_Dangerous Situations!
This is a list of situations that have been encountered whilst servicing appliances that the customers had often thought were operating perfectly well. It is not unusual to find problems that could make an appliance dangerous, with the customer completely oblivious, and yet are easily remedied. This is why servicing and safety checks are of paramount importance!
1. Dedicated ventilation is required for older 'open flued' appliances. I serviced an open flued boiler which required 80.1 sq cm of dedicated ventilation for combustion purposes. A closeable vent had been installed breaching regulations and categorising the appliance 'At Risk'. This was removed and a suitable dedicated vent installed at the cost of less than a fiver for the vent. This also stopped the appliance 'randomly' cutting out when it had been on for a while due to lack of combustion oxygen initiating a safety device which would shut off the gas supply! Thankfully the safety device had saved the customer from CO poisoning a few times!
2. Builder's opening inadequately sealed. There should be no gaps within the builder's opening other than the fireplace opening and the flue itself. I encountered a back boiler with unsealed pipes into the builder's opening, which may have led to CO leaking into the cavity walls and poisoning occupants elsewhere in the house, classifying the appliance 'At Risk'. All pipework was sealed with fireproof sealant free of charge, and there is now no danger of such a dangerous CO leak.
3. A Flue termination was close to being overgrown with a crawling plant, which would eventually inhibit the expulsion of products of combustion, categorising the appliance 'At Risk'. The plants were cut back free of charge and the appliance continues to work safely.
4. A stable free-standing appliance using a flexible connection (gas cooker) was encountered without a stability bracket securing it to the fabric of the building, classifying it as 'Not to Current Standards'. The customer was advised to have one fitted.
5. Upon opening the front cover of a combustion chamber, it was clearly visible that the rear insulation had crumbled at the bottom, dropping it down and partially obstructing the burner, which could lead to the appliance degrading to unsafe very rapidly. As I was servicing anyway, the insulation was stripped out, turned upside down, so a new fresh edge was in the mounts for it, and it's practically perfect again. Customer advised to have them replaced at next years service.
6. The gas pipe exiting from the rear spigot of a meter box into the property wasn't fully sealed, meaning any gas leaks from the meter box would go into the property's cavity wall, rendering the whole installation 'At Risk'. Ultimately, in the event of ignition, the wall would likely be blown off. The gap was sealed with some appropriate sealant without charge.
7. Having been called to a boiler that had experienced 'Explosive Combustion', it was evident that the burner had (over time) clogged up and deteriorated to a dangerous condition. The final explosion had ripped the burner's metal box, such was the force. The customer stated that the bang (heard 3 floors up) sounded like the front door had been kicked in off its hinges! The boiler was serviced and a new burner was subsequently sourced and fitted, and the boiler now operates safely. This can only highlight the importance for a competent person to service your boiler to ensure it is operating safely. Old burner and new burner (fitted) shown below.
2. Builder's opening inadequately sealed. There should be no gaps within the builder's opening other than the fireplace opening and the flue itself. I encountered a back boiler with unsealed pipes into the builder's opening, which may have led to CO leaking into the cavity walls and poisoning occupants elsewhere in the house, classifying the appliance 'At Risk'. All pipework was sealed with fireproof sealant free of charge, and there is now no danger of such a dangerous CO leak.
3. A Flue termination was close to being overgrown with a crawling plant, which would eventually inhibit the expulsion of products of combustion, categorising the appliance 'At Risk'. The plants were cut back free of charge and the appliance continues to work safely.
4. A stable free-standing appliance using a flexible connection (gas cooker) was encountered without a stability bracket securing it to the fabric of the building, classifying it as 'Not to Current Standards'. The customer was advised to have one fitted.
5. Upon opening the front cover of a combustion chamber, it was clearly visible that the rear insulation had crumbled at the bottom, dropping it down and partially obstructing the burner, which could lead to the appliance degrading to unsafe very rapidly. As I was servicing anyway, the insulation was stripped out, turned upside down, so a new fresh edge was in the mounts for it, and it's practically perfect again. Customer advised to have them replaced at next years service.
6. The gas pipe exiting from the rear spigot of a meter box into the property wasn't fully sealed, meaning any gas leaks from the meter box would go into the property's cavity wall, rendering the whole installation 'At Risk'. Ultimately, in the event of ignition, the wall would likely be blown off. The gap was sealed with some appropriate sealant without charge.
7. Having been called to a boiler that had experienced 'Explosive Combustion', it was evident that the burner had (over time) clogged up and deteriorated to a dangerous condition. The final explosion had ripped the burner's metal box, such was the force. The customer stated that the bang (heard 3 floors up) sounded like the front door had been kicked in off its hinges! The boiler was serviced and a new burner was subsequently sourced and fitted, and the boiler now operates safely. This can only highlight the importance for a competent person to service your boiler to ensure it is operating safely. Old burner and new burner (fitted) shown below.
8. Upon inspecting a boiler for a landlord safety certificate, it was noted that the boiler hadn't been serviced for years and had fallen into a very bad state of repair due to inadequate maintenance. It also had corroded seals, and was showing external signs of distress. Both of these conditions led it to being categorised as 'Immediately Dangerous', so it was disconnected until a new boiler could be fitted. An 'Immediately Dangerous' category boiler could potentially cause death by Carbon Monoxide poisioning.
9. Upon inspecting a hob, it was noted that the expected rigid pipeworkwas not present but instead, there was a connection with a fexible hose - a connection ONLY for movable gas appliances, such as free standing cookers. It was classified 'At Risk', so turned off and a warning issued not to use until correct pipework was installed. This was done later that week.