Back boiler 'At Risk' ventilation problem

oblong · 11 Jun 2009

Hi, can anyone advise what to do about this please, i know nowt about boilers:
My Mother recently had a visit from a guy from Scottish Power to check her gas boiler.. it's a Glow Worm Majorca fire/bbu in the chimney breast of the living room.
He told her that the boiler is not safe to use and gave her a warning/advice notice which does warn that the boiler is 'AT RISK' and should not be used as it 'requires ventilation' but it does not provide any advice as to how to achieve this .. so basically is it the space in which the boiler sits that needs this extra ventilation and if so can a vent be made to the void beneath the floorboards?
It is a terraced house so putting a hole straight through the outer wall isn't viable.

Finally, and just out of interest i know the boiler was professionally installed & the warning notice does state that it is gas tight, was installed with correct materials & fittings and correct pipework; it has worked problem free for many years so is there an honest reason why suddenly it is now unsafe to use it when nothing has been altered or changed?
The chimney flue is lined by the way.

Thanks

Agile · 11 Jun 2009

You are expected to have the boiler serviced every year and the engineer would check the ventilation.

You only need a vent to the outside from the same room. Presumably it does have an external wall to the room.

Its sometimes possible to put the vent in the

Its usual to get a gas engineer to do the work but a builder can do it if required but most dont know whats required. In any event it would still need to be checked by an engineer.

We usually charge about £90 for a solid wall if thats any help.

Tony

Paul Barker · 11 Jun 2009

If you put a floor vent in it has to be designed for the purpose so it can take pedestrian traffic, furthermore the gas fitter who removes the At Risk label has to satisfy himself that there is sufficient ventilation to the underfloor area. In a terraced house this is not a given. Which leaves you with Tony's core vent.

When i ask to see the ventilation most of my customers point to the chimney.

Amaising how ignorant people are and yet they feel so knowledgeable.

Knowledgeable in the sense they think they know better than the published British Standards. Maybe a few of us know better than the people who write British Standards but the untrained can't claim that territory.

So because they think they know better their backs go up and they get all pugnatious when someone with the knowledge tells them what ought to be done.

oblong · 11 Jun 2009

Thanks for replies.. so in other words it is not the space within the fireplace which specifically needs the ventilation, it is the room in which the boiler is located that needs to be ventilated to the outside, and preferably via a proper vent put into the external wall?

oblong · 11 Jun 2009

Paul Barker said:
When i ask to see the ventilation most of my customers point to the chimney.

Amaising how ignorant people are and yet they feel so knowledgeable.

Knowledgeable in the sense they think they know better than the published British Standards. Maybe a few of us know better than the people who write British Standards but the untrained can't claim that territory.

So because they think they know better their backs go up and they get all pugnatious when someone with the knowledge tells them what ought to be done.

Sorry mate but is this somehow in any way relevant to what i'd asked because i really don't understand why you've written that?

namsag · 11 Jun 2009

Mybe because you had someone out to check the appliance for safety.
He tells you rightly its not safe.
And you think the guy is ripping you off for some reason as opposed to possibly saving your mums life/health.

fazedup71 · 11 Jun 2009

oblong said:
Thanks for replies.. so in other words it is not the space within the fireplace which specifically needs the ventilation, it is the room in which the boiler is located that needs to be ventilated to the outside, and preferably via a proper vent put into the external wall?

Correct, you vent from the room the appliance is in, you can vent from one room to another to outside but that can be even more problematic as you have to take into account what the other rooms are used for.

As Tony said it is not a hard job and can be completed by coring out the wall and fitting a round vent. Despite the fact the boiler has been working is not a good enough reason to leave it as it is.

Paul Barker · 11 Jun 2009

oblong said:
Thanks for replies.. so in other words it is not the space within the fireplace which specifically needs the ventilation, it is the room in which the boiler is located that needs to be ventilated to the outside, and preferably via a proper vent put into the external wall?

Yes in same room or can be an adjacent room and a same sized vent between the two rooms.

Paul Barker · 11 Jun 2009

oblong said:
Paul Barker said:

When i ask to see the ventilation most of my customers point to the chimney.

Amaising how ignorant people are and yet they feel so knowledgeable.

Knowledgeable in the sense they think they know better than the published British Standards. Maybe a few of us know better than the people who write British Standards but the untrained can't claim that territory.

So because they think they know better their backs go up and they get all pugnatious when someone with the knowledge tells them what ought to be done.

Click to expand...

Sorry mate but is this somehow in any way relevant to what i'd asked because i really don't understand why you've written that?

Those who know but don't just think they know also know the relevance.

fazedup71 · 11 Jun 2009

Well you did say you know the boiler was professionally installed! I would have to question that! Saying the boiler has been working fine, just goes to show how lucky you should feel that the problem can now be rectified without any harm having come to anyone.

Smile it is your lucky day!

bengasman · 11 Jun 2009

Could well be that when the unit was installed, the ventilation was adequate, but since then the opening has been covered. Some bbu's are older than god.

namsag · 11 Jun 2009

Majorca is 1972 to about 76 . When first fitted a vent in door to another room was perfectly acceptable with no vent to outside.
As we know vent to outside was then required from early eighties and now the vent has to be the correct size.

Strange vent would have been missed for so long even wiyh just the occasional service or has customer ignored advice till its been cut off

bengasman · 11 Jun 2009

namsag said:
Strange vent would have been missed for so long even wiyh just the occasional service or has customer ignored advice till its been cut off

Or maybe the unit has not been serviced for a decade or so.

BingoBongo · 11 Jun 2009

or maybe they had been on the bg service plan

fatplumber · 11 Jun 2009

What I find unprofessional is that he doesn't seem to have explained the problem or what is required to rectify it. I it was me I would have made a note that the existing vent was undersized, blocked, nonexistant or what ever. I would also explain what had to be done.

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Back boiler 'At Risk' ventilation problem

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