Please help!! Our Gas fitter won't fit our fire.

[Lucy Jennings]

Some time ago we bought a Winther Browne Royale Hole in the wall fire but because our chimney is fairly old and bent, the gathering hood provided would not fit inside the chimney flue and, trying to be resourceful, we commissioned an engineering firm to make another one in the exact same materials that would fit, only to find out now that the gas fitter will not install it as "it has been adapted".

He also said that because Winther Browne had gone bust, he could not contact the manufacturer.


So now we are £700+ out of pocket and need a new fire.


So my question is, are there any hole in the wall type fires (or similar?) out there that do not need a gather hood? We have a Brick (class 1) chimney but it veers up and off to the right at a 45 degree angle with quite a small 30 x 30cm opening, but before this, was an open fire and drew perfectly.

Thank you for your advice.

 

[nysk2008]

unfortunately regs have changed significantly and many installers are wary of gas fire, maybe worth getting a second opinion/quote but by the sounds of it its not something I would touch but then again, ive not seen the job

 

[Reg Man]

Unfortunately it is illegal under the Gas Regulations to make an unauthorised modification to a gas appliance. With this manufacturer they have approved flue gathers, so it looks as if you have now got a pile of scrap, depending on if the modification is directly relating to the fire.

 

[Lucy Jennings]

Unfortunately it is illegal under the Gas Regulations to make an unauthorised modification to a gas appliance. With this manufacturer they have approved flue gathers, so it looks as if you have now got a pile of scrap, depending on if the modification is directly relating to the fire.

Is the fact that the gather hood sits on top (not screwed on or anything) does that make it a gas appliance, when the actual fire itself is untouched? I'm just trying to get a handle on this, as the 'modification' only relates to the smoke/fumes/heat going up the chimney, and not the fire itself.

 

[Scott_D]

Is the fact that the gather hood sits on top (not screwed on or anything) does that make it a gas appliance, when the actual fire itself is untouched? I'm just trying to get a handle on this, as the 'modification' only relates to the smoke/fumes/heat going up the chimney, and not the fire itself.

The most important part in terms of safety.

 

[snowhead]

Is the fact that the gather hood sits on top (not screwed on or anything) does that make it a gas appliance, when the actual fire itself is untouched? I'm just trying to get a handle on this, as the 'modification' only relates to the smoke/fumes/heat going up the chimney, and not the fire itself.

The Hood will have been designed and tested by the manufacturer to work with that particular fire in all conditions.
Any other hood even if it resembles the original may not perform the same.

 

[aligorgon]

I wouldnt install it either sorry but the most dangerous part of the working fire is not necessarily the flames but the products of combustion, can you guarantee that these will all go up your modified hood, and is that £700 etc spent worth the lifes of your family.

 

[Roger Welton]

Agreed, all alarm bells would be ringing and not something I would entertain, just not worth the risk (and TBH its you and your families safety he is concerned about)

 

[REDSAW]

i think the conclusion and lesson to be learned here is, before changing/modifying any gas appliance,

seek an experienced gas engineer or manufactures advice first and not afterward.

i too would rather not contemplate fitting it.

 

[pierrot]

Im not surprised it was probably one of the first things I was taught, not to alter stuff from the manufacturers specs.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

never ever modify it .... you could get a flue less gas fire but I will ADVICE NO TO ! you are better of without one TBH

 

[REDSAW]

go electric!

 

[Dotty]

go electric!

Completely agree. You may even be able to get your fire converted.

It's your safety we're concerned about here Lucy. In our game the manufacturers are king. To ignore their guidelines or to adapt / modify / manufacture components would result in either a very hefty fine or, at worse, the death of you and yours.

Please don't become a statistic.

 

[Reg Man]

Is the fact that the gather hood sits on top (not screwed on or anything) does that make it a gas appliance, when the actual fire itself is untouched? I'm just trying to get a handle on this, as the 'modification' only relates to the smoke/fumes/heat going up the chimney, and not the fire itself.

If the flue gather came with the fire then that is the approved gas fitting for the appliance in its unmodified state. You cannot do any steel work modifications to it unless the manufacturer specifically says you can. There may be other approved flue gathers for this appliance, but the manufacturer will need to be consulted, which is a little difficult if they are no longer trading. When a gas appliance is manufactured they have to go through rigorous testing at an approved test house to achieve their CE mark before they are released on the market, in this case the fire would have gone through this process with all of the associated fittings, so deviation from this could be deemed as a breach of the appliances approval, which would make it an illegal gas fitting, and therefore subject to any penalties in a court of law. So that why your gas fitter has refused to be associated with the installation work.

 

[REDSAW]

i was going to say that steve 😉 lol