Gas leak and Baxi Bermuda 401 replacement

Hi there,

I wonder if someone more knowledgeable could advise me on my issue.

I've just had a gas inspection in my 1 bed flat, equipped with 3 rads and an ancient Baxi bermuda 401 back boiler plus gas firefront, water tank and electric pump. The check has failed, since the gasman found a gas leak, but said he could not find the exact section of pipe that had the escape. He recommended to throw my entire system away and install a new boiler+gas piping, although it has been working with no issues whatsoever. The flat is tenanted and I had no chance of talking to the gasman in person.

- I can't quite understand how come the gas leak is unfixable? It is a tiny flat with very few pipes, none of them running through the floor or ceiling.
- Would you try to patch the existing leak, or go with a new system? Any ideas on the current market cost of a ~25kw boiler+labor?
- I was also advised that they would have to run a new gas pipe through the ceiling, as this is required by the 'new regulations'. Is this true? I see no way to do that as the floor is solid oak glued to chipboard which is impossible to remove without destruction, while top ceiling is just solid concrete.
- Could anyone recommend a no-BS gas engineer in SE London?

Cheers,

A gasman who can't find a gas leak??? You're right to look for someone else. Did he cap it off?

sooey said:

A gasman who can't find a gas leak??? You're right to look for someone else. Did he cap it off?

Click to expand...

He shut off the gas for the entire flat, issued a warning notice and left, said my system is old and not worth fixing.

That's up to you not him. A leak shouldn't be too hard to find by the sound of it.

sooey said:

A gasman who can't find a gas leak??? You're right to look for someone else. Did he cap it off?

Click to expand...

Unless it is between a hard wood floor and solid concrete!

Seriously, though, if the OP has had no contact with the RGI, then I assume he has been hired by the agent - and they often pay peanuts. His remit would be a LLGSR (and maybe, but not necessarily) a service. He is not going to spend ages tracing and repairing - and neither should he be slagged for not doing so.
Having said that, a gas leak on a supply has no real connection (pun not intended) with the need for a new boiler

Lie number one is the pipe must now be run through the ceiling .
No such reg.
If its easier for him that way then he should explain why not lie about it.
So puts in doubt what else he has said

The guy has detected a gas leak and carried out the correct procedure by capping off the system.

The course of action now is to get a different RGI who is prepared to trace and rectify the leak in accordance with standard procedure by isolating appliances until the leak is proved either to be in the gas pipework or on an appliance.

I suspect that by doing this s/he will find one of the following most common situations:-
The gas valve on the boiler is allowing gas to pass through when it shouldn't
A gas oven or hob has leaky controls
A disused cooker bayonet fitting is leaking
or indeed the gas pipework is leaking.

None of these scenarios imply that a new heating system is required.

Your worst case scenario IMO is that a leak in the pipework cannot be traced or accessed and the full gas pipework should be replaced.

So would you advise to leave the ancient Baxi 401 BB and fix the leak? I only care about reliability, I don't care about efficiency, since it's a small flat and the difference would be negligible. My baxi's flue is vertical and goes to the roof chimney, and it appears that it is only my flat alone that is using it, all other flats already have combis installed with horizontal flues through the side wall. Gaspeople told me in the past that these old boilers can be killing machines etc, if a bird or sth blocks the chimney etc. I have CO alarm installed though. My only worry with installing a new combi is that it will be a constant source of trouble with repairs.

Everyone has their own take on it and our views here are similar. I have a circa 1983 Thorn Olympic which gets the barest amount of attention from me and in my 28 years here has had 2 gas valves and about half a dozen thermocouples. With gravity hot water, so no diverter valve to replace every eight years or so. It's even still got it's original pump! It is IMO bulletproof compared to any modern system.

When I did my sums I found that I would save £111.12 a year if I changed to a new condensing boiler. Now if I were to replace it as though it was someone elses boiler I would be looking for about 20 times that saving to supply and fit. So the thought of not effectively getting my money back for 20 years has dissuaded me.

So long as your baxi 401 remains serviced and serviceable
I agree with you that at this point in time you should strive to keep it.

For information I'm aware of plans to make renting out a property with a 'F' or 'G' rated boiler illegal from 2018