Re: Dirt falling into my nice new aluminium gas fireplace

[dg]

The chimney should have been checked and swept prior to installation. Where these fitters qualified?

What lining was removed and was the chimney capped off or in use ?

dg

I recently bought a new gas fireplace. It was an aluminium 'hole in the > wall' jobbie. It has a bed of coloured glass from which the flame burns. > > Problem is, I am getting a lot of sooty grains of dirt falling into the > glass, discolouring it. This dirt tends to get bonded to the glass due to > the flames. (Obviously not a problem at the moment with the heat). > > When installed, the fitters remove the lining, and the metal 'cap' at the > top of the chimney. > > What is the best method for keeping this annoyance to a minimium? > > Regards, Darren

[Ed Sirett]

If the liner was so bad it needed to be replaced then a new liner should have been used.

More plausibly, it sounds as if they tried to fit a fire that won't [or won't easily] work with a lined flue, decided that removing the liner was the easiest way forward and the old chimney is dropping crap on the new job.

Check all the info about the fire and registration of the installers.

[mrjolly]

The fireplace originally had a gas fire installed, with a back boiler. This was removed (obviously) and the gas pipe capped. The lining was a corrugated metal tube, between 6-8 inches in diameter. The fitters yanked the lining out, then swept the chimney prior to installation of the new fire. The existing metal chimney pot was pushed off the top of the chimney by using the sweeping brush! I was told this was because it did not meet the standard required by the new fire, and I would need a new ceramic pot, but this was not installed.

Could a pot solve my problem? I don't get rain falling into the fireplace, and I don't notice the 'fallout' is any worse when it rains. Could the rain be slowly dissolving the soot, and it falls when it detaches itself from the chimney sides?

Regards, Darren

[dg]

I would be concerned on why the liner was removed.

It was obviously installed for a reason (normally because the inside of the chimney has decayed)and I can't see why it was removed when another gas fire was fitted. Replaced maybe but not removed.

Sweeping the chinmey would remove excess soot and help in the short term, but I would get the installation and chimney checked and confirmed that removal of the liner will not have an detrimental effects in the future.

Incidentally, a pot is only used to get the suction for the flue, not keep rain out. Soot tends to fall as it dries, not by rain. However, moisture getting into the chimney reacts with flue gases to form the mild acid that rots the brickwork mortar joints. Thats why liners tend to be fitted

dg

[Dave Liquorice]

Judgeing from the below I expect the OP still has marks in his front lawn from the horses hooves.

So as they removed (for want of a better description) the old gas terminal, why haven't they fitted the ceramic pot to replace it. The flanching will need looking at if nothing else, without attention you could end up with damp problems.

Back boiler, *lots* of fumes that will permiate the brickwork and into rooms above.

Quite. I don't think a simple radiant gas fire needs a liner as such because they don't produce anything like the amount of fumes a boiler does. A flame effect gas fire might be different (highly ineffcient combustion) but we don't know what the OP has. One of the resident corgis will no doubt comment.