Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 43 total)
  • just fixed my boiler
  • spchantler
    Free Member

    i am not a plumber or boiler tec, i just got the manual out, gave it a service, ie cleaned the water filter (small bits of crap in it) cleaned the main burner nozzles with hoover, cleaned the flue out, on inspecting the fan, noticed that one of the hoses that runs to the air/gas sensor had a split, chopped the end off shoved it back on, result! one nil to me! (crosses fingers)
    time 30mins
    cost 0

    spchantler
    Free Member

    edit, someone tell me what i forgot to do….

    philconsequence
    Free Member

    did you re-pressurise the glugenheim valve after cutting the hose? its easily done with a bike pump… handy on a cycling forum!

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    woody2000
    Full Member

    Keep an eye on your canary……

    philconsequence
    Free Member

    if you dont have a canary then it might be time to leave the house 😯

    FuzzyWuzzy
    Full Member

    Wonder if your house insurance pays out if it blows up…?

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    Messing about with a gas boiler when you don’t really know what you’re doing! I wouldn’t.

    edit, someone tell me what i forgot to do….

    Get a qualified gas engineer to do the job.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    Personally I’d not tamper to that level with a device which could kill me while I slept 🙂

    Pieface
    Full Member

    Next trick is to learn to replace Thermistor’s. Easy peasy, but remember to trn the relevant water taps off before removing them, i did this once and got a bit wet 😳

    Mine consistently fail every year or 2, I know the boiler should be replaced but I am hoping to be moving.

    paulosoxo
    Free Member

    spchantler – Member
    edit, someone tell me what i forgot to do….
    POSTED 16 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

    Checked burner pressure/gas rate
    Checked flame failure
    Checked combustion
    Checked integrity of case and seals
    Confirmed combustion seals
    Confirmed flue and vent meet current regulations
    Checked for tightened of any disturbed joints

    There’s a starter for you.

    bruneep
    Full Member

    Personally I’d not tamper to that level with a device which could kill me while I slept

    You’ve met my wife then.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    😆

    bigbadbob
    Free Member

    You’ll end up like Tyrone…

    spchantler
    Free Member

    still not dead…will check back tomorrow..just lucky i guess…

    stumpy_m4
    Free Member

    Funny that as ive just changed a leaking flow unit on my worcester bosch at the weekend … gas engineer wanted £168 for the fix …. part cost me £17.75 delivered 🙂 …. part was much harder to remove than first thought as you have zero room to work and so ended up removing leaking part plus pump plus plate heat exchanger unit in one …. new part fitted and all new seals through out …. works a treat and saved a fortune ….. the many years of building bikes and model cars has come in very handy 🙂

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Messing about with a gas boiler when you don’t really know what you’re doing! I wouldn’t.

    They’re very simple to service, all a service is is cleaning dust out of it and checking the seals, nothing to be afraid of. They won’t fire up if you disconnect something by accident, lots of fail safes built in.

    spchantler
    Free Member

    thanks for sticking up for me ‘flaps ^^! i did check it for leaks with some gas spray after..

    footflaps
    Full Member

    thanks for sticking up for me ‘flaps ^^! i did check it for leaks with some gas spray after..

    Amateur technique. I just run a lighter round the seals, if I don’t get a little flame, it’s fine 😉

    dirtdiggler
    Free Member

    I can assure you a service isnt just about a hoover, i do them every day (well i now monitor the quality of them). Id buy a CO detector if your going to DIY it asap.

    Ive seen the results of the incompetent DIY’er.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Ive seen the results of the incompetent DIY’er.

    No worse than the results of an incompetent ‘professional’ – plenty of them around…..

    dirtdiggler
    Free Member

    Report them to Gas Safe buddy, i hate them more than the DIYer.

    JAG
    Full Member

    OP; be careful and sensible and keep at it 😯

    I’ve been fixing my own boiler for the last ten years.

    I only began because I couldn’t get a so-called professional to turn up when he said, do the job he quoted for quickly and efficiently or leave the boiler in reasonable condition having completed the work he was being payed for 👿

    In this time I have never disturbed a gas pipe joint. However I have;

    Replaced a pressure sensor
    Replaced the water circuit flow sensor
    Replaced the flow sensor Diaphragm
    Removed and repaired the Flue Fan
    Cleaned the burner unit

    All quickly, efficiently and without overcharging or damaging the boiler. I maintain that I have had less time without hot water and heating than I would have had if I’d relied on a ‘professional’ 8)

    saladdodger
    Free Member

    On this subject folk say it is against the LAW to work on gas appliances Blah Blah
    Who enforces this ??
    Will the old bill be knocking on yer door???

    JAG
    Full Member

    Saladdodger; no idea – I guess you could be prosecuted but no idea who by. Maybe the ‘Gas Safe’ guys?

    saladdodger
    Free Member

    Jag bet yer right about the “gas safe” cartel

    If theey ever knock on my door I will have great delight telling em where to go cos there is no gas i my village and we use oil 😆

    Bear
    Free Member

    Salad – that’ll be OFTEC for you then…

    wrecker
    Free Member

    To be fair, he’s not **** with the gas train, so catastrophic failure resulting from his works (which is not a full service as pointed out) is highly unlikely to say the least.

    CharlieMungus
    Free Member

    edit, someone tell me what i forgot to do….

    Give someone £180, but i can help,you out there.

    poly
    Free Member

    saladdodger – Member
    On this subject folk say it is against the LAW to work on gas appliances Blah Blah
    Who enforces this ??
    Will the old bill be knocking on yer door???

    I believe it is enforced by HSE but normally only after something goes spectacularly wrong. I guess if you then have a pro come out and he finds something terrifying he might report it too.

    However, I’m not sure that the bits he touched count as a ‘gas appliance’ ? I suspect only bits ‘upstream’ of the burner count?

    Bear
    Free Member

    Taking the case off? Breaking a combustion chamber seal?

    allthepies
    Free Member

    Cleaned (and so presumably removed or broke seals to) the flue, the bit which vents all the exhaust gases out of the house etc etc.

    spchantler
    Free Member

    Cleaned (and so presumably removed or broke seals to) the flue,

    yes and also put it back in properly, after the last professional serviced it and put it in wonky 😉

    No worse than the results of an incompetent ‘professional’ – plenty of them around…..

    fitting a kitchen last year, making a little cover to hide some of the pipe work under the boiler, just fitted by british gas, the gas pipe FELL OFF THE BOILER! not tightened up sufficiently so the olive wasn’t even compressed…
    another one, my aunt had a new boiler under the warmfront grant. they re used an old 1″ pipe that had been inside the chimney for years as the gas feed. it had previously been the hot from the aga, was full of rusty deposits, also corroding on the outside due to the acidic environment of the chimney….don’t worry, i’m a professional 🙄

    oliverd1981
    Free Member

    While I wouldn’t fit a new boiler or gas supply (there’s too much stuff to know about piping specs, flues etc.) I can’t understand how giving your boiler a minor service, or disconnecting your cooker is likely to be much of an issue provided your not totally cack handed.

    Megatron
    Full Member

    Don’t talk to me about #!*$ing boilers. I’m currently the one suffering because as they are meant to, my landlord sent someone round to do a gas safety check.
    The nice gas safety man drank my coffee and told me about a new part of the gas safety regulations. These say he has to inspect the full length of the flue. You can’t do this in my flat, as it’s boxed in and goes through a communal area of the block.
    He switched my boiler off, as he can’t declare it safe. I’m now trying to push the fact they are in breach of the tenancy agreement as the building management company won’t get off their arse to do 10 mins work so I can have an inspected (and safe) boiler for heating and hot water.
    Don’t worry, I have somewhere else to go with heating and hot water.

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    It not illegal to do DIY work on a gas boiler.
    It is illegal to take payment for work on gas if you are not gas safe registered.
    You can work on a gas system if you do not take payment but you must be a “competent person”.
    Working on the water pump would not come under this requirement
    However working on components that are part of the gas combustion control system would require a competent person.

    paulosoxo
    Free Member

    It not illegal to do DIY work on a gas boiler.
    It is illegal to take payment for work on gas if you are not gas safe registered.

    You need to be deemed competent and registered with the approved body.

    You can work on a gas system if you do not take payment but you must be a “competent person”.

    The gas installation and use regulations define competent. Which is someone who is deemed competent by the authorising body, i.e. gas safe at present and corgi before that. Being an engineer, or having went to uni doesn’t make you competent.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    the good news is that although not competant the sentancing will take that into account as its much worse to be competant and incompetant than merely just incompetant..

    if you feel that your failure to test for let by, tightness, gas rate or ega the incomplete visual inspection then by all means let you your partner family friends and neighbours take that risk.. would they think it was acceptable..

    otherwise celebrate with the 50 quid you saved .. do it soon you might not have a chance in the near future..

    wrecker
    Free Member

    The gas installation and use regulations define competent. Which is someone who is deemed competent by the authorising body, i.e. gas safe at present and corgi before that. Being an engineer, or having went to uni doesn’t make you competent.

    Definitions of “competent” used by the various bodies are laughable generally. In many areas, its so grey that almost anyone is considered competent until proved otherwise. In other words, you’re OK as long as you don’t **** up.
    Not over familiar with gas safe stuff, bt I have a copy of the regs and could check?

    paulosoxo
    Free Member

    Please do. It’s in the definition of terms at the back from memory. It’s quite explicit about what constitutes a competent person, from memory it refers to a person who has been deemed competent by the health and safety executive to undertake work on gas installation or fitting. It also defines ‘work’ too, should that be unclear.

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    Being an engineer, or having went to uni doesn’t make you competent.

    I never said or even implied it did.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 43 total)

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