Pilou

Haha, that is a good one!!!! I am afraid this is true .

Pulaski

Thank you, that is very interesting. It appears to identify conditions for there to be a problem, though apparently few have been reported, and certainly running a fan in the same room as an "open flu" appliance is I'll advised i.e. may cause combustion products to spill back into the room.

It is interesting that the report mentions that in the US (i) there is no reported history of problems, despite there being many more installations, and (ii) the instructions on fans in the US don't have a warning re using them in a room with an open flue heating appliance.

The report talks repeatedly about the size of the room as being critical, and this is IMO the most likely reason that there are no reported issues in the US - our open living room and kitchen has the same foot print as our home (2 bed terraced house) in London had. Even smaller, older houses in the US commonly have a living room that is at least 3-4m x 3-4 metres, so considerably larger than homes in the UK and Europe. Also true "open fireplaces" are IME, rare in the US, with most traditional fireplaces, whether gas or log-burning) being contained behind glass doors, or the use of a stove, with a door, to contain the fire.