Replacing ceramic coals in living flame gas fire

kuepper · 2 February 2021 at 4:27PM

Had a Gas safety check which resulted in a 'danger do not use' sticker being put on my Valor gas fire because the coals were so perished. Not what you want at this time of year. Seem I can't buy new coals without buying a new coal base for them even though the base is fine so that's near enough £100 but I see 'generic' ceramic coals in ebay and amazon for £10-15, can't they be used?

tacpot12 · 2 February 2021 at 5:26PM

The purpose of the coals is partially aesthetic, but also to convert some of the heat from the flame into radiant heat. In theory, I don't see why generic ceramic coals shouldn't work fine. My only concern with unbranded items would be how safe they are . Items from eBay are likely to be from China and could contain literally anything, e.g. they could be made with materials that give off dangerous fumes. I would buy replacement ceramics from a UK manufacturer of fires so you can be sure the coals are safe. If you can find these on eBay, then go for it. It would be best to try to buy coals that are similar sizes to the original coals so that the operation of the burner is not affected.

Did the Gas Engineer confirm what you would need to do the make the fire safe? I imagine their concern is that the perished coals will drop fragments of ceramic that could block a burner jet causing incomplete combustion and hence carbon monoxide. I expect the burner will need to be cleaned and checked by a Gas Safe Engineer before the fire can be signed off as being safe.

kuepper · 2 February 2021 at 5:46PM

tacpot12 said:

The purpose of the coals is partially aesthetic, but also to convert some of the heat from the flame into radiant heat. In theory, I don't see why generic ceramic coals shouldn't work fine. My only concern with unbranded items would be how safe they are . Items from eBay are likely to be from China and could contain literally anything, e.g. they could be made with materials that give off dangerous fumes. I would buy replacement ceramics from a UK manufacturer of fires so you can be sure the coals are safe. If you can find these on eBay, then go for it. It would be best to try to buy coals that are similar sizes to the original coals so that the operation of the burner is not affected.

Did the Gas Engineer confirm what you would need to do the make the fire safe? I imagine their concern is that the perished coals will drop fragments of ceramic that could block a burner jet causing incomplete combustion and hence carbon monoxide. I expect the burner will need to be cleaned and checked by a Gas Safe Engineer before the fire can be signed off as being safe

Thanks for that. Yes that summarises the gas safety checker's concern and I am getting the fire serviced too but the would-be service engineer advised it would be cheaper if I bought the coals but if I couldn't get the Valor loose coals separately it would have to be the Valor full set otherwise it's many times x £100 on a new fire, he won't fit generic replacement coals. So basically paying about £60-80 extra for the unnecessary coal base when I only need 14 pieces of ceramic coal

George_Michael · 2 February 2021 at 5:54PM

Have you had a look on ebay or a similar site to see if there is a market for the coal base?
If so, buying the lot, using the coals and reselling the base might work.

kuepper · 3 February 2021 at 12:35AM

George_Michael said:

Have you had a look on ebay or a similar site to see if there is a market for the coal base?
If so, buying the lot, using the coals and reselling the base might work.

Nice idea but can't see any on ebay

bris · 3 February 2021 at 1:31AM

No you can't just use any coals from Ebay. The coals are designed by the manufacture to fit the fire, buy the proper coals from the manufacture, they are not just thrown on.

Whilst you can just throw any coals on as the homeowner the placement will not be right and it can affect the fires performance, with a risk involved. At the very least phone the manufacturer for advice, they will provide guidance on your model.

If you get it serviced again the RGI will need the manual for the proper replacement of the coals, if they are Ebay generic coals then he/she can't service it.