transco has switched me off !! help please !!

[suerowley]

hello i am looking for urgent advice. My heating is not working, we have tried to relight the boiler which is a glow worm hide away 60b using a variety and i think dangerous methods but with no joy. Husband thinks it is the thermo coupling ? and has purchased one at lunchtime today with the intention of fitting it tonight on return from work (does the electric need to be off?) I have also attempted to prepare the kids tea and as i have tried to light the built in hob it will not ignite and furthermore i cant hear any gas either. Is it possible that the bolier and the hob are linked in some way ? or is something completely wrong with the boiler and the hob. The multi point wall heater is ok and working fine.

i contacted british gas who advised me to contact transco because the symptoms i had given sounded like the gas supply to the house was affected.

Transco came straight away. After further investigation it would appear that the water boiler (multipoint) that is positioned in a cupboard above the heating boiler (Glow worm hideaway 60b) has been leaking water into it and this has also gone into the gas hob.

When the transco operative opened a pipe attached to the Glow worm lots of water came spraying out of it. There is also water dripping from the multi point, something which i have never noticed cos its in a cupboard and i never go in it.

The Transco operative has blocked the gas meter and all appliances for safety reasons, he has also advised that the repair man who is coming tommorow needs to get the water out of the central heating boiler and the gas hob, and also try and repair the multi point so that it leaks no longer.

I know i sound like a dimwit, but has anybody got any idea of the likely cost related to such work. If any body can help i would be really gratefull, thank you very much.

 

[Paul Barker]

Your hob won't work because Transco have a way of making sure no gas gets to you while you have these dangerous situations. The corgi engineer you call will restore the gas supply when he has made the dangerous appliances safe.

Multipoints are relatively cheap to fix and easy. Also well worth replacing with like for like if not repairable.

The boiler should be manageable.

Hopefully won't cost too much, but you do need a corgi engineer to proceed. At least he can restore the supply to the cooker while he sorts out the other two.

We can't talk about money because without seeing the equipment we can't say what's wrong.

 

[ChrisR]

Water can be dangerous in gas pipes, because flames go out , then you get unlit gas, which can explode on attempts at relighting.

Not particularly difficult stuff to do, after all the gas pipe "ends" have been got at - hobs can be a pain.
I can imagine it could easily take a couple of hours going round with a water-vac, sucking and blowing at open pipe ends. Hourly rate will vary depending on location, £30 - £90.

Replacing the multipoint would cost rather more.

On absolutely no account whatsoever, whether you're freezing or starving, try to deal with this yourself.

At least he can restore the supply to the cooker while he sorts out the other two.

Tricky if water has got in at the boiler. No go till all the water's out.

 

[keego]

Firstly you're not a dimwit! if you where ACS qualified & asked this question then you are.
How much will this cost you?.... how longs a piece of string?. Straight away the cause of the trouble needs fixing which is the multipoint, if it's leaking water into the gas supply then if my memory serves me right it will be an O ring on the gas / water valve which shouldn't cost a fortune, the problem will be getting rid of the water in the gas pipes, if you have a low point in the system that's accessible then it wont be too bad if not then it can be a bit expensive>

 

[keego]

Or is it the O ring that causes the water to leak into burner?
Old age & beer, what causes the memory loss? I think I need a lie down.

 

[Agile]

Please be very careful with these people.

She has already admitted her husband has bought boiler parts with the intention of fitting them himself.

Sounds like the kind of people who want to have a go with gas repairs which could be dangerous for the untrained.

Tony

 

[joe-90]

Please be very careful with these people.

She has already admitted her husband has bought boiler parts with the intention of fitting them himself.

Sounds like the kind of people why try to bypass gas meters!

Did you hear about the launderette explosion in Holloway Road? Apparently cause by the owner bypassing the meter!

Tony

What a funny post! Just because they get water in the gas pipe you deduce they'll by-pass the gas meter?

If he feels confident to make the repair why not? Do you get a sparky in when you are doing electrcal work in the kitchen not connected to gas work? Are you about to bypass the electric meter?


joe

 

[meldrew's_mate]

Joe, you have made some sensible and relevant posts on this site. You also have incurred the wrath of Agile, others, and me in the way you have said your piece. Please don't turn it into a personal vendetta by sniping.

Look at your post, it adds nothing for suerowley, to the casual observer it just appears you have it in for Agile. Please back off and concentrate on making constructive suggestions to help suerowley make the best of her (?) bad situation.

Penster was fun and entertaining, but I don't want strawberries every day.

 

[joe-90]

I'm not sniping. The post he has made bears little relevance to the topic.



joe

 

[Agile]

I am aware that some people try to give advice without considering the possible safety and legal consequences and I just suggested that people should be careful when replying.

They had said:-

""we have tried to relight the boiler which is a glow worm hide away 60b using a variety and I think dangerous methods""

In addition, she said that her husband had bought boiler safety parts and was intending to fit them himself.

I think that any professional in the industry should be very careful when faced with that information!

Tony

 

[chrishutt]

Reluctantly, I feel that I must intervene on the side of joe-90 in this case. Tony's suggestion that someone (non-RGI) who buys a thermocouple to repair a boiler might well be someone who by-passes a gas meter is quite frankly over-the-top.

The original post suggests someone who has rightly approached Transco about the problem, after perhaps initially making some ill-advised attempts to light the boiler. By the poster's admission those attempts to light the boiler may not have been safe, but the matter is now in the hands of the professionals. Nothing to justify Tony's post.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Reading between the lines of the posting I agree with Agile, after 36 years of dealing with the public I feel the same unease as Agile does regarding replying to this posting.

 

[joe-90]

Don't get me wrong. It's definitely a job for a pro. I'm not suggesting otherwise. I just found his response a liitle incongruous.



joe

 

[suerowley]

Firstly Agile / Tony the method of re lighting whcih i found questionable was trying to light the pilot with a taper, then a long armed lighter that you use for lighting gas hobs I.e caravan hob, fire etc.. I personally think this is dangerous however i do recall my mother doing the same in order to relight her multi point on a number of occasions.

In respect of the thermocouple my husband attempted this as it is on the outside of the boiler and was simply a matter of undoing at both ends removing and putting another one in. The fact that it did not fit any way is besides the point as he attached the original in the same way it had come off.

Please be very careful with these people.

She has already admitted her husband has bought boiler parts with the intention of fitting them himself.

Sounds like the kind of people who want to have a go with gas repairs which could be dangerous for the untrained.

And as for this quote, the reason for "having a go" with the thermo coupling is quite simple. There have been a number of occasions i have been ripped off and put at risk by corgi registered professionals.

£200.00 - no hot water, guy came out looked at the multipoint blew it with a hoover and changed the diaphram was in the house half and hour. I later found out diaphrams are a couple of quid from a plumbing outlet. Nice little earner.

On another occasion i wanted the fire in the fornt room removing and capping. This guy damaged the meter and casued a slow leak, which i found the following day.

Both these technicians were corgi registered, so therefore one would presume they were reputable. I am not having a go at all gas men, i am sure that with any trade there are people who are not trustworthy but for myself who has no knowledge whatsoever i feel that i could be seen to be an easy target.

And as for this

Sounds like the kind of people why try to bypass gas meters!

i take great offence that you would insuate such a thing.

Thank you Paul, Chris x 2, Keego, Joe, Meldrews Mate [/quote]

 

[ollski]

£200.00 - no hot water, guy came out looked at the multipoint blew it with a hoover and changed the diaphram was in the house half and hour. I later found out diaphrams are a couple of quid from a plumbing outlet. Nice little earner.

I went to my solicitor the other day, sat there for 10 mins while he asked about my concern then went on to discuss the requirements he needed for me to become a customer for a further 35 mins. He then sent me a bill for 178.50. I later found out that the stationary was bought in bulk and the postage was 22p....also a tidy little number.