gas fire to real fire

polar58

Hi there,

I was wondering could anyone help, I moved into a house a few years ago, its only around 8 years old. And it was set up for a gas fire to be installed from what I can see. It has a yellow cable coming in inderneath the fireplace for the gas I presume. I wanted to set it up to light real fires this winter as i prefer them and on a side note was told gas fires are not very economical. (not sure how accurate that is but main reason is i love a real fire) I know id have to get a plumber (rgi) to take the gas like back to the cut off at the wall and already had someone (RGI certified) who worked on my boiler who said they could do it for me for an alright price, but i dont know if my fireplace would then be suitale for a real fire, as iv read about the chimney needing different types of flues etc.. because of the different heat from a real or gas fire. I wouldnt want to take any risks, and at the same time if it was just set up for a gas fire and needed a lot of work and expense to be lined or something for a real fire I probably wont bother. Iv attached a few pics if anyone could help id really appreciate it, thanks in advance!!

Robbie.G

polar58 wrote: »

Hi there,

I was wondering could anyone help, I moved into a house a few years ago, its only around 8 years old. And it was set up for a gas fire to be installed from what I can see. It has a yellow cable coming in inderneath the fireplace for the gas I presume. I wanted to set it up to light real fires this winter as i prefer them and on a side note was told gas fires are not very economical. (not sure how accurate that is but main reason is i love a real fire) I know id have to get a plumber (rgi) to take the gas like back to the cut off at the wall and already had someone (RGI certified) who worked on my boiler who said they could do it for me for an alright price, but i dont know if my fireplace would then be suitale for a real fire, as iv read about the chimney needing different types of flues etc.. because of the different heat from a real or gas fire. I wouldnt want to take any risks, and at the same time if it was just set up for a gas fire and needed a lot of work and expense to be lined or something for a real fire I probably wont bother. Iv attached a few pics if anyone could help id really appreciate it, thanks in advance!!

You look to have conventional flue liners that are suitable for solid fuel
Make sure you get the chimney swept to make sure there are no blockages in the flue
Get you rgi to remove the gas supply and your ready to go

polar58

Robbie.G wrote: »

You look to have conventional flue liners that are suitable for solid fuel
Make sure you get the chimney swept to make sure there are no blockages in the flue
Get you rgi to remove the gas supply and your ready to go

Thanks for your reply Robbie, Thats great! I had also been wondering about needing to get it swept, it has a cage at the top of the chimney, but im probably best getting it cleaned anyway!
Just as a side, how can you tell the difference in the flue liners?
Thanks again!

boiler break downs

polar58 wrote: »

Robbie.G wrote: »

You look to have conventional flue liners that are suitable for solid fuel
Make sure you get the chimney swept to make sure there are no blockages in the flue
Get you rgi to remove the gas supply and your ready to go

the liners
Thanks for your reply Robbie, Thats great! I had also been wondering about needing to get it swept, it has a cage at the top of the chimney, but im probably best getting it cleaned anyway!
Just as a side, how can you tell the difference in the flue liners?
Thanks again!

the liners you have are standard in a new house for solid fuel or a dfe fire.you should get the chimney cleaned as there could be a nest in it before the guard went up.have it checked for builders crap in it.

polar58

boiler break downs wrote: »

the liners you have are standard in a new house for solid fuel or a dfe fire.you should get the chimney cleaned as there could be a nest in it before the guard went up.have it checked for builders crap in it.

Thanks for the reply! Its good to know, and il get the chimney cleaned, good point about the builders crap too!
Cheers guys

Bannasidhe

OP. My house is about 7 years old and like yours was set up for a gas fire. My pipe was already capped as a gas fire had never been connected- and one never was.
I have happily been enjoying real fires since I moved in with no problems.

polar58

Bannasidhe wrote: »

OP. My house is about 7 years old and like yours was set up for a gas fire. My pipe was already capped as a gas fire had never been connected- and one never was.
I have happily been enjoying real fires since I moved in with no problems.

Cheers for that Bannasidhe , im looking forward to enjoying some real fires there now!

ronan45

I had this exact same issue. The copper gas wire was pinched at the end. There should be a cut off valve on the wall beside the fireplace to cut the gas supply off. Look closely mine was painted over. Wall cover with 2 screws. Who ever did the gas in my house actually left the gas pipe live and just pinched the end of the wire! :eek: