Melbourne's winters are real. In the outer suburbs and the ranges, overnight temperatures regularly hit single digits from May through to August. Gas heating is not optional for most Melbourne families, it is essential.
Used correctly and maintained properly, gas heating is one of the safest and most efficient ways to heat a Melbourne home. Used incorrectly or without adequate maintenance, it carries genuine risks that are entirely preventable.
This article covers the most important safety practices for indoor gas heater use in Melbourne, the things that our licensed gas fitters wish every homeowner knew before they fired up their heater for winter.
This is the single most important thing on this list. Everything else is secondary.
A professional annual gas heater service by a VBA licensed gas fitter confirms:
- The heat exchanger is intact and not allowing combustion gases into the living space
- The burner is clean and combusting gas completely
- The flue is venting combustion gases outside correctly
- There are no gas leaks at any connection or fitting
- The carbon monoxide levels in the flue gases are within safe limits
Every gas heater service we carry out includes a CO combustion test at no extra cost. This is the test that catches a cracked heat exchanger before it becomes a fatal CO incident. Book your service before May: do not wait until June when every gas fitter in Melbourne has a three-week waiting list.
A CO alarm is the only passive protection in your home between professional services. It monitors the air continuously and sounds an alarm if CO concentrations reach dangerous levels.
Where to install CO alarms
- In every room containing a gas appliance
- In or immediately outside every bedroom CO is most dangerous when you are asleep
- In hallways connecting bedrooms to living areas
- On every level of a multi-storey home
CO alarms have a sensor lifespan of approximately 5 to 7 years. Replace the alarm when the sensor expires: not just the battery. Test your alarm monthly using the test button on the device.
Gas Experts Melbourne supplies and installs dual smoke and CO combination alarms from $66. We can install one on any service visit.
Gas BBQs, patio heaters and portable LPG camping stoves are designed for outdoor use. They are not fitted with the flue systems required for indoor use and they release all combustion byproducts, including carbon monoxide and water vapour, directly into the space they are used in.
Using an outdoor gas appliance indoors, even briefly, even in a garage with the door open, can cause dangerous CO accumulation. We see this occasionally in Melbourne during very cold nights when people bring patio heaters inside. It is never safe.
If you do not have adequate indoor heating, call us. A same-day heater repair or a new heater installation is far preferable to the alternative.
Unflued gas heaters release all combustion byproducts, water vapour, CO2 and trace CO, directly into the room. In well-ventilated open-plan areas, this disperses quickly. In bedrooms, small rooms or any space where ventilation is limited, CO can accumulate to concerning levels.
Victorian regulations do not permit unflued gas heaters to be installed in bedrooms, bathrooms or rooms smaller than a certain size. If you have an unflued heater in a bedroom, do not use it. Call us to discuss a compliant replacement.
For any new gas heater installation, always specify a flued model for all permanent indoor heating installations.
This sounds obvious but it accounts for a significant number of gas heater-related fire incidents every winter.
Safety distances from gas heaters
- Do not hang clothing, towels or fabric within the clearance distance specified on the heater, typically 600mm to 1 metre from the front of the heater
- Do not place furniture, curtains, books or paper within the clearance zone
- Do not dry clothing over or on gas heaters
- Keep children's toys and play areas clear of heater clearance zones
Check the clearance distances specified in your heater's installation manual. If you do not have the manual, look for a compliance plate on the heater that states the required clearances, or call us.
If you have a ducted gas heating system, your return air filter needs to be cleaned every 6 to 8 weeks during heavy winter use. This is maintenance you can do yourself: and it matters.
A blocked filter
- Restricts airflow, causing the system to overheat and shut down
- Increases your gas bill as the system runs harder
- Accelerates wear on the fan motor and heat exchanger
- In severe cases, triggers the overheat safety switch and leaves you without heating
How to clean it: Remove the filter from the return air grille, vacuum off loose dust, wash with warm soapy water, allow to dry completely and reinstall. This takes 15 minutes and makes a genuine difference.
Natural gas and LPG both have a chemical odorant added so that leaks can be detected. The smell is like rotten eggs or sulphur.
If you smell this odour at any time
- Do not touch any switches
- Turn off your gas at the meter
- Open all doors and windows
- Evacuate if the smell is strong
- Call us from outside on 0468 279 956
Never investigate a gas smell yourself. Never use a lighter to test for gas. Never reset a heater when you can smell gas.
A gas heater that is displaying an error code, making unusual noises, producing yellow or orange flames, cutting out repeatedly or taking multiple attempts to ignite is telling you something is wrong. Do not ignore it. Do not keep resetting it and hoping it resolves itself.
Call us. Most faults are diagnosed and repaired in a single visit. The cost of a same-day repair is modest. The cost of ignoring a developing fault, in terms of a complete breakdown in the middle of winter or, worse, a developing safety issue, is not.
Every Melbourne homeowner should know where their gas meter is and how to turn off the gas supply in an emergency. If you smell gas, receive advice to turn off the gas, or have a plumber or gas fitter instruct you to shut off the supply, you need to be able to do it quickly.
Find your gas meter now: before winter. The meter is typically at the front of the property near the letterbox, on the side of the house or in a utility area. The valve on the incoming pipe turns off the gas when rotated 90 degrees until perpendicular to the pipe.
Show all adult household members where the meter is and how to turn it off.
Gas appliances require adequate air supply for safe combustion. Storage items placed near a gas hot water system, furniture moved in front of a heater, items stacked against an external flue terminal, all of these can restrict combustion air supply and flue gas venting.
Keep the area around all gas appliances clear. Confirm that external flue terminals are not obstructed by plant growth, bird nests, spider webs or debris. Our annual service includes a check of external flue terminals as standard.
If your gas heater has not been professionally serviced and CO tested in the past 12 months, book a service before this winter.
Not because the law requires it, though for rental properties it does. Not because we want the business, though we appreciate it. Because a properly maintained, annually tested gas heater is genuinely safe, and a neglected one carries risks that are entirely preventable for a modest annual investment.
Call us on 0468 279 956 or book online. No call-out fee when you book online. Same-day appointments available across Melbourne.
