updated regulations

[elmsoft]

A friend has a Potterton SupaPrima boiler which was fitted when the house was new- about 15 years. She has a service contract with Scottish Gas and at the last service she was told that because of updated regulations the flu was no longer acceptable.
He told her "unofficially" that the boiler was perfectly safe to operate but that he would have to issue paperwork effectively condemning it and affix a "Do Not Use" sticker.
Do Gas Safe updates in fact apply retrospectively to existing installations? I know that if one started applying IEEE regulations in that way there wouldn't be many homes with electricity in this country!
Anyone have comments or advice?

 

[Steelmasons]

Deemed 'not to current standards (ncs) I take it??....NCS has been removed from the regs , it is no more..

 

[gigz]

What did he say was wrong with the flue ?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Only rule change recently was TB008 flues in voids . Very few Suprima boilers would fall under that I would have thought .

 

[Elkato531]

He could only "condemn" the boiler if it was in an immediately dangerous state. If this was the case he would have (with permission) isolated it from the gas supply. If permission was refused, he would have notified the gas supplier who has greater legal powers to enforce disconnection.

 

[elmsoft]

Thanks for your replies.
They were sort of what I expected but what should advise my friend? She is not very happy with the "just use it ; it'll be OK really" situation. Should she
a) Throw the paper work in the bin and forget it?
b) Get the flue upgraded ( and presumably pay handsomely for the privilege)?
c) Write to Scottish gas and seek clarification ( cos there is a possibility they are really drumming up business by alarming people unnecessarily )?

 

[oilboffin]

It is illegal to alarm people in order to get work it is a form of extortion which is a criminal offence.

 

[Elkato531]

Call in a local independent RGI and ask for a second opinion. Of course she'll have to pay for their time but she should get an unbiased opinion on the actual state of the installation. There are hundreds of thousands of old boilers chugging away perfectly safely across the country. This one may be one of them but without seeing and testing it, its impossible to give an answer.

 

[muggles]

Get her to post a picture of the SG report on here. Without knowing the full details of why she was told not to use it it's impossible to give accurate advice. A couple of pics of the boiler and flue arrangement wouldn't go amiss either

 

[elmsoft]

I'll see what I can do with the pics, as much out of curiosity as anything else
Don't want to spend money on an independent engineer. She is paying SG enough money every month and am wondering if a phone call to their customer care dept might be an option.

 

[Elkato531]

Don't want to spend money on an independent engineer.

Well you probably won't get independent advice. It may end up saving her money as she can ditch the service contract and if the boiler does need replacing, she can get a sensible quote for replacement. Remember, Scottish Gas want to replace that boiler and then make money every month on a new service contract. Also, check the terms and conditions of the current service contract. By issuing a warning notice, they probably have a get out of paying for any future repairs

 

[Agile]

There has actually been a change in how we are meant to rate an open flued boiler boiler where the amount of ventilation is less than the prescribed amount.

It is not clear what the boiler model is in this case.

If a Suprima then that is room sealed and the ventilation is taken from outside.

If a Prima then they may possibly have been some models of those with open flues.

Until we know what model and alleged flue problem we cannot advize.

Be aware that some engineers can get a small commission if they persuade you to have a quotation visit from their company.

A few try hard to get that and can frighten their customers with the "no parts available any more" story!

 

[ollski]

To leave it on with that label it will be either in a void or unsupported, reason will be written on the signed safety notice. If its unclear ring the office, they will call the engineer and get clarification.

 

[elmsoft]

A few try hard to get that and can frighten their customers with the "no parts available any more" story!

Now that rings a bell . My friend told me he said that! Doesn't sound ethical or oven legal.

And it is definitely a Suprima!

 

[elmsoft]

To leave it on with that label it will be either in a void or unsupported, reason will be written on the signed safety notice. If its unclear ring the office, they will call the engineer and get clarification.

The boiler was installed in a new build 15 years ago- wall mounted on the exterior kitchen wall. The flue comprises a very short vertical section a 90 elbow and then straight through the wall, It seems to my admittedly inexpert eye as simple - and effective - as could be imagined.
The more I hear from posters here , the more I am inclined to think my friend is being conned.