Probably not a DIY topic but I think there will be folks out there who
have an opinion.

I need to move my gas fire to a new location as I'm rearranging the
room layout. I'm limited as to where a balanced flue can go, and unless
somebody has a good idea I don't think I will be able to use the
existing chimney. The chimney is a line of hollow bricks going up the
cavity wall ca 1980.

I've seen several models of flueless fires which claim to be 100%
efficient and deliver up to 3.5 KW, which would be adequate. I find it
hard to accept the idea of filling up the room with CO2 as being a good
thing, though I guess they must be approved and considered safe.

Comments anyone?

andyv wrote:
Probably not a DIY topic but I think there will be folks out there who
have an opinion.

I need to move my gas fire to a new location as I'm rearranging the
room layout. I'm limited as to where a balanced flue can go, and
unless somebody has a good idea I don't think I will be able to use
the existing chimney. The chimney is a line of hollow bricks going up
the cavity wall ca 1980.

I've seen several models of flueless fires which claim to be 100%
efficient and deliver up to 3.5 KW, which would be adequate. I find it
hard to accept the idea of filling up the room with CO2 as being a
good thing, though I guess they must be approved and considered safe.

Comments anyone?

They are safe given that they are fitted with a catalytic(sp?) converter,
similar to those in cars.
That said, I still wouldn't have one in a room without good ventilation, and
by good ventilation I mean an unobstructed 9 inch by 6 inch permanent vent
(not a sliding louvre type), overkill yes, but I doubt if it would be
noticable with the heat that flueless fires give out.

andyv wrote:
Probably not a DIY topic but I think there will be folks out there who
have an opinion.

I need to move my gas fire to a new location as I'm rearranging the
room layout. I'm limited as to where a balanced flue can go, and unless
somebody has a good idea I don't think I will be able to use the
existing chimney. The chimney is a line of hollow bricks going up the
cavity wall ca 1980.

I've seen several models of flueless fires which claim to be 100%
efficient and deliver up to 3.5 KW, which would be adequate. I find it
hard to accept the idea of filling up the room with CO2 as being a good
thing, though I guess they must be approved and considered safe.

Comments anyone?

The catalytic converters should deal with any CO that's produced -
that's the real nasty stuff. I guess the CO2 would be no different to a
gas hob running.....

andyv wrote:
Probably not a DIY topic but I think there will be folks out there who
have an opinion.

I need to move my gas fire to a new location as I'm rearranging the
room layout. I'm limited as to where a balanced flue can go, and unless
somebody has a good idea I don't think I will be able to use the
existing chimney. The chimney is a line of hollow bricks going up the
cavity wall ca 1980.

I've seen several models of flueless fires which claim to be 100%
efficient and deliver up to 3.5 KW, which would be adequate. I find it
hard to accept the idea of filling up the room with CO2 as being a good
thing, though I guess they must be approved and considered safe.

Comments anyone?

ventilation, i would be in agreement with phil on the overkill vent!,
obviously you will have a window in the room that opens too.

out of interest i would like a look at the manufacturers installation
instructions if you do go ahead and fit one of these, just to find out
if there is yet a 'common' way of installing/venting/room size etc

I'm still undecided, but it's an interesting comment about gas cookers
as these usually vent straight into the kitchen. Not everybody has an
extractor.

A regular gas fire, such as I now have also probably vents some of its
exhaust into the room too.

The news groups are fine for getting some ideas about this, but I'd be
astounded if the installation notes for these appliances didn't exactly
specify the minimum ventilation requirements, probably in relation to
the size of the room they're installed in.

andyv wrote:

I'm still undecided, but it's an interesting comment about gas cookers
as these usually vent straight into the kitchen. Not everybody has an
extractor.

yes, but only for limited time. Running one all day is not smart. I
wouldnt install an unvented fire myself. They arent as safe as vented,
but more to the point youre breathing in the fumes day in day out. I've
been to a few places with old ones installed and cant say I liked the
atmosphere too much. They will also deposit a fair amount of damp of
course. I think you could do better.


NT

OK I think I have a viable idea. See what you think.

The existing fire has a chimney which runs up the cavity wall into the
loft. Here it runs in a concrete pipe and exhausts out through a vent
in the apex of the roof.

What if I was to fit an extractor fan into the piped section in the
loft? I could then have the room downstairs turning over the air and
sucking out the excess CO2 just as if it was going out of the window or
a conventional vent in the wall. I'd have a grating on the wall hidden
behind furniture. I don't fancy an extractor fan in the room itself
unless anybody can point me to an ultra quiet one.

Also it may even be possible to get a switch which operates when the
gas is flowing so the fan is automatically turned on.

andyv wrote:
OK I think I have a viable idea. See what you think.

The existing fire has a chimney which runs up the cavity wall into the
loft. Here it runs in a concrete pipe and exhausts out through a vent
in the apex of the roof.

What if I was to fit an extractor fan into the piped section in the
loft? I could then have the room downstairs turning over the air and
sucking out the excess CO2 just as if it was going out of the window
or a conventional vent in the wall. I'd have a grating on the wall
hidden behind furniture. I don't fancy an extractor fan in the room
itself unless anybody can point me to an ultra quiet one.

Also it may even be possible to get a switch which operates when the
gas is flowing so the fan is automatically turned on.

If you install a vent in the living room wall, and leave the existing flue
open, you can do away with the extractor fan altogether as the air will
naturally flow up the chimney (it will even without a vent, hold a lit match
in front of it if you don't believe me!)
The manufacturers insist on their safety as do British standards and gods
knows what other governing bodies, but when push comes to shove, the waste
products from that fire are going to end up in that room at some stage in
whatever form and over a long period of time, I can't see how this is going
to be benificial to either the room or it's occupants.
You'll find that a permanent vented room as mentioned above will make it a
lot more comfortable, and dryer too considering the water produced by
burning gas.