Australia, with 2.7 people per square kilometre, is home to the mighty Reliance World Wide Group that we all know well (except the sheds) and they don't come any better than that. In short the Aussies couldn't give a XXXX for flueless. Why would anyone with that pedigree take a chance.

But there is maybe some good news for the UK flueless brigade  or UKFB, which sounds like yet another looney political party. Twelve as I recall at the last bye-election, where prezza recently upset the natives with one of his (several actually) gaffes.

For all practical purposes, and I am not jesting now, the flueless (vent-free) gas fires stateside that are being drawn to my attention are actually a flueless DFE fire. I kid you not. Imagine that.  And someone writing in our revered RGE magazine, pointing across the pond shouting role-model,  calls that knowledge. Now that really is what I call a gaffe.

A flueless DFE.  That's a wee bit like selling polonium in your mum's screw-top jam-jars as a weed killer. OK no doubt it would work.  The beasts have what they call a log-set but no flue whatsoever. Little wonder their boxes carry health warnings. Take a look at the manual for one of those in the links column. That one selected at random appears to be what is known as cross-listed for use as a vented gas fire as well. Before anyone mentions it, at least one company producing those is Canadian. Canada where the vent-free is banned outright.

Anyway it seems there are people busy throwing those in and more people busy ripping them out. The ethical, and there are fortunately many, have been busy fighting the corner of vented-appliances. What we call room-sealed. We have been speaking to some and one in particular who has for years been hosting an agony-aunt page for victims of their flueless junk.

In co-operation with that company we have now produced a PDF which honours their service to gas-safety over many years, drawing attention to the dangers of vent-free appliances. The file contains all the letters they have received and those describe perfectly the many dangers involved (see links - chimney sweep online). It will also help broadcast the issue for them (with a few meta-tags) and hopefully ensure they never make it across the divide; we don't want them.

I am repeatedly being reminded that the design of appliances must take into account the likely circumstances in which they will be used. Consumers leading busy lives will forget good advice. Maintenance will be overlooked. Information provided with appliances may not make it into the hands of subsequent home owners. At the very least there should be safety devices which will shut down an unsafe appliance. One that cannot easily be by-passed. The one that is built-in, does not work. The ODS.

There should be a realistic prospect of recommended or mandatory checks being achieved in times typically available to operatives for such checks to be carried out. Currently many such checks are obviously not being carried out and indeed cannot be. Someone has to take responsibility for that and until the 'notified designer' has been identified, the responsibility obviously rests with the manufacturer.