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Gas Fire Flue Sweeping

Gas Fire Flue Sweeping

by | Feb 1, 2019 | Chimney Sweep News

I wished to write an article highlighting to everybody some interesting points relating to the use of gas fire appliances in the home linked to a chimney flue,  and the need to consider the sweeping of such. This is as a result of sweeping two chimneys in the last month that have been connected to an open brick built chimney for a significant number of years without having been swept.

Large amount of debris removed from flue used by gas fire

Large amount of deposit from swept chimney flue used by a gas fire for many years

Many people probably do not think that gas can create or leave a deposit in the chimney, but clearly they do albeit it is much different in texture and content than a solid fuel fire soot deposit. It’s much heavier, grey/sandy coloured and dusty.

Over my recent time sweeping I’ve been requested to sweep a number of brick built chimneys used by gas fires. In the main it is usually because of a problem identified when having the appliance serviced by a gas engineer which suggests that sweeping the flue may be necessary. It is worthwhile noting that a Chimney Sweep (unless Gas Safe registered) isn’t allowed to uninstall a gas appliance so the expectation is that the fire is removed prior to arrival, unless (as has happened on a few occasions) it is possible to sweep up through the appliance usually over the decorative effect stones.

Significant amount of deposit from gas fire usage

Another example. The gas fire kept going out when lit. The engineer suspected a lack of oxygen and a possible blocked chimney. This was about a 1/4 of a bin liner of deposit.

I was called to an address recently after a heating engineer had put a fire out of use suspecting that the chimney may be blocked and had left the fire in situ. It was impossible to sweep upwards through the fire due to the restricted gap above the coals into the flue. The client called the heating company whilst I was there (on loud speaker) and the employee suggested the Chimney Sweep “lacked confidence” due to my being unable to pull the fire out of its surround. This would have been illegal for a Chimney Sweep to have carried out and demonstrated a lack of awareness and professionalism by the heating company concerned. I don’t like walking away from jobs but sometimes it’s a necessity from a legal and safety perspective with homeowners at the centre of my concerns.

An interesting point that is useful for us all to be mindful of is that some household insurance companies insist on a chimney being swept annually as part of the policy. This is regardless of whether it is connected to a solid fuel or a gas appliance which is why I was called to attend to a gas fire flue last summer in Parkstone. The occupiers are required to have it swept every year because of the insurance mandating it. You could honestly have eaten your dinner off of the walls of the flue it was that clean. So, it’s worthwhile checking the fine print in your policy document just in case this effects you. In the unfortunate event of a property fire it’s likely that one of the first questions asked by the insurer is when was the last time you had the chimney swept if you have an operational flue.

Rotary power swept flue using mole brush

An example of a gas appliance swept flue using Rotary Power Sweeping.

Don’t forget also that birds like to nest equally in chimneys used by gas fires as they do for open fires and wood burners. They don’t seem to be too fussy in the Spring when we’re not using these things so it’s worthwhile investing in a cowl for the chimney pot for peace of mind. The design for a gas fire cowl is different than for solid fuel so feel free to call me for any more info or to even purchase a cowl if you wish. I provide a fitting service also within the Poole/Bournemouth and immediate surrounding areas.

Also, a last gentle reminder about Carbon Monoxide alarms. One should be located in each room where there is an appliance, gas or solid fuel. I provide these as part of my sweeping services, or they are available on line or at DIY stores.

 

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Chimney Detective at Work

Chimney Detective at Work

by | Dec 15, 2018 | Chimney Sweep News

Not so long ago I received a call from a lovely lady with a problem with her open fire in the house she and her husband have lived in for many years in Parkstone, Poole. She wanted to know if I did “trouble shooting” and if I could help with their open fire issue.  So, with my Chimney Detective hat on I was intrigued to hear more.

Basically, they were suffering from smoke returning into their living room after approximately an hour of burning resulting in the fire having to be extinguished immediately and bringing a relaxing evening in front of the fire to an abrupt halt. This had been ongoing for a significant period of time and with the involvement of many chimney sweeps.

Fortunately, part of my essential equipment is a CCTV kit enabling me to get a detailed view of the interior of chimney flues and stove liners. So, with kit in hand I offered to go along and assess.

I had already done some homework on potential causes such as any changes to the property that may have effected the draw on the fire, air vents, double glazing, too big an aperture for the room and so on. On arrival I noted that it was a standard two story character detached house with standard chimney stack with an aspirator spinning cowl fitted to the chimney that had been fitted to assist with the draw from the fire. This was spinning in the breeze quite well.

Inside I saw that the owner had installed a unique antique raised French grate to raise the fire up towards the gather. A hood had been installed to further reduce the distance between fire and flue and the fire aperture was perfectly normal for the room size. No significant changes to the property to effect draw. Puzzling indeed.

So, I deployed the CCTV kit to see what was going on, if anything. On reaching the base of the chimney pot, I had to work extra hard to get the camera on the rods to negotiate the ledge leading up into the pot. At this point it’s worth pointing out that as a chimney sweep it’s good practice to always exit the chimney pot with your brush, to go outside and see it protruding so you know you’ve reached the end of the flue. Makes sense.

With many chimneys having cowls fitted to them these days this hampers things to a degree as you don’t want to exert too much pressure on a cowl fear of dislodging it and so using your ears and having a good awareness of your equipment is essential.

As the camera popped into the pot, as you will see from the attached video clips, all became clear. The lining of the pot was heavily contaminated with debris, soot, tar etc from what appeared to be many years of not being properly cleaned as I suspect the previous sweeps didn’t actually get their brushes into the pot and were catching on the ledge beneath it believing to be at or near the top. Consequently the framework of the cowl was significantly clogged too thus reducing the aperture around the base of the cowl and no doubt effecting the draw up the flue.

To combat this I decided to rotary power sweep the flue, and knowing how many rods up I needed to go into the chimney I knew exactly when I was into the pot and crucially, close to the cowl base, bearing in mind I didn’t want to knock it off the top. Post sweep I redeployed the CCTV. I hope you will agree the before and after images speak for themselves and that the aspirator cowl appears to spinning a lot more freely.

Most importantly, did it solve the problem? ………….  well I was held in suspense until the next morning when I was hugely happy and relieved to hear that it had sorted the smoke return issue. It was great to know I’d dealt with a problem that had been plaguing this lovely couple for so long and that their evenings in front of the fire could now be all they had wanted them to be. for so long.

When I think back to the original telephone call and the problem presented to following the journey through, asking the right questions, doing the research, making the best use of technology, having the right kit for the job, it just goes to show it’s worth ensuring you utilise the skills of  a professional Chimney Sweep and that it is most certainly not an occupation that “anyone’s old Grandmother could do”, a quote I recently heard after condemning an installation of a wood burner and the installer (under the threat of HETAS) had to return to the customer and make good their error.