Flame failure device, retro-fitting

HomerCastle

My house has a couple of coal-effect gas fires. They were installed years ago by the previous owner and we VERY rarely use them because they look good but generate very little heat. They were fitted before flame failure devices were the norm. A house move is on the cards in the next couple of years so I'm starting putting these sorts of things to rights.
I'm sure it is possible for a professional to retro-fit ffd's but can anyone give me an idea of cost and the likely level of disruption to carpets or decoration involved... (If any??)
Thanks :T

phill99

Why retro-fit FFDs? As you suggested, the fires were fitted before FFDs had to be used. This does not make them illegal as the legislation is not retrospective.

HomerCastle

I don't feel very comfortable with them myself ... The ffd regs were introduced with good reason. We are upating a number of aspects of the house - it seems logical to include this as long as it's not too costly. The alternative may be replace to one of the fires with more economical model and remove other entirely.

phill99

But by your own admittance, you hardly use them. If it was your primary source of heating, I could understand, nut not for something that is used once in a blue moon.

I think you are being paranoid.

rustyboy21

I wouldn't touch them to be honest.

You may be opening a whole big can of worms.

As far as selling the house in future, It will not matter, the fires were installed prior to regs, so can still be used legitimely and legally.

I have not heard of being able to retro fit an FFD. so I wouldn't worry about it.

More than likely any prospective buyer, would change their fire anyway, so don't really go in for added expense if you don't need to. Unless you are worried for yourself. Do you light the fire with a pilot ignition or by turning the tap and lighting with a match?

And this is coming from someone who sells gas fires for a living ! need to lie down, don't know what came over me !

garethgas

Retro-fit an ffd? How?

HomerCastle

garethgas... that's what I want to know, please... I have seen suggestions that it can be done but is it correct?

Thanks folks, I appreciate other replies but I would just like a reply to my original question.
One of the reasons I don't make more use of them is lack of ffd...

garethgas

As far as I'm aware, no you can't.
I've never been asked to do this and never heard of it before. Your existing fires have been designed to be used without an ffd so they don't need them.
You'd be altering the design spec of the appliance which is not allowed.
A bit like putting a cat converter on a Ford Anglia.

DVardysShadow

Homer, I agree with Gareth. When you come to sell, you could get caught out either way on a survey

• If you leave the fires as they are, the surveyor could comment that there are no FFDs
• If you do modify them, then the surveyor could comment that they have been modified outwith manufacturers specs

The first is far more defensible than the second, in that the FFD requirement is not retrospective, so there would be no real grounds to reduce any offer. But if you did fit FFD's then you might find you needed to replace the fires.

Of course if the manufacturer does have a FFD retrofit kit, that would be a different matter

HomerCastle

Thanks all, so that's looking like replace one and remove the other...

garethgas

I think thats a sensible compromise.