Gas fire vents up chimney - very draughty :-(

Anthear

I have just bought a house which has a gas fire in the lounge that's a pseudo coals effect/health.  It vents up to an open chimney.  There is also an air brick in the wall.  Cold air drops down the chimney and blows in through the vent.  Any solutions to this??  

Gerry1

It sounds potentially hazardous because combustion products such as carbon monoxide could be entering the room.  Get a CO monitor / alarm (preferably with a digital display and peak reading) straight away if you don't have one, then get advice from a Gas Safe engineer.

It's likely that a baffle plate will be needed so that the exhaust products can only go up the chimney.

For similar safety reasons, don't be tempted to block the air brick.

YoungBlueEyes

We’re typing at the same time. 

For a fire that’s not in use, with the gas turned off underneath, yes I’d suggest that. It’s a homemade version of a Chimney Sheep. 

Including your safety suggestions, but I’d hoped that wouldn’t need saying!

Sea_Shell

Are you actually going to use the fire?

Does it have a pilot light?  Is this on?


If everything is off, and you have no intention of using it, then how can it be dangerous to block the flue?  As long as you remember it's up there!!!

YoungBlueEyes

Www.chimneysheep.co.uk

No affiliation. This might be worth considering OP.

Gerry1

A Chimney Sheep would be a good idea, but only if the gas fire has been removed and the gas supply to it has been capped off.  Otherwise it's just a hostage to fortune if the gas fire happens to be lit for whatever reason.

Anthear

Gerry1 said:

It sounds potentially hazardous because combustion products such as carbon monoxide could be entering the room.  Get a CO monitor / alarm (preferably with a digital display and peak reading) straight away if you don't have one, then get advice from a Gas Safe engineer.

It's likely that a baffle plate will be needed so that the exhaust products can only go up the chimney.

For similar safety reasons, don't be tempted to block the air brick.

The fire has been serviced very recently by Gas Safe engineer, so I wouldn't have thought it is unsafe - the set up makes the room very cold!  :-(

markin

Anthear said:

I have just bought a house which has a gas fire in the lounge that's a pseudo coals effect/health.  It vents up to an open chimney.  There is also an air brick in the wall.  Cold air drops down the chimney and blows in through the vent.  Any solutions to this??  

Sounds like it was blocked of at some point and then someone put the fire in DIY, The should not be a vent into a fire flue, No professional would do that would they?

Sea_Shell

markin said:

Anthear said:

I have just bought a house which has a gas fire in the lounge that's a pseudo coals effect/health.  It vents up to an open chimney.  There is also an air brick in the wall.  Cold air drops down the chimney and blows in through the vent.  Any solutions to this??  

Sounds like it was blocked of at some point and then someone put the fire in DIY, The should not be a vent into a fire flue, No professional would do that would they?

Really.   Sounds just like our house.    We have an open chimney, with a recessed gas fire (coal effect, open flame) at the bottom.   Was put in from new (1990s)   We don't have an air-brick though.    It does get draughty in winter, if you're sitting near it, when it's off.    We don't really use it, TBH, just never got round to ripping it out, or replacing it.

We had a pigeon down the chimney a few years back, and when we had the gas man come and remove the fire, we saw that in the back the box section of the fire has a letterbox-like opening in the back, which then vents up the chimney.

We removed the, by then, dead bird, and replaced the fire.   We've since had a chimney topper fitted!!!  

Upzeecreek

Sounds a bit like the set up my parents had in their house. It originally had a back boiler behind the gas fire so I guess the air brick was for this. Air brick is in internal wall into hall. 
 They replaced the back boiler many years ago and had a fire place like you describe. The room was quite draughty. They have just replaced gas fire with a sealed unit gas fire. It did involve having a completely new fire surround too. But no more draughts. 

Shedman

You used to be able to get a clear perspex surround that fits snugly up against the fireplace and stops the draughts. Its not really noticeable and you can just move it out of the way when you want to use the fire.  We've got one and its very effective.  I'll try and find out where we got it from and post up if I do.

looks like this: