Conventional Open Fronted Gas Fires
The main consideration when choosing your gas appliance will be compatibility with your existing flue provision. The flue or chimney already built into your home, which travel vertically through your property and terminate through the roof. These flues rely on the natural circulation of air through the room and up the flue to expel the combustion gases of an appliance.
Whether your home has a flue, a chimney, or none at all, it is always possible to have a Superior Fires product.
Steps to choosing an appropriate inset fire:
1. Determine your flue type
There are three common types of chimney/flue found in UK houses today, these are a brick chimney, a pre-cast flue and a pre-fabricated flue. The simplest and quickest way of determining which you have is to look up to the roof of your building.
A. Conventional chimney
This category is easily recognised by a chimney stack, with either a pot or gas terminal on your roof, that relies on the natural circulation of air through the room and up your chimney to expel the combustion gases of the appliance.
B. Pre-cast flue
Manufactured and formed into rectangular hollow concrete or clay blocks that travel vertically, up through the wall of your property, to a ridge vent or metal flue terminal on the roof.
C. Pre-fabricated flue
These are usually a metal interlocking flue connected to a flue box, with a terminal as shown on your roof, creating the same circulation of air as a chimney.
Powaflue
A Powaflue is an open fronted appliance which has an electronically driven fan system mounted on the outside wall to expel the flue gases and as such a slight sound is to be experienced.
For homes without a chimney but still a traditional inset gas fire is desire a Powaflue version is available on selected products. Powaflue fires use a short length of twin-walled flue to expel waste gases. The Powaflue appliance is not sealed from the room, instead it is open fronted and draws air from the room to use in the combustion process. Waste gases are then pulled through the flue tube by an electric fan assembly which is discreetly mounted to the outside wall. A power supply is required to operate a Powaflue appliance. When the fire is not in use, some natural air circulation may occur through the open flue.
2. Determine your available opening dimensions
Next you will need to determine the size of your fireplace opening. Measure the width, height and depth of the aperture to ensure you can accommodate the fire and (where applicable) a debris collection space at the rear of the fire (up to 60mm) to allow any material that may fall down the flue/chimney to drop to the bottom of the void. If you are drawn to a fire that does not fit your available dimensions you may wish to contact a qualified engineer/builder who may be able to increase or decrease the opening dimensions to suit.
3. Choose the design and finish that suits you
If you have any questions or queries then you may wish to contact a member of our team for friendly impartial advice or to help with an onsite survey.
Your questions answered
How do I decide which fire will heat my room sufficiently?
As a rough guide only, measure the room and multiply the height x width x depth (in metres), and divide this by 14. The result is the average heating requirements for the room in kW's.
Please note that the construction, insulation, furnishings and type and number of windows in the room must be taken into consideration.
What are the running costs of these appliances?
The running costs of each appliance can be calculated quite simply using the following calculation: Running Cost = Energy Input (gross) x Your Gas Bill Tariff.
Example: Energy Input (gross) 6.2kW x Gas Bill Tariff (gross) 4.27p/kWh = Running Cost 26.5p per hour.
Your Gas Bill Tariff figure can be taken from a recent gas bill. Alternatively contact your gas provider for this information.
What safety features are incorporated into the appliances?
All gas fires are fitted with an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS), and all fires have a flame failure device (FFD), for complete safety and peace of mind. Certain appliances within the range have individual safety features detailed within this brochure. What is an oxygen depletion sensor and a flame supervision device?
An Oxygen Depletion Sensor (ODS) detects when oxygen levels in the room fall below a specified level and cause the pilot flame to lift away from the sensing probe. This activates the flame failure device (FFD), which cuts off the gas supply to the fire and renders the appliance safe.
Are the fires easy to light and operate?
As standard all of our fires come with traditional rotary control, which incorporates a piezo spark ignition, and is fully variable between the preset high and low settings.
Selected appliances in the range are available with a slide control or remote control option. The remote control option enables control of the appliance from the comfort of your armchair, a feature especially beneficial to the elderly, disabled or infirm. Do the appliances require an electrical supply?
Our rotary control fires feature a piezo spark ignition and therefore do not require a battery or mains power supply to operate. Our slide control requires a battery ignition (supplied). Our remote control fires do not require a mains supply as the unit is designed incorporating ultrasonic technology which is battery powered (supplied). Powaflue appliances require a mains power supply to operate the fan extraction unit.
What ventilation is required?
No additional ventilation is required when installing our conventional open fronted gas fires. Your Gas Safe registered installer will draw your attention to any requirements which may lead to installation of additional ventilation e.g. gas fires with an input greater than 7kW require 8cm² of purpose provided.
These fires must be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Why has my remote control stopped working?
The batteries may require replacing. There is 1 x PP3 (9v) battery in the handset and 4 x AA (1.5v) batteries in the receiver. The receiver is located on the right hand side of the fire.
Why has my slide control stopped working?
The battery may require replacing. There is 1 x PP3 (9v) battery in the top of the ignition unit on the left hand side of the fire.
Why are the coals or pebbles sooting?
Sooting normally occurs if the coals or pebbles are positioned incorrectly on the fuel bed causing flame impingement. Please consult your installation instructions for the correct layout and ensure that the flame ports are clear.