If I can burn my six burner gas hob all day without a flue and without anyone suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, why do I need a sophisticated flue system for a gas fire.
Is there something in Cat Litter which entices our Moggy to use it and if so, what is it and is it replicated in plaster or general building dust? - no prizes for wondering why I'm asking this one :(
You can't and you don't. kitchens using gas have quite specific ventialtrion requirements...in teh case of gas it produces a LOT of water vapour, normally dealt with by extractor fans.
However in 'living' rooms, its reckoned to be better to stuff it up a chimbly.
Nice damp lstery erathy smells is wot yer moggy loves. And dark corners with clothes left in them.
How long would you put up with the six burners on without opening the _mandatory_ door or window in the kitchen? Flueless gas fires are available but they have enourmous passive ventialtion an room volume requirments.
Very often I find that a gas fire has needed all its over capacity in flueing o prevent a serious situation arising. The 12 litre catchment space is frequently filled right up when I do a Landlords' check for the first time.
I would do what a lot of people do when they want to warm a room up and don't have a gas fire. Put on all the hob burners until the place was warm and then turn off some of them to keep the place cosy. I used to do this all the time when I was a student and these days we often leave things simmering on the hob or in the oven for a good few hours, especially stews. Why don't we all fall over dead (before we eat the stew that is)?
Surely there's just as many noxious gases going into the atmosphere as if we had a gas fire with a naff flue. As for opening the door or window, well why, aren't people prompted to open the door or window in a room with a gas fire if it gets too stuffy? Or am I missing something?
Also, as the other poster asked, what's this 12 litre catchment space?
On a typical radiant gas fire installation the flue of the fire protrudes through a metal plate [the closure plate] in to the fire place. The space below the flue in the fire place, behind the closure plate and above the hearth must have a minimum volume of 12 litres. This is called the catchment space which may be a lot smaller if the flue is of the precast block system type.
Here are some of the reasons why I see that the regs are written in the way they are.
1) The hob burners create a humid stuffy atmosphere which is likely to cause the user to open the window.
2) If the hob burners are going to be used for a long time then not very many and not very high is most likely to be the case.
3) People do not tend to settle down for a bit of a snooze in the kitchen as they might in a living room.
4) No gas appliance gives off large amounts of CO if properly maintained, however the gas fire is more likely to be found in a poor condition that a cooker becasue a bad cooker would make the pots black.
5) People don't need prompting to open a window if things get too stufy
- if they are awake!
6) The gas rate of the gas fire is likely to be equivalent to most of the hob burners being on.
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