Power Flue Gas Fire - Lost Efficiency and Heat Output

[MadeInYorkshire]

We have a Kinder Kalahari Power Flue Gas Fire which has a rated maximum heat output of 3.3kW.

We inherited the fire three years ago when we moved to this house and the fire used to give off a good amount of heat. This was demonstrated by our dog getting so hot that he'd have to move to a cooler part of the room to stop cooking himself.

Unfortunately these days the dog won't budge as neither he or (more importantly) us are feeling very warm. I can literally put my bare hand right next to the fire and leave it there. It just seems that there doesn't appear to be enough gas coming through to produce a good enough flame.

Last year we had a problem with the piezo ignition and a registered plumber came to fix that and he also checked that everything was okay with it including the gas pressure as we told him that we thought the heat output was poor.

The problem though still remains so we are now considering our options including buying another fire.
What we don't want to do though is buy another fire and find out that the problem lay elsewhere and the heat output is still the same.

I would therefore be very grateful if someone could advise what they think may be the problem and also how that could be rectified.

Thanks in advance
David

 

[ShaunCorbs]

tbh it would be better to get a local gas safe eng out and tell him ^^^ and maybe give it a service and clean while hes there

 

[Darren Jackson]

I would call a gsr to gas rate the fire to see if it is under gassed, there is always a chance the restrictor elbow screw is too far in and restricting the gas flow or a blockage in the pipework or burner. Your local gsr will perform a gas rate test would identify this and a good service always helps.

 

[MadeInYorkshire]

Thanks for the replies and advice.

I was going to get in touch with a local GS plumber but I thought it would be useful to get some advice in advance about what could possibly be wrong with the fire.

I'm curious about the suggestion that there could be a blockage in the pipe. How does this occur and what actually causes such a blockage. I always thought that gas was clean but obviously I'm wrong there.

 

[MadeInYorkshire]

Just a little more information.
There doesn't appear to be a visible restrictor elbow as all the piping seems to be concealed.

 

[jtsplumbing]

May need the control cable replacing , gas control not opening fully

 

[Darren Jackson]

Yes blockages can be a problem, gas is a fossil fuel after all. So the pipes and fittings can get a thin hard coating on them This is called “Sulphidation”. In some circumstances this deposit is in form of flakes. These flakes can become detached and get carried by the gas flow into appliances, where they can
accumulate and restrict the flow of gas through apertures in injectors, and through valves, filters, pilot lights, etc. causing under gassing, loss of output, and eventually the failure of the appliance to function.

 

[oz-plumber]

And to add to the above, you could check all that and then find spider webs insider the burners or around the injectors.

The positive part of this is that all the spiders have been successfully gassed by the time a problem arises.

 

[MadeInYorkshire]

Thanks for the reply Darren.

And when the results that you mention happen can they be easily rectified through servicing or is the best option to be thinking about replacing the fire with another?

 

[Darren Jackson]

Thanks for the reply Darren.

And when the results that you mention happen can they be easily rectified through servicing or is the best option to be thinking about replacing the fire with another?

Your local gs engineer should be able to easily rectify using techniques I would rather not disclose on a public thread, but yes a good service should solve the issues mate.

 

[MadeInYorkshire]

Things have unfortunately been busy here but we eventually managed to have a plumber come round and look at our gas fire this afternoon.

He gave the fire a thorough service and cleaned out all the parts that could be cleaned. He tested the gas pressure too and that was fine.

What he did discover though is that the Gas Valve Control is not working correctly. It provides the same amount of gas whether the control is set to high or to low. Unfortunately in this case no matter where the control is the gas coming through is the lower amount.

We therefore need a new Gas Valve - Part No B-36990

So we got in touch with the manufacturer only to be informed that the part is now not available and obsolete. Obviously implying that the fire is obsolete too.

I've done a search online too and found two other places that list the item but they say that they don't keep them in stock and that they would order them from the manufacturer however as we know they don't have them.

I can't say I'm too happy that a small part like this is not available and it is stopping our fire being repaired.

I was therefore wondering if anyone on here can advise if there are any places where I should try to obtain the part or alternatively any advice at all!!!

Thanks
Dave

 

[jtsplumbing]

Well that's life, most of us come across this problem on a regular basis, and its usely the smaller parts that become discontinued, so the only option is to replace the whole thing, not what people like to here, but nothing lasts forever, shop around you may strike lucky could be one sat on a dusty shelf somewhere,

 

[MadeInYorkshire]

I've done a search online but with no success.
Could anyone suggest a parts supplier that may not show up on a Google search?

Thanks

 

[Dotty]

Moved off open forum.