Is my gas registed plumber correct?

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I have a neightbour who services our gas fire and c.h. system, a baxi bermuda boiler and gas fire which was fitted in the 90s.

The fire occasionally needs the injector cleaning out to get a better flame from the burner approx every 4 months.

He states that it's due to the age of the fire and we should get a new system fitted.

Is he correct? he has shown me the parts and a but is it due to age or another problem? Due to him being a neighbour I'm not comfortable getting another repair guy in as to keep the peace.
He does keep going on about us getting a whole new system and fed up of brochures being whipped out lol. :confused:
 
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Although few use the firefront very much that seems very unusual.

But you you have furry animals?

Those boilers do not respond well to any loose fur!

A BBU like that also should really ALWAYS be serviced every year!

I do hope he removes the fire and plays about with smoke in the boiler?

Tony
 
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Does the gas valve not have an inlet gauze.?

Is this one of the boilers with a small tube for air mixing at the pilot on top of the heat exchanger? If so then the chimney needs sweeping or the boiler is producing larger amounts of CO than it should.
 
Does the gas valve not have an inlet gauze.?

Is this one of the boilers with a small tube for air mixing at the pilot on top of the heat exchanger? If so then the chimney needs sweeping or the boiler is producing larger amounts of CO than it should.

no didn't see one.
 
Although few use the firefront very much that seems very unusual.

But you you have furry animals?

Those boilers do not respond well to any loose fur!

A BBU like that also should really ALWAYS be serviced every year!

I do hope he removes the fire and plays about with smoke in the boiler?

Tony
yes i've a staffy. would that cause it?
 
The boiler lint arrester needs regular cleaning with a furry resident.

Black flakes/powder as you have been told already is a product that sometimes comes out with the flow of gas.

It seems very difficult to discover why it affects some installations more than others.

It is possible to fit a filter to trap it. But then this needs to be cleaned regularly too.

Tony
 
OP: What is he clearing when the injector is blocked? If it is tint black flakes, then it is nought to do with the fire, but the house pipework.Known as Sulphidation, and is not uncommon If this sounds like it, then show your RGI thos:

http://www.rgii.ie/_fileupload/installer files/Technical Info/TB-0105.pdf

Changing the fire may result in similar problems.

he uses sewing needle to clear the little holes.
the dirt is black fine powder.

As said, this stuff will block any fine injector - so changing the fire may be pointless.Show your RGI the document, he may not be aware of it, and to be fair, depending on the area, he may never have come across it before,

As Agile suggested, you can get a filter for this, but it may be worthwhile replacing the internal gas pipes
 
That all depends on where it is coming from or forming.

A lot of old installations had a filter just by the meter.

That might suggest its formed with iron pipes and in the days of coal produced gas. But the info below suggests its from copper pipes. In London we must have the same mix of gas everywhere but I only occasionally see it.

Tony


Note this was written for Ireland!

BACKGROUND:

A large proportion of natural gas comes from gas-fields in the North Sea through the two interconnectors.Unlike the gas from the Kinsale fields this gas contains a trace of Hydrogen Sulphide(H2S) which may react with the copper pipe and copper components in appliances. The hydrogen
sulphide causes a black deposit to form on the inner walls of the copper pipe - Copper Sulphide(Cu2S). This is called “Sulphidation”. In some circumstances this deposit is in form of flakes.These flakes can become detached and get carried by the gas flow into appliances, where they can
accumulate and restrict the flow of gas through apertures in injectors, and through valves, filters,pilot lights, etc., causing loss of output, and eventually the failure of the appliance to function.
Sulphidation can occur when the Hydrogen Sulphide content is above 0.4mg/m³, but until thelevels are more than about 1.5 - 2.0 mg/m³ it does not seem to cause many problems. The gaslanded at the St Fergus terminal in Scotland, for example, had a hydrogen sulphide content of only
0.6 mg/m³ when it first came on stream in 1986, but this was found to increase particularly in the90's, and is now at 3.5 mg/m³. In view of this the number of instances of sulphidation in Irelandmay increase in the years ahead.

In rare instances, the effects of sulphidation become immediately apparent but typically it takesabout three or more years before problems arise. The copper has to react with the HydrogenSulphide to form a deposit which might in due course flake off. The gas flow must be fast enoughto cause these flakes to travel with the gas to a collection point, where they may then accumulateand interfere with appliance operation.
Not all copper pipe will react with the hydrogen sulphide in the gas to form the troublesome flakes, and the reasons for this are not yet clear. Based on the experience in the UK (where thesulphidation problem has occurred in Scotland and in the North of England and Wales), it is likelythat less than 0.5% of the domestic sized installations might be effected. In Ireland, this wouldindicate that between 2,000 and 2,300 installations might be affected to varying degrees. The copper sulphide deposits have the appearance of small graphite flakes and are sometimesreferred to as ‘Black Dust’.
 
great! thanks for the info. very much appreciated.
The copper pipe is only about 8 feet long. could I get it replaced with the corrugated stainless steel?

the current boiler is a bermuda thats over 20 years old and was thinking of gettting the Bermuda BBU HE.

I could just get the pipe replaced, then later date get the new boiler?
 
great! thanks for the info. very much appreciated.
The copper pipe is only about 8 feet long. could I get it replaced with the corrugated stainless steel?

the current boiler is a bermuda thats over 20 years old and was thinking of gettting the Bermuda BBU HE.

I could just get the pipe replaced, then later date get the new boiler?

Replacing it with new copper will probably solve the issue, and be cheaper.
 

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