselves can be installed by anyone and could indeed be replaced by anyone. Or blocked up as a few here have mentioned doing which is a hell of alot more dangerous than knowing what the ventilation requirement actually are! Therefore data should be made available of the requirements for ventilation. Simples!

We are not using our gas fire because i have doubts as to the ventilation requirements. If it's not ok and vents need to be installed i'd rather pay to have it removed than pay to have it serviced. TBH i'm a bit fed up of this invisible bureaucracy and might just get the gas pipe capped off from up in the loft and rip out the fire altogether..it seems too much hassle trying to keep up with whether a vent is required or not!

My point is about freedom of information ...gas safety shouldn't be held as a top secret accessible to a select few.

Canucklehead

stilernin wrote: »

I've just had a survey for cavity wall insulation and have been told that I will have to have vents put in the outside wall because of the living flame gas fire. I already have the grills in the floor, but the new insulation may block up the flow to the outside.

The surveyor did add that 'some people block up the vent in the wall after the work was done' :eek:

He also talked about new condensing gas fires that didn't need ventilation. I haven't investigated these yet.

Hi
Just in case you missed it the first time around, from your own thread......

Hi

Just to confirm what EliteHeat says, you need permanent ventilation to outside air with no screens ,closers or any other restriction on them. This applies to flueless gas fires as well. The floor vents should be considered At risk as you don't know if the air bricks to outside under the floor are clear.
Always consult manufacturers installation instructions.;)


GSR.

andrew-b

So to the OP...we can't give you an answer to your question because noone knows (or won't tell you unless you pay them!)..take a guess and dangerously hope for the best? Or get an electric fire and save some hassle!

Gas... You make me vent!!

dander

andrew-b wrote: »

Or get an electric fire and save some hassle!

Have to say this was the option I went for - precisely because of the vent. I wouldn't want to block it up and have any type of gas appliance, just to be sure. The way gas poisons you is such that you won't neccesarily know there's a problem until it's too late - at least with other hazards in the home, such as electricity, you stand half a chance of spotting the fire or whatever before it kills you.

I have to agree that having some kind of guidelines available would be very useful to normal people. It's not just about getting professional fitters in to fit things - it's also about moving into a new home, for instance, and wanting to check the set-up in your livng room is safe - you don't call a fitter in for that kind of thing, you just want to have some clear information so you know what's what.

However, one way of dealing with the vent, if you do have a gas appliance is to lean a board in front of it, at an angle so you aren't actually blocking it - this disperses the air-flow to each side, so you at least don't have the howling gale blowing around your ankles.

Paul_Varjak

A few years ago a gas engineer said my mother's gas boiler needed more ventilation to ensure correct combustion, so the fitting of a larger vent was required.

I was concerned that this would create more cold draughts as even the current vent was causing draught problems. The solution was a draught-free vent where the air had to travel in a circuitous route. I must say that it worked a treat!

http://www.stadium-ventilation.co.uk/vents/Vent_Bkhole1_.htm

fishing-girl

i have just had an extension built and have a flueless wall mount gas fire fitted.we thought that it would not need an air brick as it does not state it on any of the info prior to buying.
but when the gas fitters came to fit it ,it clearly says in the fitting instruction that we have to have an air supply.also the building regs man when he did the final inspection said it had to be a permanantly open vent.

Owain_Moneysaver

The standards for gas appliance installations are available to anyone from BSI. They just cost money. (Your local library might have a membership or online access)