boiler capped off - dont beleive engineer - what can i do ?

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Someone give me some guidance please ... its cold
The engineer has just left having 'serviced' and then capped off my baxi back boiler cos it dont conform!!! (we're new to the area so had to go for broke with the phone book)

it was doing fine but the pilot had a yellowing tip and went out once or twice per day.

the 'engineer' was looking for every possible thing that could be condemmed rather than getting us running again. eg I had to prove to him myself by dismantling the wall vent that it was sleeved! there was no sign of a vac or a brush during his visit, he dismantled the boiler / fire and reassembled it taking 1.5 hours !!!!

he did a smoke test placing a bomb thing ontop of the boiler in the chimney, all the smoke went up the chimney and was billowing out of the pot on the roof, good i thought (damn he thought!) having reassembled it he locked himself in the room with the boiler for 10 mins then came out saying he'll have to condem it because it's 'spilling fumes' , using a smoke match held just behind the fire flue (not in the chimney cavity) he demonstrated how the fumes were not drawn into the the chimney whilst the boiler was running. he claims that there must be a problem with the flue that prevents the exhaust fumes venting thus stifling the pilot hence it is dangerous and capped off.
Farce 1 - i've had carbonmonoxide detector in the room - for 3 years - no warnings given
Farce 2 - if the exhaust does stifle the pilot it goes out thus no more fumes
Farce 3 - he said @its been like that since it was installed' 20 years ago
how then can the gas board themseleves state at its last service that both the flue and ventiulation were ok (i have this in writing)
Farce 4 - now capped off I cant replicate what he was doing

help someone - how do i get re-connected and then how do I prove this guy is a LIAR ? cos I know he is
 
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I know thats the obvious one but Its cost me 90 quid so far and he quoted 1200 for a new flue plus reconnection which seems outrageous.

he was corgi registered - I say was cos I just reported him back to corgi!
so he wont be back on my turf!
 
I'm struggling to see what the problem is, it sounds as though the spillage was carried out in the correct place and it must be carried out in the room with all the doors closed. Can you explain where you think the problem is? and also the model of the appliance. It may be fitted with an atmosphere sensing device which knocks out the pilot when there is a lack of oxygen before the appliance creates dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide.
 
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Did you make sure he had the boiler on warming the flue after it failed the first spillage test, also the flue flow test should not be done from the top of the heat ex, the heat exchanger could be sooted up & this would not show on the test.
One more thing did he fit the fire front before he done the spillage test? & did he introduce more ventilation to the room & retest?.
 
keego said:
Did you make sure he had the boiler on warming the flue after it failed the first spillage test, also the flue flow test should not be done from the top of the heat ex, the heat exchanger could be sooted up & this would not show on the test.
.

The flue flow test is only to prove the continuity of the flue, it. gives off a random amount of smoke so wouldn't prove that the HX was clear or part blocked, you would certainly be skimping your service if you missed asooted HX.Mind you if he took 1.5 hours I can't see how you can skimp, I can do a full service and cleam on most baxis 60 mins maximum......rushed and vacuumed ;)
 
Yes but they said there was no sign of a vac or brush & if he was determined to chop it then he wouldn't have bothered looking at the heat ex, & if I did a flue flow test from the hood on a BBU in front of my QA man I would fail instantly.
 
Breezer Wrote:

get a 2nd opinion from another company?

Spot On

If your not letting this guy back on your "TURF" then the only solution is to get someone else to test it.
If it passes spillage tests (3 seperate tests on a back boiler/fire) then thats the end of that.
If it fails you will have to question your "farce 1,2,3 & 4" theory
 
keego said:
if I did a flue flow test from the hood on a BBU in front of my QA man I would fail instantly.

I've been told both ways by different instructors....I mean that is the reason there is a little shelf at the bottom of the flue pipe on most open flue boilers, to stick your bomb on.
Hard to judge anyones work, but snappers anger seems to be mostly unfounded ie farce 2 & 4
 
Get BG to it and see what they say and how much they want to sort it ;) , if it turns out ok take other installer to court to get money back.
 
PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN Wrote:


if it turns out ok take other installer to court to get money back.

How is anyone going to prove that it wasn't spilling when this guy tested it?
:rolleyes:
 
They cant, baasstard isn't it, just like everything else in this country, BUT if he wasn't given permission to cap off the appliance then he acted illegally anyway and doesn't need to prove whether it was spilling or not.
 
PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN wrote:

BUT if he wasn't given permission to cap off

You could have a point on that one.

Sounds like the type of person who might refuse permission.

snapper01: did he ask for permission to cap off your appliance?

Can't understand why most people are assuming that it wasn't spilling.
I've had plenty of upset customers telling me that there dangerous appliances "have been like that for years" or "i've got a co detector". or "it was ok last year"
What is the point it getting someone to check if your appliance is safe and them calling them a liar when they tell you that its not safe. :confused:


snapper01 wrote:


how do I prove this guy is a LIAR ? cos I know he is

So if you "know" that he is a liar then you must be a competent gas operative who knows how to check appliances for safety.

Did you tell the guy that he was a liar to his face and if so what was his reaction? :eek:

What did CORGI say when you rang them?
 
Just read your original post. It sounds like he had already checked the boiler for spillage and was now checking the gas fire for spillage using a smoke match. Was he was saying that the gas fire was not clearing it's products of combustion when run at the same time as the boiler or was it the boiler that was the problem? Could be that 4"" flue liner had been installed instead of 5" and that the smaller liner could cope either with the boiler or fire running seperately but not together. Oxy pilots were not fitted to appliances 20 years ago as they are only recent safety requirement.The other point about locking himself in the room is probably down to communication, as it is standard procedure to shut all doors and windows in that room when doing spillage test, may be he should of told you the reasoning behind it. There would be no reason to ask you to leave the room though as it is a harmless test and normally reassures people that the engineer is being competent. Have you any extractor fans in adjoining rooms as they must also be switched on at the same time or do you have a ceiling/fan light in the room of the appliaince?
The yellow pilot flame sounds like it could do with a new pilot assembly.
May be the problem is one of communication, did you have a good chat to him about general life as he was working or was he a very quiet, keeping himself to himself type guy.
 
Its just a standard rant by someone who has had a dangerous appliance turned off...yes he should have sought permission to cap off, but a refusal simply means a call to transco who will cap of the whole supply. Might be worth replacing your carbon monoxide alarm. I dont know this guy or what he did, but its a bit harsh when he potentially saved you and your family from fatal poisoning. Atmospheric conditions can cause the appliance to spill or it may be a fault, it is fairly common for things to work correctly for a given time before developing a fault and lucky you caught it in good time.
 

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