3 years ago after buying a flat, before moving in, I had my boiler replaced - I live in a flat, the boiler room is quite far from external wall (approx. 6-7m) and therefore the whole operation was rather tricky - the flue needed to go through 3 internal walls and is boxed just under the ceiling. I thought it was worth doing though, as the old boilers in these apartments were notoriously bad (PowerMax) and I hoped I'd have a peace of mind for years to come. I lived through "no hot water/no heating for 3-4 weeks" twice before, when PowerMax died in my rented apartments and really didn't want to risk it.
Unfortunately 2 days ago I had the annual check and the British Gas engineer found a water leak from the flue (near the boiler), he shut it down as safety hazard (so no hot water or heating for the third time, lucky me!) and basically left me with not much more comment. I managed to get some engineers in to see if they can fix it, and overall message is that the guy who originally fitted in has done an absolutely dreadful job. I'm quite surprised that none of this has been raised by the British Gas engineer on the annual check last year but... that's another issue.
The installer hasn't kept the manufacturer's standard (it's a GlowWorm ultracom boiler) when it comes to the required drop of the flue - it's meant to be 44mm per m yet it is only about 12-13cm across approx. 6-7m flue, plus some extra bends on the way that I wasn't even aware of as they're in boxing. He hasn't mounted the flue in brackets. He hasn't even properly screwed the flue parts on the joints. It turns out the flue leaked in numerous places - vast majority very tiny leaks, probably only occasionally as it's simply some spots in the boxing that I now noticed. It made it through the boxing only once - he came back at that time and "fixed" it. Overall, I have reported him to Gas Safe and hoping they can come and inspect it - although not sure if it's too late for this now.
In any case, could you please comment on the whole "drop" aspect and how critical it is? Out of three engineers that came 1 seemed extremely concerned about keeping to this requirement to the letter, and it turns out that in my flat it's going to be extremely difficult if not impossible to get such a huge drop. Would this be the major factor that makes it leaky, or would it be more due to the other factors - the extra bends, not sealing it, not mounting it properly? I'm really worried I will get another "hacker" who will only care about making it appear to work, and within next 2-3 years I'll have to go through this whole nightmare again.
When it comes to this required drop, does it have to be placed on an angle throughout the whole length (so literally 2.5degrees straight line), or can it be, say, 1.5deg angle, then a sharper drop through a bend, and again 1.5deg angle (as long as from one end to the other the average is 44mm/m)? I simply cannot see how, with the walls and appliances etc. on the way, could this 44mm/m drop be achieved through 2.5deg drop...
How can I tell which engineer to trust? What should I ask / watch out for / should I be truly concerned about not reaching this drop or would it be enough if somebody increased it just slightly, and the real problem was how badly the flue was assembled and mounted?
Any advise greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately 2 days ago I had the annual check and the British Gas engineer found a water leak from the flue (near the boiler), he shut it down as safety hazard (so no hot water or heating for the third time, lucky me!) and basically left me with not much more comment. I managed to get some engineers in to see if they can fix it, and overall message is that the guy who originally fitted in has done an absolutely dreadful job. I'm quite surprised that none of this has been raised by the British Gas engineer on the annual check last year but... that's another issue.
The installer hasn't kept the manufacturer's standard (it's a GlowWorm ultracom boiler) when it comes to the required drop of the flue - it's meant to be 44mm per m yet it is only about 12-13cm across approx. 6-7m flue, plus some extra bends on the way that I wasn't even aware of as they're in boxing. He hasn't mounted the flue in brackets. He hasn't even properly screwed the flue parts on the joints. It turns out the flue leaked in numerous places - vast majority very tiny leaks, probably only occasionally as it's simply some spots in the boxing that I now noticed. It made it through the boxing only once - he came back at that time and "fixed" it. Overall, I have reported him to Gas Safe and hoping they can come and inspect it - although not sure if it's too late for this now.
In any case, could you please comment on the whole "drop" aspect and how critical it is? Out of three engineers that came 1 seemed extremely concerned about keeping to this requirement to the letter, and it turns out that in my flat it's going to be extremely difficult if not impossible to get such a huge drop. Would this be the major factor that makes it leaky, or would it be more due to the other factors - the extra bends, not sealing it, not mounting it properly? I'm really worried I will get another "hacker" who will only care about making it appear to work, and within next 2-3 years I'll have to go through this whole nightmare again.
When it comes to this required drop, does it have to be placed on an angle throughout the whole length (so literally 2.5degrees straight line), or can it be, say, 1.5deg angle, then a sharper drop through a bend, and again 1.5deg angle (as long as from one end to the other the average is 44mm/m)? I simply cannot see how, with the walls and appliances etc. on the way, could this 44mm/m drop be achieved through 2.5deg drop...
How can I tell which engineer to trust? What should I ask / watch out for / should I be truly concerned about not reaching this drop or would it be enough if somebody increased it just slightly, and the real problem was how badly the flue was assembled and mounted?
Any advise greatly appreciated.
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