Hello all,

Had a log burner (contura pricey job) install done last year; ended up with getting the heats engineer to rig the whole thing up to prevent any problems with building control.

I wasn’t home much last winter, but used it on a few occasions and felt dizzy a couple of times using it; the Carbon Monoxide sensor went off a couple of times. But to cut a long story short, I suspected my gas cooker (the house was then condemned…the manufacturer came out along with the utility company) and they tested the cooker… and found no problems or carbon monoxide present (…although of course wood burner wasn’t on) …

Subsequently I bought a carbon monoxide meter (a UNI-T UT337A) and for the first time yesterday threw a log on the fire…I stuck the meter on, and sat it near the fire and within about 20 minutes my girlfriend said that she felt light headed!!! The meter reads 000ppm and the detector alarm in the room doesn’t go off!

So I opened all the windows…and I’ve come on singletrackworld for some advice… I’ll be calling the HETAS engineer in the morning otherwise, but can’t really think what the problem might be?! The room has an open doorway and the stove is small for the room (less than 5kw or whatever the requirement is).

I have tried different kinds of logs, and doubt that I’m burning anything noxious. The glass stays clean and the draw seems to be good (we went for a bigger flu liner than required)

Is there anything I SHOULD CHECK or can test before calling the engineer? I’m starting fires with the vents fully open and sometimes shutting down as the burn gets better, with the bottom vent flicked to logs (as opposed to solid fuel)…

Carbon monoxide being lighter than carbon dioxide rises so check with the meter at ceiling level. And your detector should be on the ceiling between 1 and 3m from the appliance.

Interesting that you say your chose the larger flue liner as the manufacturer normally suggests a size and it’s normally 150mm. I know some installers would say even a 200mm clay flue should be lined to reduce to 150 (I don’t agree but that’s another matter)

Another point, you say you go with hetas to avoid the problems with building control. I never get that as building control are impartial in that they make no money from asking you to do any work. Something you can’t say about a supplier/installer. I know there are some good installers out there but there are also a fair amount of cowboys in that industry. I’ve met quite a few.
Might be worth calling hetas themselves for independent advice.

Yeh we went 6 inch as opposed to 5 inch on everyone’s advice.

Building control in our area said they had no experience of wood burners and didn’t have the expertise to come and inspect! It seemed a lost cause with them.

6 inch flue liner for a 5 inch stove isn’t the issue (other way round would be). Contura are good stoves, so very unlikely to be specifically the stove (altho never say never, some stoves have a sealed combustion option at the back, maybe the cover plate is missing or loose so fumes are escaping into the room?). As above, try again with detector near ceiling. Badly sealed connection on stove pipe or at 5″ to 6″ adaptor is maybe a possibility, blockage (birds nest?) altho I’d imagine it would be a sod to light and keep going if there’s limited draw. Probably best to get an expert in than faff around yourself with carbon monoxide.

The dizziness is just the realisation that you’ve joined the elite, movers and shakers dawning on you. It’ll pass

Are you cranking up the heat to thermonuclear level?

do you have an extractor fan running in the kitchen etc? if I have my kitchen door open and fan running it can suck smoke from the burner into my living room.

you have burnt off the new paint right ?

that will make you light headed – the first time we got the stove proper hot we abandoned the living room and opened all windows and doors.

^ 🙂

Before I fitted the stove I use now (around 20 years ago) I was warned of this so before I took the stove inside I had a good hot burn outside.

Strange having a stove cooking away heating up the whole of creation*…

*IANAB

Classic paint curing,crack the windows open then get it up to temp and keep it there for a good few hours.

Yes my new stove smelt of burning paint and greases used in manufacturing. I forgot the installers advice to openall windows and have a light burn. First few burns are v smelly.