Gas fire cleaning

[DefTrap]

My gas fire (the sort with the fake coals in it and the flames coming through) takes absolutely ages to light; you have to keep your foot on the *choke* for a good 5 minutes or so. Taking the coals out reveals about an inch or more of grit underneath, completely covering the burners. Do I need to take all this out and replace the coals or is it meant to be there?

Sorry if this is a thick question.

 

[ollski]

It's meant to be there, but I bet your pilot and most other bits are caked in soot. A living flame gas fire is the most important gas burning appliance in your house to have regularly serviced for safe operation.

 

[ollski]

gone

 

[kevplumb]

think id be getting the hoover out 1""of grit no wonder its not burning right

 

[weargas]

are you sure it's not a model "t" ford you're talking about?

Foot on the choke????

 

[Noraslad]

Where is your book on the fire, ever think of reading it.

You must have one

 

[kevplumb]

na ya dont need the book curly all yer man needs is a hoover

job sorted

 

[DefTrap]

So is it take the grit out or not then? Been running it tonight without it, starts more easily, tho' the flame seems less spread out than before.
Whaddya reckon?
There is no *manual*, the flipping thing was here when we bought the house.

 

[kevplumb]

leave the grit where it should be you have a DFE fire its there for a reason

 

[felix]

What you call the burner is not a burner in the conventional sense. It's full of holes which squirt gas out but that gas must then diffuse up through the grit. It burns at the surface just below the fake coals.

I'm not sure what you mean by "foot on the choke" either. Do you mean you have to hold the knob in against a spring for five minutes before the thing will remain alight. If that's the case then the problem is in your flame failure device. Maybe the pilot jet is blocked and you have to wait until the main flame heats the thermocouple. I can't really speculate any further without actually seeing the thing.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Aha, post airated burner, needs a good service by a proper guy by the sounds of it, careful you dont blow yourself up, one of my relatives who lives to far away for me to attend has blown up 2 fires messing around with them herself

 

[Slogger]

not my field but are they still selling these things

 

[ChrisR]

Absolutely. More efficient that they used to be too, apparently. And safer with the vitiation device. A lot of them have a layer of ceramic or vermiculite under the coals, don't know whay kev was saying remove it.
They can produce a bit of CO from the yellow flames especially when warming up, but very low level and it goes up the chimney.

 

[Noraslad]

Kev was being Kev

Guy should still have not touched it without reading the Man-u-al.

That's what they are there for.

First thing your supposed to ask for when you go to service one.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

First thing I normally ask for is the toilet, always bostin for a pea after the cups of tea from previous job.