Siting of a gas boiler flue?

Agile · 8 Jan 2006

Paul has evidently had a bad day, if he correctly priced remedial work then its as profitable as any other day.

Be aware that neighbour relations are really important, some people even move house because of their neighbours!

Your neighbours are probably the victims of a cowboy installer, its NOT their fault as they dont understand the requirements. To ensure better relations with your neighbours try to find out who the installer is and particularly if he is CORGI registered.

If, as I suspect, he is not, then I would like you to report him to CORGI. If he is registered ( which I doubt! ) then CORGI will issue a defects notice which requires him to corret the deficiencies within 14 days.

Let us know how you get on.

Tony Glazier

Paul Barker · 8 Jan 2006

Not talking about remedial work, just the cost of doing the job properly competing in a town where combi swap profiteers do ther bear minimum and alwayts waqck a horizontal flue very likely in the wrong place but all customer ses is the price and pciks on that basis yet these bad boys make more profit than I do, no, much more. And to boot they sell them a sh1t boiler, slap it on the wall and say "that's what you want love" and customer will be calling me frantically as the only person who repairs combis that answers the phone. Certainly the installer will be non communicado.

Agile · 8 Jan 2006

Dont knock them, they are a valuable source of repair and power flushing work.

Perhaps 20% of our work results from putting right the bodges of the cowboys, mainly flues, power flushing and water treatment.

Lady I went to on Saturday, did not even know she was meant to use a CORGI registered person to fit her boiler. To give him his due, its quite safe and I suspect he is one of the deregistered who still fits boilers unregistered. She doesn't want to report him.

Tony

Paul Barker · 9 Jan 2006

You're right they are a source of revenue, it's just I don't like the way they stitch up good ordinary folk, charging just a hundred quid less than me say but using a boiler that costs 300 less and not spending say another 100 on essential extras like for instance vertical flue kit in some cases, i.e. do a completely bear bones job, leave customer with a poorly designed constructed and implemented boiler, cusstomer feels happy because it was cheapest quote, fitter is happy because he's probably made 400 quid more than me. They have no social conscience they are out there to make maximum profit out of people and don't have a care in the world what happens to those peopl's boiler. Actually they don't have the nouse to understand the piece of kit they've fitted themselves, so probably aren't even aware of the sentence they have imposed on the happless customer.

mistee · 9 Jan 2006

Hi again,

We want to remain on good terms with our neighbour, he is going to do some finding out, we suggested he get back to the fitter and implied we were blaming the fitter and not the neighbour. I've a feeling, however, that they might be friends with the fitter as some of the work was done late at night. Anyway, we're hoping, after bringing it to his attention, that the flue will be moved.

Just one thing, apart from it being a real pain having the flue where it is, is it actually dangerous in terms of the fumes coming from it?

Thanks again everyone, any other advice welcome as we are doing as much finding out as we can this week. I'll keep you posted if anything happens

Paul Barker · 9 Jan 2006

The fumes will only contain co2 and h20 for many years. Neither will kill you where it disperses into the atmoshphere.

If the moisture in the gases damages any part of your structure in the coming years the installer is liable for full repair.

I work until late at night often because people consider it important to have heating, so I bust a gut to get it on for them and satisfy more customers sooner by so doing, otherwise there would be a long waiting list. That doesn't mean I am friends with any of them, though I am friendly towards them.

ArtfulBodger · 9 Jan 2006

Paul Barker said:
I work until late at night often because people consider it important to have heating, so I bust a gut to get it on for them and satisfy more customers sooner by so doing, otherwise there would be a long waiting list. That doesn't mean I am friends with any of them, though I am friendly towards them.

Exactly right

ollski · 9 Jan 2006

Paul Barker said:
The fumes will only contain co2 and h20 for many years.

I don't know if its a condensing boiler and he cant even get the flue position right what makes you think he checked the combustion ratio correctly?

Paul Barker · 9 Jan 2006

Good point, but last greenstar I fitted 40kw a year ago, instructions actually stated installer don't you adjust the co/co2 ratio we have done it in the factory with much better equipment than yours. Have they changed policy?

On Buderus, for which I bought my analyser to do just that very job, they specify you must do it. BUT when I asked the worcester Buderus service man about this he said no don't do it, just make sure there is adequate working pressure.

In the event I haven't found one that needed adjustment yet.

When fitting new parts it would probably be necessary to set it right.

caterhamplumbing · 9 Jan 2006

The flue must terminate at least 600mm away from a boundary line so if the flue is coming through the boundary it has been installed as a not to current standards boiler. You could inform corgi about the installation and they will have to move the boiler if no other flueing option is available. The boiler should be condensing so the fumes you are experiencing are mostly water vapour. But current regs state that you cannot install a boiler in a psition which will cause a nuisence to an adjacent property.

To keep things neighbourly ask them first to talk to the installer and ask why the flue was put there.

If not go to corgi

Paul Barker · 9 Jan 2006

There is no more water vapour in the products of combustion than in a non steamer, it's just cooler so has condensed and more of it is visible.

But actually there will be less water because some of it having already condensed before it exits the flue has gone another route down the condensate drain.

Nolt being funny, that's how it is.

The chemical reaction of converting methane and oxygen into carbon dioxide and water when heat is applied doesn't change.

Of course it looks like there is more water in it.

mistee · 9 Jan 2006

It might be mostly water vapour, but it smells horrible. We keep the porch door shut now to stop the fumes coming in, so now it's just 'steaming up' the glass!

Fingers crossed for a solution soon.

He has talked about putting an elbow on the flue to take the vapour up, but all this pipework will be on our property and to be honest would look ugly just outside our kitchen window.

Handyman · 9 Jan 2006

Hello Mistee.

I was thinking about your little problem earlier today. When the plumber installed your neighbour's flue, if it is right on the boundary as you say, then he must have accessed your property in order to drill the hole and fit and seal the terminal. So, did he ask your permission to do this? If he didn't (which would seem unlikely, unless he really is a cowboy) then he has trespassed on your property. If he did, and you said "OK", then could this be construed that you had no objection to the flue being installed?

ollski · 9 Jan 2006

Since that little lad was killed from a room sealed boiler in a covered passageway the regulation has been made it has been pointed out, to me personally at least, that a flue allowing products through a window or opening into a dwelling is 'at risk' as a minimum.

PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN · 9 Jan 2006

Stop fannying around, you want it switched off NOW, bloody cowboys going round fitting boilers incorrectly at stupid prices, no proper installer would have contemplated fitting a flue in this position, the lack of a cage says it all, asssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooollllll

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Siting of a gas boiler flue?

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