Gas fire capped

[VioletG]

Hi,

I have recently moved into an old Edwardian property and the original open fires were converted to gas.

But the elderly lady we purchased it from says they were all capped off and doesn't know why.

I just wondered what my first step should be in finding out the issue?

Is it a gas engineer or do I need to chimney looked at?

Thanks

 

[Laurieo]

So what is there now .
Old gas fire or a hole in the fireplace .
If going to use again get a Gas Safe engineer to inspect first .
Could be a number of things ,ventilation, chimney structure ,condition of appliances.
Sometimes families get gas appliances capped off as they were worried about parents using them .

 

[denso13]

Get a gas safe person who is approved to work on and install fires to check.

 

[VioletG]

So what is there now .
Old gas fire or a hole in the fireplace .
If going to use again get a Gas Safe engineer to inspect first .
Could be a number of things ,ventilation, chimney structure ,condition of appliances.
Sometimes families get gas appliances capped off as they were worried about parents using them .

Thanks. The woman lived alone but said they came to look at it and decided it had to be capped.

I will get a gas safe person to check it out.

I have never used a gas fire before, its always been real or electric. Do they even put out much heat?

 

[denso13]

Do they even put out much heat?

Very inefficient, especially in an open chimney.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I have never used a gas fire before, its always been real or electric. Do they even put out much heat?

3 to 4Kw is normal for a gas fire, with an efficiency of around 70%, compared to a modern condensing boiler which quotes 80 to 90% efficient - but that would likely be heating the entire house, versus the fire only heating one room. So if you only need heat, or most of the heat, in that one room, then a fire will prove to be a more economical way to keep warm.

Me - our gas fire was installed decades ago, never used, it just acted as a backup to the central heating boiler, to provide some warmth, in case of failure. It was never needed, except for recent years....

I decided to keep the CH set lower, and make more use of the fire, to save on gas, mostly when we settled down for the evening. Electric, depending on your tariff, can cost 3 to 4 times the cost of gas, per Kwh, but is always 100% efficient.

.

 

[VioletG]

3 to 4Kw is normal for a gas fire, with an efficiency of around 70%, compared to a modern condensing boiler which quotes 80 to 90% efficient - but that would likely be heating the entire house, versus the fire only heating one room. So if you only need heat, or most of the heat, in that one room, then a fire will prove to be a more economical way to keep warm.

Me - our gas fire was installed decades ago, never used, it just acted as a backup to the central heating boiler, to provide some warmth, in case of failure. It was never needed, except for recent years....

I decided to keep the CH set lower, and make more use of the fire, to save on gas, mostly when we settled down for the evening. Electric, depending on your tariff, can cost 3 to 4 times the cost of gas, per Kwh, but is always 100% efficient.

.

Thanks. We would use it as a backup really. There are two and apparently original, so I am not going to rip them out.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

There are two and apparently original, so I am not going to rip them out.

Well, get someone qualified, to investigate why they were capped.

 

[VioletG]

Thank you. We have a gas safe engineer fitting a new basket and doing the checks.

From the photos we sent apparently we have one where you turn on the gas from the side and throw in a match.

So we are going to update it with all the checks needed.

 

[gas112]

That fire is approx 25% efficient look nice but cost a fortune to use as a heat source. And when heating is on a lot of the heat in the room goes up the chimney so can cost you more that way as well

 

[flameport]

Is it a gas engineer or do I need to chimney looked at?

Both.

In reality the fires and the gas supply should be removed and disposed of permanently.
Fake nostalgia for open fires is not a valid reason to keep using such things.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

In reality the fires and the gas supply should be removed and disposed of permanently.
Fake nostalgia for open fires is not a valid reason to keep using such things.

A friend had a modern 'real fire effect' gas fire installed, a few years ago, he quickly realised it produced little heat in the room, despite the quantity of gas it was using - and had it replaced.

Basic, radiant gas fires, are as good as they get. They are not as efficient as a modern boiler, but they can provide a saving on heating the entire house, if just used to create a warmer single room.

 

[gas112]

Nothing up with a properly fitted modern gas fire some are in the high 80s efficient. And in today high gas prices people can keep one room warm without having to heat the whole house....fire in picture is a decorative gas fire . And that basically sums it up regards heat output

 

[VioletG]

Nothing up with a properly fitted modern gas fire some are in the high 80s efficient. And in today high gas prices people can keep one room warm without having to heat the whole house....fire in picture is a decorative gas fire . And that basically sums it up regards heat output

The fire is original from when the house was built, they took the mantle off and stuck on the ugly wood surround. Then converted it from an open fire into gas.

So I am going to replace the basket for a new one. The ones I have seem have varying heat output. One I saw states 6kw, which would be fine for me..

 

[gas112]

The fire is original from when the house was built, they took the mantle off and stuck on the ugly wood surround. Then converted it from an open fire into gas.

So I am going to replace the basket for a new one. The ones I have seem have varying heat output. One I saw states 6kw, which would be fine for me..

6KW check that as it sounds more like input for a basket fire .