Gas inset fire, anyone had pebbles?

adandem

Hi, we are updating our fireplace (been meaning to do it for months!).

Has anyone got a gas fire with pebbles rather than coals? I was told in one shop that the pebbles will go black. Our coal effect one does but obviously you can't see it.

Any experience anyone please?

Many thanks.

StuC75

Had a cheap one from B&Q at the last house with those kind of light weight pebbles (felt more like a pumice stone?).. And it would blacken up at times but then clear up. The fire wasn't used that much so was never too much of an issue - we had Carbon Monoxide detectors in the room and they Never had an issue with it..

I wouldn't get one like that again - but maybe because it was a basic model and had to remove a little grille part to light it but then that bit wouldn't always go back right..

You might get better advice if you posted particular model details...

adandem

No particular model in mind atm I'm afraid, not wanting to spend a huge amount though as our fire is rarely used, it's more for look really. We've been to lots of showrooms and our heads are spinning now:o
Thanks for your reply.

bigheadxx

Had one before Christmas and wouldn't really recommend, especially Crystal Fires as we had to pay an extra £69 for a spigot to attach to the flue.

The coals do GO black and it only effectively has two settings as it hisses quite loudly otherwise. Removing the front panel to light it is also annoying and it gets very dusty. Not a cheap fire at around £600 but I would not buy again.

jackyann

We had a beauty at our old house, loved it, the pebbles didn't go black - a little natural-looking discolouration over a few years. Now if olny I could remember the make, I might be helpful................

adandem

bigheadxx wrote: »

Had one before Christmas and wouldn't really recommend, especially Crystal Fires as we had to pay an extra £69 for a spigot to attach to the flue.

The coals do GO black and it only effectively has two settings as it hisses quite loudly otherwise. Removing the front panel to light it is also annoying and it gets very dusty. Not a cheap fire at around £600 but I would not buy again.[/QUOT

Oh we were looking at crystal :-(

Lgas

They shouldn't get sooted up if placed correctly but every fire has a specific coal layout, important to remember if you remove coals or pebbles to clean them. It will be in the user instructions, they must be placed back in the correct way to avoid incomplete combustion and soot build up. And a carbon monoxide alarm is a must have. I service plenty of older fires that still have nice white or off-white pebbles.

jellie

My fire is about 7 years old. The pebbles do get soot on them, but it just falls off and they are still in excellent condition.


The most irritating thing is that the ignition button is a bit fierce and using it makes the pebbles move, so every so often one falls into the base of the fire and has to be fished out.


I wouldn't have one with loose pebbles again.

rustyboy21

Pebble gas fires have the tendency to soot up for two reasons.


1. the aeration of the burner is not fully open, so the fire burns with a yellowy flame. This will create carbon on the coals. They will discolour. The flame should be blue, with just the tip getting yellow


2. You don't operate it as the manufacturers instructions. Most say, when you switch the fire on, turn it on high. After 20 minutes, you can turn it down, but every hour or so, turn it back up to high for another 10 mins. Before you switch it off at night, turn it high again for 10 mins then off.


I know it is a bit of a faff, but doing this, will burn any excess carbon from the burner, so making the fire clean burn.


The cheaper the pebble fire, the worse they are. Crystal ones are a bit iffy, legend and Valor ones are better.
Also, if you don't have the pebbles set out in the correct position, they will soot up.


At the end of the day, if you had a bonfire on the beach and you ringed it with pebbles, they would soot up wouldn't they?


If you want hassle free , go with coals or logs.