Posts Tagged ‘Chimney’

Smoke from my fireplace coming from another Chimney Breast

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

An email this morning from one of our customers reads

Hi Mark,

The solid fuel package is perfect! It came very quickly and was easy to install. I would definitely recommend castfireplaces to friends, family etc.

We bought our cast iron fireplace from you about 5 years ago and bought it with the gas insert. Whilst we have enjoyed using the gas insert we felt converting it to solid fuel would be far more beneficial to us in terms of heat output and cost.

Our house is a 1906 mid terrace with a living room (where the fire is) and a dining kitchen. There’s a fireplace in the kitchen but this has been capped off and an electric range now stands beneath the stone head. About 5 minutes after lighting the fire smoke started to come out of the two spot lights above the range. This continued until the fire went out. I opened the window in the sitting room and this seemed to help reduce the amount of smoke coming from the spots. The fire lights easily and goes really well but I don’t know what I can do to stop the smoke in the kitchen. Be grateful if you could give me some advice. Some websites mention down draught others refer to vacuums and a local contractor talked about relining but I don’t want to spend big bucks! Hope you can guide me in the right direction

Now this appears to be quite a serious problem and i have advised our customer to have the chimney swept and tested before using again.
Smoke coming from the fireplace into the room should never happen and smoke is toxic.
All chimneys should be swept prior to using for solid fuel and indeed gas and is the first job to do before fitting and using any fireplace, most chimney sweeps will also test the chimney for you to see if it is in sound condition.
If not it can be lined with a 7″ solid fuel liner so its not the end of the road for a solid fuel fireplace if it is found to be faulty.
Please do not continue to use a fireplace that does not take the fumes away correctly it really is dangerous

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Regular maintenance for Solid Fuel Stoves and Fireplaces

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

So you have your new solid fuel fireplace or stove installed the last thing on your mind is maintenance and cleaning of chimneys and flues etc.
Most of the time this is very seriously overlooked and a lot of customers do not even have the chimney swept before installing a new real fire fireplace or stove.
As most people are aware fitting of a solid fuel fuel appliance must be done by HETAS registered fitter or have it signed of by Building Control inspector from your local council.
Bizzarely after that there is no further regular maintenance required by law, in my opinion this is very shortsighted as burning solid fuel can also create carbon monoxide which is a silent killer if the fuel is not burnt correctly i have read online about a death from a blocked flue for a Kitchen Range.
There are no regulations currently that say solid fuel fires of any type must be serviced and chimneys swept once a year. It would be good to have a regime in place or guide line so people know how often to service the fireplace, flue etc they have.
I understand most people would detect a fully blocked flue but how often have you heard people say sometimes the fire blows back smoke into the room, normally there is an underlying reason for this do not leave it have it investigated by HETAS registered fitter.
As a guide chimneys should be swept once a year by a decent sweep try the NACS which has sweeps numbers all over the uk they will give you free advice as to how often you will need it cleaning depending on the fuel you are burning.
As the flue is the only source for the toxic fumes escaping make sure it is in good condition so smoke does not enter your property right through the run of the chimney if in doubt have a chimney sweep test it for you and if found to be faulty it can always be lined.
So enjoy your winter fires and as good sound advice get your chimney swept just as you start to reuse the fireplace after the Summer so if you do have birds nest etc in the flue it will be removed before you light the fire.

Happy Burning and just to let you know our local sweep is cleaning my stove Thursday next week

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Cast Iron Soot Doors Available from Cast Fireplaces

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

There are many different ways to install a wood burning stove or Fireplace and all good profesional retailers and installers will tell you that you need access to your flue or chimney to clean it and to remove and soot buildup.
If using a flue liner this can be swept through the stove without a problem so thats fine, however if you are using no flue liner you will have to gain access to your chimney brest to allow the soot to be cleaned away after sweeping.
There are two easy ways to do this either to buy a Register Plate with a sweeping hatch theat can be removed so it can be cleaned on top of the plate as the ones we sell on our website or to buy a Soot Door which is cut into the chimney breast and allows a good access to the chimney breast.
Both ways are ideal for accessing the original chimney and the method you choose is down to you, i personally prefer the soot door if its on an external wall so it can be fitted outside.
So have a look at both items we offer and see which method you prefer
These are made from Cast Iron and fix simply into the chimney breast, i am sure you will find us very competitive on this item and we have sold 20 9″ x 9″ soot doors today to a trade firm in Newcastle thats how good we are on price
Do not forget if you need any advice before or after buying your Fireplace or Stove we are on hand to answer any of your questions

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How can i control my Gallery Fireplaces Tiger Stove

Monday, January 18th, 2010

How do you control the Stove It just seems to be roaring away and even when i reduce air into the stove it still roars is there anything you can suggest.
This is an unusual question as based on our experaince Tiger Stoves can be controlled very well.
I made enquires as to who had fitted his stove how old it was and did he have an invoice number from us.
It turned out he had bought it from a shop near Buxton who now do not want to know or help him with a solution to this problem and he fitted it himself.
Well its not really our problem but after finding out chimney had not been lined as he didnt want the extra expense it sounds to me like his fireplace chimney breast has one hell of a drawer on it as the stove is nearly new and the seals around the door are fine.
The only solution we can offer is a damper pipe which is a small pipe 250mm in length which has an adjustable damper inline which can be altered to reduce the draw from the chimney.
The original stove pipe does have to be removed and then this item placed inline but it is a solution to his problem and he has gone away to think about ordering one.
So the moral of the story is when ordering a stove or Fireplace from someone please make sure they have the background knowledge or experiance to sort out any small problems you may have as our friend found out some companies do not want to know after you have bought items from them.

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Do i need to line my chimney when fitting Gallery Fireplaces Stove

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Do we really need to line our chimney or is the fitter we have had come round trying to rip us off a concerned customer rang me this morning to ask.
Well the answer is yes and no and here ill explain
A multi fuel stove can be fitted without using a chimney liner if the chimney is in good order and the chimney has been swept and smoke tested most chimneys are in reasonable condition and after fitting stove with register plate with a sweeping hatch in you can rely on the chimney breast to take naturally take the fumes away.
We use 6″ chimney liners when the chimney is in poor condition and leaks or if you have a large chimney that makes the fire uncontrollable or for customers wanting peace of mind that nothing is going to go wrong

Our advice here at Castfireplace is to have a reputable qualified HETAS registered fitter fit your stove and they will advise you if chimney liner is needed.
Personally i think it is a good idea as whilst they are there installing tove its not too much of a job for them to drop liner down and connect it to the stove and with the chimney lining kits that cost £320 it is good value to and to think they have 10 year warranty its only £32 year for peace and mind.
If you do have liner installed at a later date the stove and register plate will have to be removed to undertake this job so really i would suggest having it done.
But that decisio is yours and as we have stated it is not essential but its worthwhile having done while your fitter is there so if you need any help or advice with lining kits or stove choice just give me a ring we are here to help

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Have your Chimney Swept Before Fitting Fireplace

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Before fitting your fireplace it is important to have your chimney swept first before any installation begins. It is vital you use a professional chimney sweep preferably from the National Association of Chimney Sweeps or NACS for short. Here you can find a local recommended sweep with all the relevant insurance to make sure you get a proper job done.
The reasons for this is that chimneys that have not been used for a while could be blocked with bird’s nests etc (even bees nests as I found in a house I used to live in) or even have loose bricks stopping the fumes escaping properly. This can be potentially dangerous with carbon monoxide or smoke coming back into the room due to the chimney not drawing right.
I know this sounds a little severe but it can happen more often than not though it is just a case off soot build up that needs removing and then they normally smoke test them to make sure they are drawing correctly.
If Problems are then found it’s a simple job of lining the chimney with one of our Chimney Flue Liner Kit these are for use with solid fuel use and we also sell gas liners too if you want a gas insert.
Most of the chimneys we fit fireplaces in are of sound working condition and do not require lining so we always recommend prior to any fitting getting it swept and it will save a lot of mess if you have a soot fall whilst fitting the fireplace.
As the soot is flammable we normally suggest having chimney swept at the end of the “Heating Season” when you don’t intend to light fires on a regular basis this will then ensure the 1st time it drops cold your fireplace is ready to light as nobody wants the fire brigade out to extinguish a chimney fire.
Happy Sweeping and remember a good sweep will never leave you with a mess.

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What Type Of Chimney Do I Have

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Identifying what type of Fireplace chimney you have is not as daunting as it sounds the first thing to do for a good clue is to have a look at your roof and to see if you have a chimney stack you may then see one of the following views to confirm which type of chimney you have

class-1-chimney

 

This is what is described as a brick built Class 1 Chimney its very common in houses that were built before 1960 and all these were designed for use with solid fuel. Inside the chimney the flue will be greater than 7″ (180mm) which is the requirement for solid fuel or class1 gas use. Please make sure the chimney is in good condition and have it swept and smoke tested before use

 

 

 

class-2-chimney

 

 

This cowlings are often found to be fitted to the top of the chimney pots or just set on the chimney stack itself and is where the chimney has been lined with a 5″ or 7″ Gas liner you need to check the diameter of the flue pipe which will be in the opening of the chimney breast. They cannot be used for solid fuel and lining will need removing

Class 1 Gas Fire requires 7″ diameter Flue

Class 2 Gas Fire requires 5″ diameter Flue

 

 

flue-precastflue

 

 

Precast Flues are found in more modern fireplaces and have shallow depth openings we do have some fires to fit these such as the Aurora and convector precast fires the range is limited and they need to be fitted with fascia panel

 

 

no-chimney

 

No Chimney applications mean that only an electric fire or a powerflue if on an external can be used as there is no other natural means for the fumes to escape please ring us to discuss your options

 

 

 

As with all information supplied this is only a guide to finding out what type of chimney you have please consult us or your registered fitter to find out what will work in the chimney you have, you can always email us photos so we can advise you on the best option you have we are here to help you choose your perfect Fireplace.

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