Solid Fuel Safety (Click here for our handy guide, in PDF format )

DANGER! Carbon monoxide

This section mainly refers to solid fuel appliances but all heating appliances need regular servicing to ensure efficient operation and to meet safety standards.

Get your chimney swept at least once a year if you are burning solid fuel.

If you don't, one of these things will happen sooner or later:

• The chimney will get choked with soot so that smoke comes back into the room.
• The soot falls down into the room.
• The soot in the chimney starts to burn - setting the chimney alight.

If you have a gas fire the chimney needs cleaning at least once every three years. All heating appliances operate more reliably, efficiently and most importantly, safety, if they are installed and serviced correctly. Following a few simple guidelines will ensure safe and efficient operation.

Ventilation is vital

Heating appliances, whatever fuel they burn need to be able to 'breathe' in order to function efficiently and safely. To 'breathe' they need a constant and sufficient flow of air, so the room must not be completely airtight. If your home has draught-proofing or double-glazing fitted you may need vents or airbricks in an exterior wall of the room. If vents or airbricks are already there always ensure they are not blocked or covered.
If in doubt contact your local HETAS heating engineers to check your ventilation.

Flue Cleaning

To enable your appliance to 'breathe' efficiently do not allow soot or ash to bulid up where it can hinder or prevent the free flow of smoke and other by- products of combustion.

• Empty and check the ash can every day.
• Flue ways at the back of the boiler should be cleaned once a week, but always let the fire go out and allow ashes to cool before cleaning.
• The throat plates at the top of the room heater should be removed and cleaned monthly.
• Have your chimney swept at least once a year, preferably before each winter. Always use a recommended chimney sweep, preferably a member of the National Association of Chimney Sweeps, an association of the true professionals in the field. Check in yellow pages for a list of members in your areas

Safety Checklist

• Ensure proper ventilation.
• Regular cleaning and sweeping
• Always use the right fuel
• Never leave an open fire unattended without a fireguard.
• Always use a securely fitted fireguard when children are in the house
  
  

Trouble Shooter

If your appliance begins to burn slowly, goes out frequently or if you smell or suspect fumes you must:

• Open doors and windows.
• Carefully put out the fire, or allow it to burn itself out.
• Do not stay in the room any longer than necessary.
• Do not attempt to relight the appliances until a professional has checked it.

it is strongly recommended that chimneys using the following fuels are cleaned at the recommended intervals:

• smokeless fuels: at least once a year
• Bitumous coal: at least twice a year
• Wood: Quarterly when in use
• Oil once a year
• Gas: once a year

Carbon Monoxide - What is it?

Carbon monoxide is a non-flammable, colourless, odourless, tasteless toxic gas produced during incomplete combustion of fuel - natural gas, oil, coal, wood etc. During normal combustion, each atom of carbon in the burning fuel joins with two atoms of oxygen - forming a harmless gas called carbon dioxide. When there is a lack of oxygen to ensure complete combustion of the fuel, each atom of carbon links up with only one atom of oxygen - forming carbon monoxide gas.

What is the danger to me?

Carbon monoxide inhibits the bloods capacity to carry oxygen and, once in our lungs, quickly passes into the bloodstream and attaches itself to haemoglobin. Haemoglobin readily accepts carbon monoxide - more so than the life giving oxygen atoms (as much as 200 times as readily as oxygen) forming a toxic compound known as carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb).
By replacing oxygen with carbon monoxide in our blood, our bodies poison themselves by cutting off the needed oxygen to our organs and cells, causing various amounts of damage - depending on exposure.
Low levels of carbon monoxide poisoning (with COHb levels of 10%) results in symptoms commonly mistaken for common flu and cold symptoms - shortness of breath on mild exertion, mild headaches, nausea.
With higher levels of poisoning (COHb levels of 30%) the symptoms becomes more severe - dizzyness, mental confusion, severe headaches, nausea fainting on mild exertion.
At high levels (CHOb of 50% or more) there may be unconsciousness and death.

How does CO enter the home?

Carbon monoxide can escape from any fuel-burning appliance, boiler, water heater, fireplace, woodstoves or space heater.
Most new homes are built very air-tight, thus cutting down on the supply of fresh air to your furnace and creating an oxygen starved flame. Tight closing replacement windows and doors as well as additional insulation can cause similar problems in older homes.

Carbon monoxide can spill from vent connections in poorly maintained or blocked chimneys. If the flue liner is cracked or deteriored, CO can seep through the liner and into the house, slowly creeping up to dangerous levels. If a nest or other materials restrict or block the flue, CO will mostly spill back into the house.
Improperly sized flues connected to new high-efficiency boilers and water heaters can also contribute to CO spillage. (Many new boilers and water heaters are installed using the existing chimneys which may be the wrong size to allow the boiler to vent properly.)

Warming up vehicles in an attached garage, even with the garage door open, can allow concentrated amounts of CO to enter your home through the car port door or nearby windows.