Anybody got a Brilliant fire?

bondy01

Didn't know whether to put this here or in praise,vent etc. I have a 3 year old Brilliant Advantage gas fire and am not impressed. It is on its 3rd gas valve and the black paint seems to rub off too easily when you touch the knob to remove the front to gain access to the control knob. It stopped lighting when trying to put the ignition on with both previous valves. I could get around that by using a match but the last one became extremely stiff. I wonder about the latest one as it doesn't seem to me to be 100% smooth. Today I put the fire on but then couldn't turn it off as the plastic control knob had failed. Fortunately the firm that fitted it had a spare. I would be interested to know of your thoughts about this brand of fire if you have one. Yes - I have seen the thread about the expensive batteries for the remote control which is why I went for the manual one.

rustyboy21

Brilliant fires have been around for ages and are a very good company usually. I don't stock them, but have dealt with them in the past and the quality was really good, but back up for the retailer was a bit of a nightmare at times, especially if you were dealing with a certain person, who I wont name ! lol


If I am right, you are saying the control knob, which is behind the fret ( bottom cover) of the fire, becomes stiff after a while and the the mechanism ( gas valve) seizes up, is that right?


It could have something to do with the air intake under the fire. You may not be getting a lot of air pull through the fret, this is then heating up the workings underneath and drying out the lubricant inside the gas valve.


A manual control fire is normally fit and forget. You don't normally have much issue with them. For you to have 3 gas valves in 3 years seems really strange. It is not like you are lighting it 20 times a day is it? I would look at the possibility that the fret is either a little too close to the control knob, or is not letting enough air in. I have experienced this with another make of fire and that resulted in the whole electrics of the fire overheating and melting some parts. Have a word with your retailer, they may send someone out. The control knobs can wear out on the inside, if they don't have a metal d clip in them, ask your retailer, he will know what I mean.


But in General, the fires are usually very good, you may have a 'Lemon' fire though !

bondy01

Many thanks rb. The knob is fine when it is turned on but turning it off when the fire has been on for a reasonable amount of time is a right pita. Turned off straight away after lighting it is not as bad but not as smooth as when turning on.
You could well be right about it overheating.
I have lived here 28 years , the 1st year I had a solid fuel system , then the village got gas and I had a valor homeflame. After several years I had a new fireplace and inset fire similar to my current one fitted. I believe before I moved in the chimney was extended as there wasn't sufficient downdraught. The first thing I noticed about this fire is that there is a metal heat shield that fits around the control knob whereas the previous one didn't. I think the premature failure of the control knob was due to the extra force when turning the fire off. There is no metal clip or grub screw with the knob and I could see where the plastic had failed on the old one.
Will have a word with the retailer in the week.
edit: forgot to say the valve was only fitted last tuesday. On thursday when the fire was first used for any length of time the knob failed.

rustyboy21

OP, try for a night, with the fret of the fire either away from the fire a little, maybe 1+inches away, or remove it totally and see if this makes a difference. It could well be the metal heat shroud, which is causing the issue, have seen it before. Can you post a pic, or direct me to the type of fret you have? I can give you a bit more info then.


I do think it is heat build up, which is either drying up the lubrication of the gas valve, or expanding it's rod somehow. If you do as I said above and it works better, then have a word with the retailer and swap the fret for another one, or see if you can take the shroud off it. The shroud is there to stop the frets ashpan knob from getting too hot, but may be doing the damage to the control mechanism. Brilliant supply the shrouds as standard, most other manufacturers don't use them.

bondy01

This is the type of fret http://www.brilliantfires.co.uk/product/information/gas/A6+INNOVATION but it is the advantage fire not this one of course. Thanks again.

rustyboy21

Ah, It's a Bauhaus fret you have there.


They do have some issues at times, as the front is not bowed a lot and have a tendency of touching the coals/pebbles and conducting heat. You may find that the whole fret gets toasting, which can be ok normally, but the heat shroud covering the control knob gets a heat build up.


Try as I have said above to take the fret away for a night, when you are using the fire and see if this makes any difference. If it does, then take the heat shroud off ( only screws on, just unscrew the frets knob and it will come off) and put the fret back in front, but leave a smallish gap away from the coalbed, of about 1 inch. The air can then get to the knob and keep it cooler and hopefully let it work properly.


Brilliant are a good company, but their aftersales to retailers is a bit of a nightmare. Every time the retailer has to ring up for faults, they don't have someone to come out , the retailer has to do it. The retailer then has to buy the part full price and then send the old one back and then wait for the refund to come through. That's how it used to work, that's one of the reasons I stopped dealing with them, you forget what you are owed back off them and lose money, if things go wrong.