Information

 

Open Fires     

                  

Choosing to have an open fire adds warmth and character to your home. Even when you add the cost of solid fuel and having your chimney maintained you can make a substantial saving on your current heating bill.

If you have an open fireplace it is recommended that you have you chimney swept at least twice a year depending on the type of fuel that you burn.

Chimney fires may occur when the interior of the flue is neglected by not being cleaned or when it becomes choked and partially blocked with a build-up of soot deposited by the coal or wood burning process.

Wood that you burn should always be fully seasoned and completely dry, unseasoned logs and damp firewood make the residual build up of soot and creosote deposits much worse and will eventually result in a chimney fire.

Likewise if you are burning coal this should also be kept dry, and should be of the highest quality that you can obtain, cheaper coals tend to cause more problems and deposits within a chimney flue. A good alternative to house coal, is a smokeless coal.

Wood Burning Stove

It is recommended that if you are using a solid fuel wood burning stove you have your chimney swept and stove flue cleaned up once per each season, when in use if you are burning wood. If you are burning coal or smokeless fuel, have your chimney swept twice per year.

Solid fuel wood burning stoves, although producing little or no smoke when properly lit and on reaching temperature, can cause a build up of more soot deposits in the chimney and flue due to leaving the stove in slumber mode (starved of air) for long periods. This increases soot in the chimney and under these conditions the flue gas temperature falls, condensation occurs and deposits are left on the chimney liners or steel flue lining. This will corrode away liners and stove parts if not cleaned at the end of a burning season.

You should have you chimney professionally swept and certificated prior to the installation of a solid fuel burning stove. We provide a sweep, camera and pressure test for this purpose.

Gas Fire

Many people do not realise that you should still have your chimney swept regularly if you have a gas fire or gas flame effect installed.

It is recommended that you have your gas appliance serviced by a certified heating engineer and your chimney swept by a qualified and registered chimney sweep.

If you would like me to undertake the sweeping of a chimney that has a gas fire installed you must first arrange to have a qualified corgi registered heating engineer to temporarily remove your gas fire first, before I can undertake the cleaning and sweeping of your chimney. Once swept you will need to have the fire re-installed again by a corgi registered heating engineer.

If you don’t have your chimney swept blockages can occur and harmful gases may build up, and there may be a danger of carbon monoxide fumes leaking into the room.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors are very reasonably priced these days and should now by law be installed in all rooms with gas appliances. We can supply and fit these for you at a small extra cost.

Aga Rayburn Range

If you have a solid fuel, gas or oil fired range AGA or Rayburn, you should have a qualified engineer to carry out an annual service.

In addition to having your appliance serviced you should also have the chimney flue swept regularly, in fact the Fire Service recommend sweeping at least once per year. Although there may be very little soot, dust and cobwebs can build up within the flue which can reduce the draw, affect the efficiency of your appliance and also put your home at risk from carbon monoxide which can escape into your home if the draw is insufficient.

The ideal time to do this is in the summer when your appliance can be turned off. Please call or email us to book an appointment to sweep your range flue. This will ensure that when winter comes your appliance is working efficiently.

 

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