Chimney liner

linc1464

Dear all,

I posted here a few days ago with a question about chimney liners and got some useful advice. I do have a folllow-up though.

Essentially, we're replacing a woodburner with a gas fire and the engineer says that we need to replace the flue. Not because it's in bad condition (it's nearly new!) but because gas safe say so. This was confirmed to me on the phone to gas safe. However, I thoroughly read the health and safety executive legislation on the installation of gas appliances and there is no mention of this regulation. In fact, it simply states that a flue previously used for solid fuel should be swept and inspected before installation. Our engineer hasn't done this and just quoted gas safe. My question is: why is there this inconsistency and why does gas safe insist on something that is not in the regulations that they adhere to?

Perhaps I'm missing something but it's a lot of money so I want to be sure.

Thanks for any help!

Davesnave

You haven't mentioned the size of the flue, which might be relevant. I don't know whether it is or not, but having an idea whether it's 125mm, 150mm, or whatever, might be useful info to include.

linc1464

Thanks for the reply and sorry for missing the flue size. It's 125mm which is also the size I need for the new fire. I don't want to be awkward with the fitter but also don't want to part with hard-earned money without needing to.

Alex1983

The sweeping statement relates to a unlined chimney previously used on any fuel other then gas.

linc1464

Hi Alex,

Thanks for that clarification. Is there a section in this that shows it to be law to have to replace a liner in order to install a gas stove?

As a second question, is there a possibility that I could get away with removing the liner and using the chimney in its original state if it passes a smoke test or are liners a requirement for gas under all circumstances?

Thanks again.

Alex1983

I’m not sure where it will say it, if it even does to be honest, it will be buried in chimney regs if it’s there, it will say sweeping a unlined chimney but if gas safe are saying it needs new then that’s what needs doing, I wouldn’t fit a fire to a liner previously used for solid fuel. I don’t know the answer but maybe it’s not possible to sweep a liner? I’m a gas engineer not a chimney sweep so that may not be the case.

Liners required for a gas appliance need to conform to bs 715 and bs en 1856, do you have a documents to say if it meets these standards? Could the liner not meet these standards if it was fitted for a wood burner maybe.

A gas fire can be fitted to a unlined chimney as long as it’s in good condition and passing the required tests and clearances.

linc1464

Hi Alex,

OK. Thanks for that. It helps a lot. I'll try and get some quotes to remove the liner, test the chimney and then re-install another if necessary.