Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it may
have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it. I
recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no vents so
am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

Thanks

Endulini wrote:
Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it
may have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it.
I recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no
vents so am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

Thanks

Potentially a very big safety no-no with possibly fatal consequences.
But not necessarily - is the fire open to the room, or room-sealed with
a through-the-wall balanced flue?

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

In article ,
"Endulini" writes:
Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it may
have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it. I
recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no vents so
am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

You'll need to find the installation instructions for the gas
fire and see what it says before you do anything to the vent,
but the chances are that it was installed because it was required,
either for that or some other gas appliance.

If you don't use the gas fire and the vent is not also providing
fresh air for some other gas appliance like a back boiler, get a
gas a CORGI gas installer to permanently cap off the gas supply
to it (which should be a quick cheap callout), and then you can
legally close off the vent.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:00:15 +0000, Endulini wrote:

Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it
may have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it.
I recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no
vents so am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

Thanks

It's really hard to say. If the type, model and specification for the
fire are known it might be possible to guess.

Essentially the fire will have to be the only gas appliance in the room
and under 7kW input. Some are flueless and others are on the front of a
back boiler either of which will make the vent important.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:00:15 +0000, Endulini wrote:

Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it may
have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it. I
recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no vents so
am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

Almost certainly a no-no: http://yaph.co.uk/DIY_gas/

My guess is it's a back boiler. Have you got central heating? Where's
the boiler (not the hot water cylinder)?

I suggest you put up with it for now and get it replaced with a
post-Jurassic appliance as soon as you can.


--
John Stumbles -- http://yaph.co.uk

Seagull Management
Management technique characterised by flying in, making a lot of noise,
crapping on everything, and then leaving.

"YAPH" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:00:15 +0000, Endulini wrote:

Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it
may
have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it. I
recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no vents
so
am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

Almost certainly a no-no: http://yaph.co.uk/DIY_gas/

My guess is it's a back boiler. Have you got central heating? Where's
the boiler (not the hot water cylinder)?

I suggest you put up with it for now and get it replaced with a
post-Jurassic appliance as soon as you can.


--
John Stumbles -- http://yaph.co.uk

Seagull Management
Management technique characterised by flying in, making a lot of noise,
crapping on everything, and then leaving.

Cheers Guys, I thought as much. The fire is relatively modern (I'd say circa
1990s) and the central heating boiler is in the kitchen so I'm pretty sure
there's no back-boiler. I have a feeling that the chimney flue is open but
haven't had that confirmed......

In message , YAPH
writes
On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:00:15 +0000, Endulini wrote:

Hi All,

I have a vent in my front room that at the moment is letting in a huge
draught. Unsurprisingly I would like to block it up however I suspect it may
have been installed because of the gasfire that is located near it. I
recall many instances where I have seen rooms with gasfires and no vents so
am I going to make a big safety no-no by blocking it up?

Almost certainly a no-no: http://yaph.co.uk/DIY_gas/

My guess is it's a back boiler. Have you got central heating? Where's
the boiler (not the hot water cylinder)?

I suggest you put up with it for now and get it replaced with a
post-Jurassic appliance as soon as you can.

So, what if you had a back boiler and matching gaping hole in the lounge
wall, but had the boiler removed and replaced by a standard gas fire,
the new boiler now having it's own ventilation in the kitchen?
Can I just half fill the hole as long as I carry out the smoke tests as
described in the fire's installation instructions? Or do I have to get
her to knit even more woollies?
--
Bill

On Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:34:34 +0000, Bill wrote:


So, what if you had a back boiler and matching gaping hole in the lounge
wall, but had the boiler removed and replaced by a standard gas fire,
the new boiler now having it's own ventilation in the kitchen? Can I
just half fill the hole as long as I carry out the smoke tests as
described in the fire's installation instructions? Or do I have to get
her to knit even more woollies?

Stuff up the hole with woolies? :-)

Should be OK if that's definitely what the hole it was for and the fire has
the manufacturer's specified ventilation (probably nothing for yer average
gas fire) and it draws all right with no spillage when tested with doors &
windows closed and any fans in the room running.

If the boiler's been replaced hopefully the replacement is room-sealed and
doesn't require ventilation from the room.

--
John Stumbles -- http://yaph.co.uk

What is a simile like?